BANGOR, Maine — The city’s incoming, outgoing and continuing councilors got a tour of the Cross Insurance Center on Monday night — one staff at the helm of the arena project never get tired of giving.
Jim Ring, who manages the arena project for the city, and Mike Dyer, who recently was named general manager of the Cross Insurance Center, shared details of the facility’s progress during the tour.
“I have more fun going on these tours and seeing how people react, even when things aren’t even finished yet,” Dyer said to one of the councilors during the tour.
The tour took councilors and city staff from everywhere from box suites — each of which will have its own 42-inch television — to the arena floor, to the dressing rooms that will house the stars, to the third-floor bar that overlooks the concourse.
Most of the exterior work has been completed, and workers have moved inside, where Sheetrock is being put up and boxes holding seats are stacked, waiting to be installed.
Ring showed off the building’s large garage doors on the Buck Street side, which allow 18-wheelers to drive into the arena to drop off their load, turn around inside the building, and drive back out to Buck Street.
The kitchen and its staff can serve a 1,200-person dinner in the conference center ballroom while still stocking concessions for events, Dyer said.
“I’m so glad I’m going to be here for opening day,” Councilor Patricia Blanchette said to a fellow councilor. She was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s election, holding onto her seat on the council.
Council newcomer Pauline Civiello and David Nealley, a former councilor making his return, said they were impressed with the $65 million facility. Both were elected in Tuesday’s election. They didn’t find out they were on the council until the morning of the tour.
Civiello was an opponent of the proposal for the new arena, concerned about the lofty price tag and the fact that Bangor residents would be footing the tax bill without assistance from other area communities. Now, she said, she’s anxious to see the arena open so the city can start to see the economic results.
The Cross Insurance Center is expected to have its grand opening sometime after Labor Day, Sept. 2, 2013. Bangor High School will have its graduation at the arena on June 9 of 2013 as a “soft opening” test of the facilities, according to Dyer. Early acts will include the Ringling Bros. Circus and Cirque du Soleil.
Demolition of the Bangor Civic Center is scheduled to begin May 20, two days after it hosts its last event — the Northeast Loggers Forest Products Expo.
The new arena and convention center has permanent seating for around 4,000, plus about 1,500 retractable seats and several suites on the third level, Dyer said. For concerts and similar events, the arena can hold more than 8,000 people with extra seating on the arena floor and standing room in front of the stage.
“I think that just about anything that happens in the Northeast, the organizers will be looking at the Cross Insurance Center,” Nealley said.
*squish*
anyway…i really hope it looks good i drove by a couple weeks ago and didn’t see anything across from slots
“they can hang stuff up”
Wow, now there’s smart!
Question
They identified him as the owners representative. So who is the owner exactly? The city of Bangor? Seems weird, if its Bangor, that it would say “Owners representative: typically it would say Bangor City rep — hmmmmmmmm
It’s what the job is called: Owner’s Representative. His job is not to be the general contractor. He watches the project during its progress and reports to the Owner to be sure specs are followed and timelines met. At least that’s how I understand the job.
The Owners rep works for the owner. If the Owner is Bangor City, why did it not City of Bangor Rep? Would seem much more transparent. Saying “Owners Rep” is ambiguous.
I am also well aware of construction protocol, and all the facets and structure of job titles.
Because he maybe contracted rather then an employee.. I know contractors whos only job is oversite for projects, then they move on.
Alrighty then. I thought it was a sincere question so I tried to answer it. You have a good day wherever you are and I’ll leave you be.
Typically in construction, especially in the contract documents and other documents they refer to, in this case the City of Bangor as the “owner”. Just makes it easier, but in this case I believe he is the City of Bangor’s engineer?
Ring retired as the city engineer. He is the city’s project manager for the arena’s construction.
“They can Pahhhk their trailer”
I think its stupid there not putting an ice rink in the building. Could be alot of extra revenue from hockey games maybe maine could play a game or two there a year or even host ncaa regionals there( doubtful maine would be playing in them as long as whiteheads the coach) or even ice shows. Maybe even the occasional nhl pre season game. I am sure the new building will be nice but if your putting in a new building why not go all out and do it right?
