web1_wilkesaward.jpg

Wilkes University “Educator of the Year”: Award made him a better teacher

web1_Crispell.jpg

Luzerne County voting machine calibration problems verified in Tuesday’s election

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority received updates Wednesday on capital projects planned for the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.</p><p>The authority that oversees the arena has approved a number of projects and set a schedule for the upgrades at the facility that will mark the 17th anniversary Sunday of the first hockey game played in it by its anchor tenant, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.</p><p>Authority board member Ed Harry said bids are scheduled to be awarded Dec. 22 for reinforcement of the roof steel supports. Shows are traveling with heavier equipment that&#8217;s rigged from the roof supports, and the upgrade will put the arena in the running to attract them. Once a contract is awarded SMG, which manages the arena, will coordinate the work so as not to conflict with show dates and hockey games.</p><p>Harry, who sits on the the capital improvements and strategic planning committee, also said bids will be awarded Dec. 19 for replacing the ice rink. The work is expected to start next year after the end of the hockey season.</p><p>Still to be determined is when the installation of acoustical panels will take place.</p><p>&#8220;We hope to somehow coordinate that with either the structural steel, the ice rink repairs or both because they&#8217;re going to be up top working anyway,&#8221; said board member Donna Cupinski.</p><p>The board has to resolve whether to use &#8220;skilled labor&#8221; for the project. The bid specifications state the work must be done by someone &#8220;skilled or knowledgeable&#8221; in the installation, Cupinski said. &#8220;They&#8217;re not doing anything that is optional. They&#8217;re doing it exactly by our plans,&#8221; she said, adding the consulting engineer will look review the bids.</p><p>The board will pay for the installation of the panels with a $100,000 Local Share Account program grant from gambling revenues of the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in neighboring Plains Township. The other projects will be funded with what&#8217;s left of $3.5 million from a bond issued for capital improvements.</p><p>Board member Tom Woods questioned the effectiveness of the panels and suggested a more comprehensive project to address the poor acoustics. &#8220;This arena needs a fix,&#8221; Woods said.</p><p>But Cupinski said the board agreed to first install the panels and then determine if work should be done on the speakers.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t want to do both at once. We&#8217;re not going to know what&#8217;s doing what,&#8221; she said of whether the panels or the speakers are responsible for any improvements in the acoustics.</p><p>Board chairman Dave Palermo reassured her that was the approach the board will take.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_PenguinsFans_2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority includes replacement of the rink at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza among the capital projects planned as upgrades for the facility that opened in 1999. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_PenguinsFans_2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Luzerne County Convention Center Authority includes replacement of the rink at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza among the capital projects planned as upgrades for the facility that opened in 1999. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Arena marketing director in running for national award</strong></p><p>Steve Poremba, director of marketing at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, is one of 14 SMG employees nominated for the &#8220;Hall of Headlines&#8221; award presented next month by Venues Today magazine. SMG manages the arena located on Highland Park Boulevard in Wilkes-Barre Township. Poremba created the #WelcomeToWilkesBarry campaign for the March 13 Barry Manilow show at the arena. The campaign featured more than $15,000 in outdoor digital media and social media promotions. Fans signed an oversized &#8220;Thank You&#8221; card to Manilow who posted a video of it to his Facebook page that was viewed worldwide.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Arena board to bid rink replacement and roof support reinforcement projects