Old barn set to welcome Maineiacs
By Justin Pelletier
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – With much of the state mired in the muggies, it’s understandable if hockey hasn’t been at the forefront of thought.

On Monday, though, one step into the Central Maine Civic Center made thoughts of beaches and oceans return to visions of padded players chasing small rubber disks around an ice sheet.

“It’s like a whole lot of air conditioning all at once,” said Lewiston Maineiacs Vice President Matt McKnight. “This feels like hockey.”

Last Friday, the generators and compressors at the Civic Center came to life, starting the cooling process that will eventually produce ice on the new concrete rink surface. That ice is scheduled to appear Thursday, five days ahead of the first training camp session.

“We’ll be basically all set to go for training camp,” said Civic Center owner Roger Theriault. “We’ll have about half the seats done for people to sit and watch, we’ll have a concession stand open and people will be able to see how far we’ve come with this project.”

From scratch to…

Two weeks ago, aside from the light gray ceilings and the newly-poured concrete shell, the old barn looked exactly like the affectionate moniker given the building over the years. But much has changed.

“It looks like a real rink now,” said Theriault. “With the boards and the glass in place, it’s getting there.”

Physically, there are still many more steps to take. With the recent humid weather, crews are about a week behind in painting the seats on the far end of the arena. Many of the doors still hang by loose bolts, and the extra seating, bleachers that will surround the upper extremities of the building, have yet to appear.

“It’s a lot of small stuff right now,” said Theriault. “Even with that week setback, we are OK. We kind of anticipated some humid weather, so it was built in.”

On the outside, what almost everybody sees as they drive past, the paving project is nearly completed. Following the tar, crews will begin work on the outside of the building.

“We’ll be working on the outside of the building right up until the start date,” said Theriault. “We may or may not have it completely done by the 19th of September, but that’s OK, as long as we can play and accommodate the fans.”

Financial progress

Season ticket sales have been steady, considering the time of year, according to McKnight.

“It’s so hard to sell hockey in July,” McKnight said. “Now that it’s August, we’re seeing a little bit more interest. It was almost like a switch on August 1.”

Not only have private sales started to climb slightly, but corporate sales have started to align themselves as well. One of the biggest pieces to the puzzle came when Seltzer and Rydholm agreed to return to the Civic Center as the title sponsor of the new center-hung scoreboard.

“The building used to be a Pepsi building a while back,” said McKnight. “We’re very happy that Seltzer and Rydholm made the commitment and reestablished themselves in this building.”

As for the rest of the building, it too is for sale, to a certain point.

“I don’t want to stuff any creative ideas that anyone has,” said McKnight. “To a point and if done tastefully, everything in the arena can be sponsored, from steps, to a section, to corners of the arena. We’re very open to ideas.”

Helping the team continue its advertising push in the L/A area, a community relations board exists among local business owners committed to seeing the team succeed. John Emerson, recently named Auburn’s Citizen of the Year, is heading that committee.

“We are getting there,” said McKnight. “Just because the season starts doesn’t mean we are done selling season tickets, either. The goal is to get to 1,500 by November and by the third year try and get to about 2,500. We are on a good track so far.”

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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