The site of the Mirabito Outdoor Classic is beginning to look more and more like a hockey rink, well perhaps sand and stone don't best represent a hockey rink, but the general vision of where the rink soon will lay is becoming easier to see.

On Saturday morning just a few crew members were on the site working to level out the sandbox, something that needs to be pin-point exact in order to create an even ice surface above it. The crew will continue today to work on this and then take a break Sunday and Monday before returning to the site on Tuesday. 

In addition to the sandbox work, early this morning a truck rolled into the Fairgrounds with the next important piece in the rink building stage - ice mats. These tube-like grid units, known as ICEMAT-2 Rink Grids, will be stored on site for the next week or so before being brought over the to rink surface and laid out. These units will freeze, helping to create the initial layer of ice needed to build a functioning ice rink.

This historic project will continue to be documented throughout the process right here on SyracuseCrunch.com, as well as on Twitter at twitter.com/SyracuseCrunch.

Since January 4, the race track at the grandstand has taken major steps toward becoming the rink for the Mirabito Outdoor Classic. Stone was brought in to level the track, sand has been brought in to create a base for ice making, frames have been made for the ice surface, a platform is being constructed for the zamboni and heating units are being placed inside the building which will act as the locker rooms.

To view today's progress at the Fairgrounds, click here to take a look.