LEWISTON – Treasurer Paul Labrecque and Assistant Fire Chief Paul Leclair were appointed to temporarily market and manage the Colisee hockey arena, officials announced Thursday.

City Administrator Jim Bennett and City Councilor Norm Rousseau, chairman of the Colisee Board of Directors, announced the change at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Labrecque and Leclair will replace General Manager Wayne Thornton, who resigned abruptly Tuesday, citing personal reasons. The board is looking for a permanent replacement.

“But it’ll probably take a little time to move forward with that,” Rousseau said.

Leclair will manage daily operations of the center. Bennett described him as a friendly, “nice” guy.

“It’s hard to get him to raise his voice, unless it’s at a fire,” Bennett said.

Labrecque will do the marketing for the Colisee, attempting to bring new acts and events to the arena, looking for sponsors and selling corporate seats.

The Colisee has had to adapt to new fire safety rules after a 2003 fire in a Rhode Island nightclub killed and injured hundreds. Bennett said the Colisee managers would try to put a friendlier face on those changes.

For example, high school championship banners that used to ring the arena were removed this year. Fire officials had them removed, but Bennett said Colisee management was blamed.

Leclair is looking for a way to fireproof the banners and have them replaced.

Despite the unpopular changes, it’s an interesting time at the Colisee, Bennett said.

“There is a great spirit there, from the staff there to the volunteers involved,” he said. “It’s a great source of pride to everyone involved, and we want to continue that.”

The city took over ownership of the Colisee in February to keep the Lewiston Maineiacs, a semiprofessional hockey team, in town. The team had complained of tardy renovations and problems with ticket machines, among other things. Control of the facility was given to a board of directors appointed by the City Council.

Thornton signed a three-year contract with the Colisee Board of Directors in June to manage and market the arena. He had never managed a facility like the Colisee, despite a career in sports marketing and promotions.

Bennett said the $2 million renovation of the Colisee is nearing the end. Most of the work should be finished in December, with a handful of punch-list items due to be completed in January.

He expects efforts to sell the naming rights to the facility to pick up once that work is finished. He said he expects an announcement on the naming rights sometime in the spring.