PELHAM – Certain parts of the stadium seating in the main arena of the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena will soon be demolished to make way for renovations and more seat to be installed, said City Council president Rick Hayes.

At a meeting on May 23, the council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Gary Waters to enter into an agreement with Hoar Program Management related to the expansion of the main ice arena and renovation of the PCC.

Hayes said Hoar Program Management will be responsible for the planning and scheduling of the project and figuring out the most cost efficient way to complete it.

“We’re on a tight timeline to get this project done,” Hayes said. “We need Hoar to nail down what would be the quickest and most cost effective way to do it.”

The PCC is set to undergo renovations prior to the start of the season for the city’s professional hockey team, the Birmingham Bulls. The team’s season begins Oct. 28 and their first home game will be sometime in November.

Hayes said some seating will have to be removed to add more seats to the main arena. Locker rooms, restrooms and some additional concessions will be added to the PCC as a part of phase one of the project.

Right now the main ice arena holds about 3,000 people. About 1,000 seats will be added during phase one of the project and another 1,000 seats will be added during phase two to bring the total number of seats to 5,000.

Phase two also includes further improving concessions and adding other amenities to improve the game day experience.

Hayes said Hoar Program Management is working to get an estimate of how much phase one of the project will cost. The goal is for the project to begin sometime in June.

Revenue brought in by ticket sales, concessions and rent will help pay for the renovations, Hayes said.

“This has multiple levels of benefit to the city,” Hayes said. “This will allow us to host other types of events that we weren’t previously able to do. With thousands of people coming into the city for hockey games, it will also be an economic boost for us.”