Knoxville's Civic Coliseum upgrades complete, construction continues in Civic Auditorium

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville's Civic Coliseum has a new look inside. The multi-million dollar renovation project is done, just in time for hockey season. 

The nearly $11 million project created an entirely different look inside.

Since its construction in 1961, the Coliseum and Auditorium is home to the Ice Bears and hosts hundreds of events every single year. These renovations have been years in the making. 

"This is really going to expand the fan experience here when you attend an Ice Bears Game or a WWE event," said Assistant General Manager Mitch List. 

RELATED: Final phase of renovations underway to Knoxville's Civic Auditorium and Coliseum

Knoxville City leaders brought in a team to test the feasibility of the building back in 2016. The renovation project began in 2018 and was completed in two phases.

"We're very excited to open the building back up this Friday for the Ice Bears Game," List said. 

RELATED: Civic Coliseum closed for upgrades | More bathrooms & new video scoreboard on the way!

Here’s a list of all the new features to the Coliseum:

•  Sandblasting and repainting of the ceiling and truss
•  New LED sports lighting
•  New HVAC units
•  Upgraded fire alarm system, emergency lighting 
•  Improvement of the roof drain system
•  Power upgrades for larger performances
•  Replacement of the original 1961 ice floor
•  Installation of new dashers with wide-view acrylic glass
•  Restroom upgrades
•  A new center-hung, four-sided video panel system and scoreboard.

Hockey fans saw all the changes during Friday's Ice Bears Game. The Ice Bears kicked off their pre-season exhibition at home against the Huntsville Havoc. The game started at 7:35 p.m. 

To celebrate the completion of the coliseum renovations, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero dropped the first puck.

"I have about 70 days left as mayor, and it's great to have the Coliseum side finished. But we're still working on the auditorium. There's still improvements coming to the auditorium," she said.

While the civic coliseum is up and ready to go. Crews still have a little work to do to finish up the auditorium. Renovations on the auditorium's catwalk, stage floor and orchestra pit are ongoing between scheduled performances. That should be ready in November 2019.