LEWISTON — If they build it properly, fans will come.

They hope.

But, admittedly, the Lewiston Maineiacs have their work cut out for them.

With the home opener less than a day away, the team’s front office staff — from part-owner Paul Spellman and managing consultant Bill Schurman down to the hordes of volunteers who’ve approached the team with ideas and manpower — continues to operate in high gear.

Season-ticket sales are slower than the team’s ideal level, sponsorships are strong, but could be better, and, most importantly, the building isn’t booked full. Until all of those things are fixed, Schurman said, the staff won’t be slowing down.

“We’re not sold out, so obviously we have more work to do,” Schurman said. “We’re looking forward to hopefully having a good weekend. It’s still our first weekend, and we have a lot of work to do in and around the business side to get things up and where we want them to be. But given we’ve had three weeks. We’re not in too bad a shape.”

One of the biggest selling points the team has to its fan base is to ice a competitive team. That, Schurman said, is not his department.

Coach J.F. Houle, on the other hand, took full ownership of that side of things.

“We’re going to try to be the type of team that puts on a good show offensively. We have some guys that can score,” Houle said. “We need to be exciting, people like to see exciting hockey, and that’s what we want to give our fans.”

Many of the things the front office does have control over will, at least in time, be decidedly different.

“The biggest challenge we have right now, is that we have so many new people in new roles,” Spellman said. “On top of that, we’re doing some things here that have never been done before, so we’re all learning as we go.”

The team brought in a new game operations team, headed by Sean Bushway, that will make incremental improvements in the fan experience. The staff plans to be visible, up-beat and in your face (in a good way, Schurman said).

Also, Schurman said, tongue firmly planted in his cheek, they’ve sought some help this season from one of the biggest distractions to area hockey fans in the fall, the Boston Red Sox.

“Even the Red Sox are helping this year,” Schurman said, “They don’t seem like they’re going to make it (to the playoffs). I was on the phone with Terry Francona, and he said, ‘Yes, Bill, we’re going to do everything we can to help you by missing the postseason this year.’ So you see, everyone is trying to help.”

In a more serious tone, though, Schurman and the staff realize the challenge facing the team. But there doesn’t appear to be any hesitation because of it, either.

“It’s a tough market,” Schurman said. “Our goal is to sell out. I’m not saying that tongue-in-cheek. Every game, we strive to sell out … We’re very pleased and supportive of the people who are coming, but we’re a long way from where we need to be. We need to put our boots on a little tighter and have everyone within the organization work a little harder, and hopefully, at the end of the day, we’ll end up getting where we need to go.”