TNA Wrestling takes over Civic Arena in preparation for events

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Preparations are underway in Downtown St. Joseph to get the Civic Arena ready to rumble.

After hosting big sporting events like the MIAA volleyball tournament, the Bill Snyder Classic and others, this weekend the courts will be put aside and a wrestling ring will take center stage. Vice President of Production Dan Rehel said every location is set up different.

"When we first walk in… (we) take a look at what the building looks like in general," Rehel said. "Where are we going to concentrate the majority of the audience? Where are we going to put the cameras, where is the stage going to go?"

Crews began working at 8 a.m. the day before the event. About 20 miles of cables are used in the productions and the hanging lights are the first to go up.

A permanent production crew made up of 10 people travel to each venue and an additional 30 traveled to St. Joseph. This crew is used to unload the trucks, get all the equipment laid out and set up to make it operational. An additional crew works the ring. Production supervisor John Mellnick said the ring travels to each venue and the structure takes one to two hours to set up.

"They build it from the ground up," Mellnick said. "It consists of steel, wood, steel cables, tape, anything and everything to make it presentable for TV." He said building the structure is the easy part but the attention to detail on the ring is crucial to the set-up. "We have a certain standard at TNA that we have to follow to be TV quality it has to be exactly right."

The canvas laying completely flat and stretched out is important so no wrestlers trip and get injured. TNA uses steel cables wrapped in a rubber sealing and taped off. "That's basically like getting whipped in the back," Mellnick said. "That's why if you look at the wrestlers backs, they have built up callus."

A common misconception pertaining to a wrestling ring is they have springs underneath. TNA rings do not have springs.

"When they fall, it hurts," he said. "People go, 'it's fake,' well it's not fake. It's one of these things where you might know you're going to fall (but) it's how do you fall naturally and not break your neck."

Total Nonstop Action wrestling will host events Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, at Civic Arena for the first time since the summer of 2013.