LEWISTON – Work on the Colisee won’t be finished by the time the Lewiston Maineiacs hockey team takes the ice for its Oct. 1 home opener.

The games will go on, however.

Spectators might have to walk around construction areas to get to their seats but the Colisee will be open, according to Phil Nadeau, assistant city administrator.

“We can’t do a construction project any faster than we are doing this,” Nadeau said. “We are going much faster than a traditional construction project.”

Site work on the project began last month.

The city is adding a three-floor facade to the front of the ice arena. The new section will have a third-floor party room and event space, a second-floor concession stand and a box office, team offices and pro shop on the first floor.

“If all goes well, you should start to see something that looks like the beginnings of the building by the end of the month – as opposed to a big hole in the ground, which is what it looks like now,” Nadeau said.

He hopes the box office will be open by Oct. 1. The team offices, the new concession area and the third-floor event space should be finished by Dec. 1.

Matt McKnight, team vice president, said he understands the delay. According to the contract between the team and the city, the offices are supposed to be ready by Aug. 1.

“If they were just adding on offices, I’m sure they’d be done in plenty of time,” McKnight said. “But they’re going well beyond that. They’re putting in a new concessions area and other things that will ultimately benefit the team. It just takes longer to do what they’re doing, and we understand that.”

The team was originally scheduled to open at home on Sept. 17. When players had trouble getting work visas, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League agreed to reschedule the team’s home games until October, when more visas become available.

That delay worked in the city’s favor, Nadeau said.

“But even with the extra weeks, we won’t be finished,” Nadeau said. Engineers had to change the design of the building to add a first-floor retaining wall to support the weight of the arena itself.

The team’s August training camp is scheduled to go off as planned, Nadeau said.

Players, coaches and spectators will all be directed to the upper parking lot and the north entrance to the building.