LEWISTON – If the front and rear of the Central Maine Civic Center look a little bit cleaner now, it’s not a figment of the imagination. On Tuesday, crews began applying a coat of paint to the old structure, and expect to be finish both the front and the back in plenty of time for opening night. The sides, however, are a different story.

“There’s extra work on the sides,” said CMCC owner Roger Theriault. “We need to re-point and add some joints, and that process alone takes three weeks.”

The sides have been pressure washed and are scheduled to be painted as soon as possible,

Part of the painting process has also been delayed by the lack of a corporate sponsor. The naming rights to the building have not yet been sold, a process Theriault expects to take another 30 to 60 days. The original plan was to offer the sponsor a coordinated color scheme on the outside of the building.

“For now,” said Theriault, “we just wanted to get a coat of paint up. In the end, when we do reach a deal for the rights, the painting over will be an easy process.”

Watching the clock

The Maineiacs may be playing in a few clock-watching, nail-biting, slide-your-butt-to-the-edge-of-the-seat games this season, but for now, there is no clock to watch.

Civic Center officials are still waiting on the delivery of the mammoth center-hung scoreboard that will bear the team’s logo, as well as that of its sponsor, Seltzer and Rydholm. According to Theriault, the company shipped it on Monday, meaning it will arrive late this week or early next week. Locally, Neokraft is expected to install the sign once it arrives.

“It will be up for the home opener for sure,” said Theriault.

Parking update

Maineiacs and Civic Center officials have agreed to offer parking packages to season ticket holders, allowing for up to 150 spaces on the Drouin Field side of the arena for VIP parking.

Season ticket holders are also getting a discount on each game ticket by purchasing them in bulk, and will enjoy the benefit of a separate entrance, also on the Drouin Field side of the building.

The general public will be charged $3 to park in the newly-renovated lot in addition to the price of a game ticket. Game tickets for individual sale went on sale Wednesday morning at the Civic Center box office.

Surfing the web

The team is currently working on updating the Website, expecting it to be done by the home opener next Friday.

“We wanted to make it more modern,” said Maineiacs Vice President and Governor Matt McKnight. “The way it is now, it’s still kind of anonymous.”

Currently, there are no Maineiacs logos or other symbols on the site. Accordint to McKnight, the URL will remain the same at www.lewistonhockey.com.

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