AUBURN — At an even 68 degrees, Josh MacDonald figures the Norway Savings Bank Arena’s second-floor mezzanine is the perfect spot for parents to warm up between hockey games.
“The best way I can describe it, it’s like a ski lodge,” said MacDonald, general manager of the arena. “It’s the place to stop in to get a snack or warm up between runs or games.”
The mezzanine opened to the public Saturday, but it will hold an official open house with an after-hours event for local businesses Friday night.
“We just want to give the business community a chance to get into the building,” MacDonald said.
The city has scheduled a weekend-long grand opening for the arena, its two sheets of ice, new locker rooms, pro shop and mezzanine. It kicked off Saturday morning with an open house followed by youth and high school hockey games, and will continue Sunday with more hockey and free public skating from 2 to 4 p.m.
Crews began working on the arena in March 2013. Plans called for two rinks. The first has a concrete floor below the ice surface with seating for 810 and room for another 500 spectators. The second has a sand floor, seating for 178 spectators and standing room for another 450.
It also sports modern locker rooms for several teams, five coach rooms and two referee locker rooms, as well as second-floor offices and spectator areas.
The first rink opened Nov. 16 and the smaller rink opened a month later.
The mezzanine is the final step. The long room will be kept at a comfortable temperature with plenty of tables and chairs for families, views into both rinks and free Wi-Fi.
The walls are lined with six big-screen televisions, which will be tuned to cable sports channels. One end has a game room — air hockey, two pool tables and video games.
The other has a makeshift concession stand. It will be replaced with a permanent stand once a company signs a deal to run it. The concessionaire will also operate a conference space at the other end of the mezzanine.
-
- The mezzanine between the two hockey rinks at the Norway Savings Bank Arena opens just in time for a youth hockey tournament Saturday afternoon. Spectators and players were warming up, playing games and snacking in a comfortable setting while still being able to watch the game being played on either rink.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.