NORTH SHORE (KDKA) – A parking lot on the North Shore is in the midst of being transformed into a public ice skating rink.

It is part of the festivities for the NHL’s Winter Classic on New Year’s Day.

With little time until opening day, there are no breaks for the crew.

From the foundation, to the pipes, to the boards, it’s been 36 hours of nothing but pure hard work.

“They turned this from a parking lot into a foundation in 12 hours and some of it is three-feet thick,” Rich Cuban from Rink Specialists said.

In a few days, the rink will set the stage for public skating and youth hockey tournaments in the backyard of the Winter Classic.

Crews from Rink Specialists have been working around the clock since Sunday night to make sure the rink will open on Christmas Eve. They are putting it together in four days, instead of the normal 10 days.

“Very fast. We’re doing it about twice as fast as we normally build a rink,” Cuban said.

Shipments of special freezing agents arrived Tuesday morning. Crews were hoping for the first layer of ice to be down by Tuesday night.

One of the exciting things for Penguins fans is the boards being used to enclose the rink are from the Civic Arena.

Bleachers will be put up so spectators can watch the youth hockey games.

They are also guaranteeing at least one public skating session each day the rink is open.