Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The Colisee is still renovating.

The city-owned arena plans to begin an $800,000 project within the next week, installing new equipment to keep the ice cold, new bathrooms, a concert stage and a new Olympia ice resurfacer.

The changes will replace some of the building’s oldest systems, some of which routinely fail. The under-powered ice compressors, which maintain the hockey surface for the Lewiston Maineiacs, blow out at least once a year.

“It’s like the little train that could,” said Jeff Schumacher, the Colisee’s general manager. “And you can’t make the train do everything.”

Once finished, the changes will mark the completion of the renovation begun in 2002.

“There are always things I’d like to do,” said Schumacher, who took over management of the facility a year ago. “But this is important. I’m already telling promoters.”

“I’m selling the building and I’m selling the market,” he said.

Last summer, when Schumacher came to Lewiston, the Maineiacs were here. However, the only other event booked for the arena was the Shrine Circus. As he looks forward to the coming 2006-07 season, he already has deals signed for such acts as country singer Dierks Bentley, Sesame Street Live, and the return of World Wrestling Entertainment and Professional Bull Riding.

Nothing’s coming in July, though, while workers try to get much of the new equipment installed, anticipating the arrival of the Festival FrancoFun on Aug. 5 and the Maineiacs on Aug. 14.

Job one will be the installation of the ice-making machinery, known as “a chiller system.”

The new system and its accompanying electrical upgrades will make it possible for the arena to keep the ice cold while also running air conditioning, something that was impossible before, said Operations Manager Don Duval.

He is also investigating whether waste heat created by the system could be harnessed to help heat the building during the winter.

Patrons will likely take greater notice of the change in bathrooms. About twice as many stalls will be created, as locker rooms and restrooms shift places.

The effect will be particularly noticed during concerts, when many of the existing bathrooms were off limits to the public in part of the designated back stage area.

“I am very, very, very happy about this change,” Schumacher said.

The new stage and accompanying barricades are meant as amenities for the concert acts. For each past show, the stage has been rented, a cost that gets passed on to the promoter. No more.

Like the other changes, the stage purchase will be added to every phone call with a promoter.

“Will we have more events here next year? Yes,” Schumacher said. “It builds and builds and builds.”

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