The $3.7 million renovation of MV Arena has begun on schedule. The top-down restoration of the ailing facility will replace virtually everything but the new roof.
“We are extremely excited to be underway with the renovation project,” MV Arena general manager Peter Lambos told The Times on Wednesday. “This has been a dream of many for a long time, and come October we will surely be skating in a facility that will exceed those dreams.”
According to Mr. Lambos, the arena’s new surface, built with pipes in the concrete, not atop it, will open up a wide range of options. “In the spring, we can put down sport floor or turf, and it can be used for indoor soccer, lacrosse, tennis, concerts, all kinds of events,” he said in a previous interview with The Times. “You can’t play hockey year-round, and the revenue dries up in the spring.”
Since 1973, the MV Arena has grown in stages — pieces and parts were added when funds allowed. Tisbury residents Bob and Gayle Mone were among the volunteers who built the first incarnation of the MVA in 1973, when Islanders laid the pipe and created an ice surface that was cleaned with a small plow on a Jeep. In 1999 the Mones also raised funds for new locker rooms, which will remain intact in the revamped arena.
Mr. Lambos said the arena won’t appear drastically different on the outside, save the proposed cedar shingling and bump-out to accommodate a new kitchen. “Inside, it’s going to be cleaner, fresher, much more energy-efficient, and more user-friendly,” he said.
Revenue for the renovation was raised through private and community donations, the Boston Bruins Foundation, and $1 million from MV Youth.
