PORTLAND – Plans for a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Cumberland County Civic Center are taking shape, with the company that’s managing the construction planning to begin in August and finish in early September 2013.

Jon Dicentes, senior manager with Cianbro, said the timeline depends on city approval of the work and approval of the final plan by the building committee that’s overseeing the renovation.

He said he will offer a more detailed timeline and preliminary budget estimate for the committee at its next meeting, in May.

In November, Cumberland County voters approved spending as much as $33 million to renovate the 35-year-old arena. Dicentes said Cianbro plans to carve the project into three phases, with the arena available for Portland Pirates hockey games and some concerts and other events during the first two phases.

The work will start in August, once final design plans are complete, he said. The first phase will focus on the Center Street end of the building, where the entrance at the intersection with Spring Street will be rebuilt. The new entrance will do away with the steep “suicide stairs” on that end of the civic center.

Also in the first phase, the loading dock will be widened and reconfigured, and new heating, cooling and electrical equipment will be installed.

Dicentes said that phase will likely take until the end of this year.

The second phase will focus on rebuilding the entrance from Free Street. The new entrance will be at street level, rather than at the bottom of a set of stairs.

During both of the first two phases, Dicentes said, construction will be done to add suites in the corners of the seating bowl. The suites aren’t likely to be ready for use before the rest of the renovation is done.

The final phase will begin in April 2013, unless the Pirates reach the American Hockey League playoffs, in which case it could start more than a month later. If it does start in April, Dicentes said, the projected completion date will be Sept. 6, 2013.

The arena will be shut down for the final phase, which will involve most of the work being planned for the renovation, from a new entrance on Spring Street to reconfigured locker rooms, relocated bathrooms and concession areas, and a rebuilt ticketing area.

Steve Crane, the center’s manager, said he wants to figure out what to do about commencement ceremonies in May 2013 for the University of Southern Maine and the University of New England before signing off on the time line. Both schools’ ceremonies have been held in the civic center for years.

Brian Petrovek, owner of the Pirates, said he will work around the construction schedule, even if it means his team won’t be able to play in the civic center before early November this fall, about a month after the season starts.

Petrovek said he has an agreement to play five or six games in Lewiston this year, and the Pirates could start the season with more road games than usual.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at emurphy@pressherald.com

 

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