Luzerne County officials have awarded more than $700,000 in contracts for upgrades to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, home of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Following the approval of contractor bids by the Luzerne County Convention Center Authority, a series of upgrades will take place around the arena. The highlight on the renovations is the addition of a club pub near the west entrance. The club pub will be reserved exclusively for club pub ticket holders.
Also on tap are upgrades to the restroom, and the relocation of the Chickie’s & Pete’s concession stand, which will move from the west side of the arena to the east. At one point a much larger renovation was pitched, only to be scrapped for cost concerns. However, it seems that officials are pleased with the current plan. More from the Times Leader:
The renovations were scaled back from a multi-level addition that twice came in over budget as the authority sought a way to keep the arena competitive with newer local and out-of-town venues. Dave Palermo, authority chairman, said he believes the smaller-scale upgrade will do that.
“I think it’s a big day for the arena to be able to give Steve (Poremba, the arena’s director of sales and marketing ) a tool that should be able to attract more patrons to our arena,” Palermo said.
Under the current schedule, the work is expected to be complete by September, allowing the upgrades to be in place in plenty of time for the start of the Penguins 2016-2017 season. The primary funding source for the upgrades was the $3.5 million remaining in bond funds for arena improvements.