LEWISTON – City Administrator Jim Bennett said Wednesday he would announce a new owner for the Androscoggin Bank Colisee at a City Council workshop Thursday night.

Bennett said the new owner would be an out-of-state company with ties to the ice arena industry. The Colisee is home to the Lewiston Maineiacs, a semiprofessional hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

The new owner would operate the Colisee as a private entity, with no financial support from the city, Bennett said. He did not divulge the sale price or other details.

The sale of the former civic center would mean savings for the city, which has budgeted $488,000 for the Colisee for the coming year. The city has owned the arena since February 2004 when it agreed to take on $4.2 million in debt and pay for management of the center, including day-to-day operations and repairs. Officials have been trying to sell the Colisee since May 2007.