LEWISTON – Colisee bidders didn’t have the right price for taking over the ice arena, but city officials will continue talking to them anyway.

“We will see if they have anything to offer us,” Mayor Larry Gilbert said. “Right now, we’re open to seeing what kind of offers might still be coming and what discussions we can have around those.”

Councilors began looking for potential buyers in May, asking for proposals from private parties interested in buying the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, including the ice arena building, the land under it and the parking lots.

The city kept bidding open until June 29, receiving one bid. Gilbert said two other businesses expressed interest after the official bidding had ended.

He wouldn’t say who the bidder or interested businesses were. None met the city’s criteria, however.

“Nobody came in with the right price,” he said. He wouldn’t say what that price would be, however.

“But if someone did, if someone had the right price – even now – we’d still be open to talking to them,” Gilbert said.

He said the interested parties did have different ideas for using the facility. Members of the Lewiston Urban Civic Center Enterprises will continue to research those ideas. Gilbert wouldn’t discuss the ideas, however.

Any buyer would have to continue providing ice time for the Lewiston Maineiacs, the city’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, as well as free or discounted ice time for the Lewiston High School hockey team and the Lewiston junior hockey program. A new owner also would have to make the arena available free of charge for Lewiston High School graduations and the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council’s annual Business to Business Trade Show.

A buyer would also be required to honor the city’s contract with Global Spectrum, which manages the Colisee, through 2008. Androscoggin Savings Bank would continue to hold the naming rights to the facility through 2016.

The city assumed ownership of the former Central Maine Civic Center in February 2004, agreeing to take on $4.2 million in debt and management of the center, including day-to-day operations and repairs.

Last month, councilors gave the Colisee $650,000 to cover two years worth of operational losses at the ice rink. That’s on top of $3.2 million worth of building and equipment upgrades since the city took over.

Improvements included a $2 million facade and building addition, and interior work in 2005; and a new ice resurfacer, a portable stage, an improved compressor, boiler repairs and bathroom upgrades in 2006. The city owes $5.7 million for the Colisee and improvements.