Alfond holds more people to watch hockey games
SO SO
Alfond holds 5124. The Cross, if an ice surface was installed, would hold 5500-5800 of unobstructed views.
Not true. The 5,800 seats the Cross Insurance Center will have includes retractable seats on the south end that would have to be pushed in to accommodate a hockey rink. That would eliminate a hefty chunk of seats.
Additionally, standing room will be out of the question at Cross, as the concourse is behind a wall, unlike at Alfond, where the arena is completely open.
Not true again. Look at the blueprints. The floor size is 200×85 and is being built in the shape of a hockey rink. Those telescopic seats you are referring to are for events like basketball and are standard for modern arenas. Those count as floor seats.
Telescoping seats are fixed seats. I haven’t seen any notations on the plans that say they are not counted in the fixed seating capacity of the arena. Additionally, the telescpoing bleachers at the Auditorium have always been counted as permanent seats.
Don’t forget that the seats for the arena are going to be larger than those at Alfond.
Just verified it by counting the seats. They are not counted as floor seats. In fact, not counting the wheelchair spaces for the bowl, the plans for the arena show 5,358 seats. That figure includes all loge seating on the upper level and all suites. It does not include press seating (press seating doesn’t count in attendance anyway).
So, the question now is where does this 5,800 fixed seats figure the city has been boasting come from?
Additionally, the telescopic seats on the south end account for 666 seats. So the hockey/ice show capacity appears to be 4,692.
And yes, I actually counted all of the seats.
The original Bangor Auditorium contained an ice rink. However, it proved to be too small and was never used. All the ice making equipment sat idle for years.
Whose fault was that ????
Not true. The Auditorium was open for public skating for a while before the refrigeration system had problems and the city decided not to fix it.
Nice building, but… I agree with your sentiment about an ice surface. They should have, at a minimum, prepared the floor for ice then purchase the mechanicals at a later date as demand dictates. As it is, the new arena will be constrained by the lack of an ice surface and it’s small size. Not many “A” list acts will opt for Bangor, Maine.
Why do some thing right the first time, next year they can tear it up and start again
“Not many “A” list acts”?
From the article “Early acts will include the Ringling Bros. Circus and Cirque du Soleil.”
When was the last time either appeared in Bangor?
This article has nothing to do with Whitehead. Leave him alone and let him do his job.
When do you think he will start doing his job year 2020
Is he doing his job if losing games and ruining a college hockey power is his job than he has done great!
Maine has a bought and paid for arena where they control all the costs (security, concessions, etc…) so why would they drive 14-15 miles south and pay for everything that is already paid for in Orono?
NCAA Regionals are a pipe dream with or without UMaine. You have a variety of issues including not enough hotel rooms, not enough seating at the arena, etc…
Ice shows travel with their own ice so that will not be a problem.
You do now ice hockey is very popular in Maine correct? There are not a lot of public sessions because the local hockey takes up most of the ice time. I was shocked when I moved to Maine and realized they didn’t have a lot of ice rinks. I would love to go ice skating in the evening but no rink has any sort of ice time for the general public in the evening because it is all taken up by local teams. Bangor needs another rink and this could have been the one.
Kevin where I came from youth hockey programs were getting ice time at 3, 4 and 5 o’clock in the morning. Where I came from high schools had both men and womens teams. That’s not the case here in Maine.
My response was directed at UMaine traveling 14.5 miles to a venue that they have to pay ALL the associated costs for. It’s not going to happen. UMaine has one of the most difficult places to play in in Hockey East so they are not going to pay for something the get for “free” in Orono.
NCAA Regional Tourneys aren’t going to happen either. We just do not have the necessary support structure in the area in the way of hotel rooms for teams, fans, parents, etc… They are going to continue to play in areas like Manchester and Boston.
