TRANSITION GAME

The workers crowded near the plexiglass at least four or five deep at opposite corners of Staples Center, waiting for their chance to shine. That would come as soon as the King-San Jose Shark game ended.

But just as the side doors were ready to swing open to begin the quest, Ziggy Palffy “ruined” the moment.

By scoring an empty-net goal with one second remaining, the inevitable end had been delayed and the workers had to wait some more. Still, Lee Zeidman, vice president of operations for Staples Center, found a way to look on the bright side.

“Well, it looks like you just lost a minute or two there,” someone jokingly told Zeidman after the Palffy goal.

“Yeah, but all the people will start leaving now,” he replied. “See.”

Every minute counted Saturday at Staples Center as the $375-million arena reached another milestone--the first day-night doubleheader for hockey and basketball.

After the King game ended at precisely 3:03 p.m., work crews sprang into action, converting ice to hardwood for the Clippers and their scheduled 8 p.m. tip-off against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Such is the life of a facility that houses three major professional sports franchises and rarely sees an open date on its calendar this time of year.

The Clippers’ start time had been pushed back from the normal 7:30 p.m., just in case things didn’t go as planned. Zeidman said the conversion process had been practiced just once before Saturday.

“We were out there Monday night and things went well,” Zeidman said. “But that was without anyone in the building. It’s a lot different when there’s 18,000 people and media and cleanup crews . . . and everything else.”

Still, it didn’t seem to faze the workers, who had the last chair in place at 5:06 p.m., at which time their mission was declared a success.

All that remained were the finishing touches-- polishing the floor, rigging the proper wiring and completing the cleanup from floor to ceiling.

Michael Roth, director of communications for Staples Center, noticed Zeidman finally began to relax just before 5 p.m.

“Look, Lee’s sitting down,” Roth said from his view just below the first level of suites. “He must be happy.”

Before that, Zeidman paced from corner to corner, stepping over floor panels, dodging forklifts and constantly talking to others on his walkie-talkie as he supervised the effort.

“It went well and the guys meshed together and did a great job,” Zeidman said, sounding more like a victorious coach than an arena executive. “But this really is like a team if you think about it. There were a lot of components to make this work smoothly.”

Five more doubleheaders are scheduled with perhaps the most challenging still to come Dec. 26, when the Clippers play at 1 p.m. followed by the Kings at 7:30. The basketball-to-hockey conversion is more difficult because of the extra time needed to groom the ice.

“We’ve only been open six weeks,” Zeidman said, “so there’s a lot we’re still learning about the building.”

But one thing everyone involved did know was that today--Sunday--would be a day of rest for more than the obvious reason.

No events scheduled.

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FAST FACTS

The Kings played a 12:30 p.m. game Saturday at Staples Center. The Clippers played an 8 p.m. game, which created a hectic afternoon for workers who had to convert the arena from a hockey to a basketball facility:

* Time it took: 2 hours 3 minutes (began at 3:03 p.m., ended at 5:06 p.m.)

* How many double-headers: This was first of six this season involving the three major tenants (next one is Dec. 26, Clippers and Kings).

* Difference in capacity: Kings, 18,118. Clippers, 18,964. There are 846 more seats for Clippers.

* Number of workers at arena level: 65.

* Number of workers in cleanup crew: 235.

* Number of sections in overlay floor to cover ice: 530 (mostly 4-by-8-foot panels).

* Number of sections in Clipper floor: 220 (4-by-8-foot panels).