LEWISTON – The new Colisee manager will rely on marketing acumen to make the ice arena shine.

“Primarily, what we need to do now is to make the place self-sufficient,” said Wayne Thornton, the newly hired general manager of the civic center. “That means bringing in shows and finding new ways to generate revenue. That’s going to be my key focus.”

The Colisee Board of Directors signed Thornton, a York County resident, to a three-year contract Friday. A former Boston Red Sox promotion director and sports marketing manager for Reebok International, Thornton will get $47,500 for the Colisee job. He takes over the job on Monday.

“One thing I do know, it’s how to put on an event,” Thornton said. “So now, my job is going to be learning about Lewiston and about what the customer base wants. The rest is business acumen and a lot of common sense.”

City leaders have scheduled a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Monday, June 7, at the Colisee to introduce Thornton.

For City Councilor Norm Rousseau, it was Thornton’s background in sports marketing that made him ideal. Rousseau is also chairman of the Colisee board.

“He’s a strong promoter, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Rousseau said. “We didn’t just want someone with a background in hockey. We have plenty of people that know how to do that. We wanted someone who can market the sports, but also all of these other programs at the Colisee.”

Thornton has never managed a sports complex.

“That’s where my greatest learning curve is going to be,” he said. “But the operations staff know the structure inside and out, and just what it needs. They have a passion for the building, so I expect they’ll be able to bring me up to speed pretty quickly.”

The city took over ownership of the Colisee in February to keep the Lewiston Maineiacs, a semi-professional hockey team, in town. The team had complained of tardy renovations and problems with ticket machines, among other things.

The city agreed to take on $4.2 million in debt and management of the center. That includes day-to-day operations and repairs.

Work on the latest round of renovations to the Colisee began last week. Designs for the arena call for stabilizing pylons to support a three-floor glass facade, an elevator, office space, bigger concession areas and a third-floor conference room that could be rented for special occasions.

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