If I am not mistaken, the pipes were laid for ice and if needed, chillers, etc….can be added if the demand is there.
I said the same thing in the last article. The Bangor area has a serious lack of ice which is very sad.
Once again I wasn’t invited.
Celerbrating the spending of the taxpayer revenue stream seems pleasant.
Terence come out , come out where evere you are.
Did you think I wasn’t here? :) I think you will be pleased on opening day at the quality of this arena, but you might not have to wait until then. I think sometime between June and August there will be an open house for the public.
You are more involved than I assumed.. No wonder you are up on it all.. OK. Thats answers That about your passion.
No, my passion is seeing this fine city rise and gain the attention it deserves. No longer is Maine a one-city state. Millions visit this nothern region and Bangor will become the hub of that if we make it a more desirable destination. And we have… and will. I am one of many supporters of that ideal. It takes money to make money, and it takes building it before they come. The Kings of Queen City have done a lot in a short amount of time, and that I applaud… and support.
If you send me your email address to benjamin.sprague@bangormaine.gov I will personally invite you next time there is an event open to the public that you should attend.
Well Ben if it’s open to the public, I’ll just show up.. it’s these little private events that people only find out about after the fact that I’m interested in, you know the ones I’m talking about where the special people are invited to.. Ar you moving out of town also after you term expires so as not to have to pay for this thing yet still enjoy it.
Good news is I think they are planning to do some public tours soon. At this point there is still too much construction going on to get too many people in there. This one was just to give this small group a little update. Lots of people probably would have been happy if some of those beams had fallen on our heads, but it’s not quite open to the public yet. It will be though.
And no I will not be moving out of town when my term is up. I was born in Bangor and I’ll never leave. Plus if my wife and I have kids I want them to go to the top school system in the state, which is right here.
Maybe you should run for City Council too and we can have some fun on there.
Ben I voted for you. As I was walking in the door I shook your hand and made the statement that I was only voting for one person which would give you three votes. If I gather a group small of people together who shall I contact for a private viewing
First of all, thank you very much for voting for me. I really appreciate it.
Second, both Mike Dyer and Jim Ring have been excited to start giving tours. I am fairly sure they are not doing any public ones yet, but you could contact either one of them and I’m sure they’d tell you as soon as public tours are available. They are both excited to start showing it off.
For now there might just be too much liability to have the public in there, but it’s coming along quickly and you never know what they might say if they ask. I’d encourage you to reach out.
A word of advice then, don’t make anymore of the Elites vists to the Arena public..
Excluding the commoner/taxpayer/ stakerholder/unit, whatever name you choose to call them feeling left out from this exclusive groups right to visit.. As was the signing of the beams..
Thanks for your response. have a good day.
And a beam that wasn’t even the highest one, to boot!
Let alone the number of hardhats that would be needed. :) Ben is right, there will come a time when the public will get a advanced view. The footage above was great to see.
Please see my post regarding my attempts to document the project, which have been met with resistance.
And the city is refusing to document the construction for future generations to look back on. Oh, the city says there is ample documentation, but look around — you won’t find even a hundred photos produced by the city or Cianbro. Nor will you find even 10 minutes of video. What is available in video are hard-to-find promotional pieces from Cianbro that focus on Cianbro, not the project itself.
It’s a shame. I have done lots of documentation of the exterior work, but when it comes to the interior? No, sir. It makes you wonder what Cianbro and the city may want to hide. It’s certainly not fair to the workers who have been woing their jobs in obscurity behind the walls for the last few months.
(And no, liability was not Ring’s rationale for denying current documentation of the construction. The rationale was a weak “There will be enough documentation” (paraphrasing).)
Note to anyone following my documentation at http://bangorinfo.com/Focus/arena-progress-videos.htm, I’m behind posting videos and photos because of a family matter.
You have done a good job documenting so far.
