Wild fans prep the ice for the upcoming season

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - The ice at the Xcel Energy Center is getting a fresh coat of paint for the upcoming season.

A few lucky Minnesota Wild fans got to help prepare the ice for the season by painting the official blue lines and red lines at center ice.

Five season ticket holders and their guests got to participate. Allison Riestenberg, a season ticket holder, helped paint the lines with her daughter.

"It's not too bad," said Riestenberg, a season ticket holder. "You've got to stay in the lines, obviously, that's the tough part or we'll go offsides."

Arena officials use 10,000 gallons of water to make one inch of ice, which takes about 12 hours to freeze. The ice layer is then sprayed white and the lines are hand-painted. The ice crew then adds the Wild logo and other branding before they add another layer of ice on top.

The entire ice-making process takes about 48 hours. There will be a total of 1 1/4" inch of ice on the concrete.

The ice will be in through the end of playoffs.