Maineiacs owner Mark Just addresses a number of subjects while in town for the weekend.
LEWISTON – Mark Just is a self-described hands-on owner. This weekend, the Lewiston Maineiacs’ chief executive visited the team, its staff and the arena staff at the Central Maine Civic Center, holding meetings and discussing the progress of the ongoing renovation project of both the arena, and the team.
“There are several things that still have to be finished,” said Just. “I wanted to make sure that everyone here was being pro-active so that those things did get finished in a timely manner.”
Player movement
With both Just and general manager Norm Gosselin in town this weekend, with a few meetings behind closed doors between Just, Gosselin and head coach Mario Durocher, and with the QMJHL trading period fast approaching, several rumors have surfaced regarding player activity.
“I made sure to meet with all of the team personnel,” said Just. “I got to see the team in action this weekend. I am happy that the people coming to the games seem to be happy with the product they are seeing on the ice. There may have been just 1,600 people or whatever the number was last night (Friday), but they were buzzing. That’s the excitement we want to make sure exists all the time.”
Asked whether or not that meant moving any players or bringing any others in, Just shrugged.
“We’re happy with the team, but we know we have some shortcomings,” said Just. “We discussed those and ways to fix those shortcomings to make a strong run to the playoffs. You never know. If you make a few moves and get hot at the right time, you just never know.”
Minor repairs
While in town this weekend, Just of course attended games on Thursday and Friday, and is planning to attend Sunday afternoon’s game against Victoriaville, as well. As a patron of the arena, Just noticed a few things that still needed to be touched up.
“There are little things all over the place that I had hoped would be done by now,” said Just. “We need mirrors in some of the wash rooms, and the seats on the glass aren’t done yet. I was hoping those would be done by now.”
The seats Just was hoping to see are right now long piles of dirt directly in front of the glass at three locations near the corners of the rink. The fourth corner has been turned into a handicap ramp near the front left side of the arena.
Major repairs
Bigger projects still loom for the Civic Center, as well. The team’s offices still operate out of a trailer in the parking lot on the Birch St. side of the arena, and the merchandise is being sold from a makeshift kiosk on the left side of the main lobby. The kiosk has been decorated for the holidays, and continues to sell merchandise at a quick pace, but the plans call for a full-time retail store, attached to the front of the Civic Center.
“I want to get that store finished,” said Just. “Our merchandise has been selling really well, and now it’s available on the Internet, which is an added bonus, but imagine what we’ll be able to do with a real store set up.”
The logo and the merchandise are among the top-selling logos in the league, despite the current facilities.
“The offices need to be finished so we can move our people into a real work space, too,” said Just.
One more major part of the renovation, the luxury suites, has yet to find a start.
“I was hoping that the prototype of the suites would be done by now, so we could see them and so we could start selling them for next year.”
It’s not all bad
Just was quick to point out that there are several things that he liked about the project’s progress, as well.
“I’m very happy with the merchandise itself,” said Just. “It looks great, it sells well and it’s set up well under the circumstances. I’m very happy, also, with the fans that are coming in, not necessarily every game, but those that are coming to one out of three games on a weekend. They seem excited and are coming to games while staying within their means financially. Ticket sales on game day have been great.”
The product on the ice, what is actually drawing fans, is also pleasing the owner.
“They showed a lot of determination out there, from what I could see,” said Just. “They played hard and they gave a lot of effort. I like the product we have on the ice.”
Going forward
In the coming weeks, Just hopes that the team and the arena will take steps to fix any problems that have popped up, and also has spoken with the staff about increasing attendance at games. According to the last league report, Lewiston had drawn 4,429 more people than Sherbrooke through 13 home games this season. P.E.I, the other team to move after last season, is more than 20,000 people better than last season.
“The targets for attendance are just about where we want them to be except in one area,” said Just. “In talking with the staff, we agreed that we need to target the businesses in the area better. The sponsorship budget is actually exceeded our expectations, which is great, but now we need to try and push season tickets to area businesses.”
The team has formed a committee of local business owners that will in turn branch out and attempt to sell the team to other businesses that haven’t yet purchased tickets to games this season.
“We’ve targeted the top 200 businesses in the area and want to bring them into the game,” said Just. “The team has hit targets for walk-up sales and for individual season tickets, and now we want to bring the local businesses into the fold.
“We want people that come to this facility to see a quality product and to see a clean and professional facility, one that we believe we have.”
Just will return in early January, at and just after the trade deadline, to again meet with officials and discuss the steps taken toward all of the goals he and the team have set this weekend.
“We want this team to succeed for the people of this town, and we need to do certain things to make that work,” said Just. “I am hoping for instant action on a lot of these issues, and I want people to be able to see this for the first class operation that it is.”
jpelletier@sunjournal.com
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