The place looks first class. And a nice size floor. I think that will be the selling point, especially for concerts. 8000+ people will invite any musical act playing the northeast. Probably closer to 9000+ if they have a general admission floor without the seats. Floor tickets are usually the premium tickets so when they say 8,000+ tickets can be sold, that is how many tickets can be sold. You would be surprised how many you can pack in before it is sold out. They will need a general tester. This puppy, in addition to concession areas, can feature a 1200 seat restaurant. Ice shows bring their own ice, so yes- there will be ice shows coming. Any other shows that play the Northeast should have no problem coming to Bangor and using a modern facility such as the Cross Center as the floor space and general layout is in favor of a easy setup-tear down effort. Hockey? The Bangor area already has a premium televised hockey arena if you think about it, and it could be better used to promote the area as far as booking. The Alfond needs to promote itself as well and feature more events like the upcoming Aaron Lewis concert next month to better create revenue. Looks great, Bangor.
up to 8K people durn a concert only. the rest of the time if the floor is needed it’s 4000, Thank for the info..
4000 fixed seats, plus 1500 retractable seats that complete the lower bowl. The seats are retractable to expand the floor for conventions and trade shows.
There are 1,747 retractable seats in the seating bowl, which features 4,616 seats total. the upper level shows 742 seats.
Yes, Virginia, this arena has a much smaller seating capacity than the current Auditorium — and a much smaller capacity than the city advertised.
There are more seats at the Augusta Civic Center, which has an almost identical layout. They’re also an hour closer to civilization. And they see very few big acts.
This new arena is no way like the Augusta Civic Center. The Cross is U-shaped while the ACC is a box with bleachers on the ends.
ACC is horse shoe shaped, unless the remodeled it without my knowledge.
From the article “Early acts will include the Ringling Bros. Circus and Cirque du Soleil.”
When was the last time either appeared at the Augusta Civic Center?
Augusta Civic Center? Outdated, smaller and not a factor any longer. Also, has not created a hot market like Bangor has. Bangor will have the premiere Event Center for the State of Maine. Bangor is, btw, it’s own civilization. We got everything right here. Don’t we? Maine’s second largest urban region (sorry L/A) and Maine’s number one latest trending city. There, that’s better… (wipes his hands). :)
The fire code would prohibit anything over 8,000.
By the way, excluding spaces for wheelchairs, the actual number of fixed seats is 5,358. Even with folding chairs on the floor for a concert, realistically you’re looking at a maximum capacity of no more than 7,000.
Terence, you should run for City Council. You are my favorite BDN commenter.
Thanks Ben- Keep up the great work. I’ll be around…
It’s kind of a funny picture…they’re all standing there with mouths agape. haha
Put 10 feet of water in it and let ships battle like the Romans did. I’d pay to see that!
Sure is great to see such a magnificent facility in Bangor. Two questions.
1. What is the annual debt service?
2. What is the total dollar amount the city will receive from Hollywood slots?
Thanks in advance to anyone that knows.
Let it go – the voters decided this issue a long time ago.
So you don’t know? Why would you, you still think all the casinos in MASS are taking away from Bangor. LOL.
Pick up the phone and call the City Treasurers office…they have the answers you are looking for.
Really? Wow.
Try it and tell me you get those answers.
Yup…public information and I’m not the one looking for the answers…you are.
To me, its a nice building. But it honestly looks like a modern version of the Auditorium with the concessions on the upper level rather than on the floor level, and with luxory boxes which basically leaves most average citizens OUT of the loop, since they will never be able to afford to enjoy them. I am sure the city councilors, the VIPs in Bangor, and the Higher Ups at Hollywood Casino, will enjoy this Arena very much. I am not sure, however, how much the citizens of Bangor will enjoy it. It seems that there is less seating capacity than the Auditorium, but the view is better. With population much higher now, than when the Auditorium was built, you would have thought they would have build it larger and left room for population growth.
Why would you think that? The Bangor PD was filled to capacity the day it opened. That is another 40 year facility. Are you suggesting long term planning?
So excited that my daughter’s Bangor High School graduating class will be the first to use the new facility!
nice
Sounds like things are progressing nicely on Cross’s tombstone.