AUBURN — The city has picked a former hockey official and land use planner to manage the dual-rink ice arena currently under construction.

City Manager Clinton Deschene said he’s hired Joshua MacDonald of Levant as the new ice arena manager. MacDonald is scheduled to start July 1.

“We had a lot of good candidates, and we liked that,” Deschene said. “It’s nice to have many options, even though it makes the process more difficult.”

Deschene said MacDonald’s experience made him a good candidate for the job.

“He has a good mix of technical knowledge but a strong marketing and sales background,” Deschene said. “That stood out the most for staff and I. He was the strongest candidate in that regard, and when you consider what we’re trying to do, he was the best candidate.”

MacDonald currently works in corporate sales. He has bachelor degrees in civil and environmental engineering and in public administration from the University of Maine in Orono and more than four years of experience with the University of Maine hockey program. He also has three years’ experience with a travel hockey team in New Jersey in addition to working as a hockey official and as a coach.

MacDonald also worked for two years with Eastern Maine Development Corp. as a community and land use planner.

“He has had that experience in planning, and that shows an ability to do something that is going to be brand new,” Deschene said. “It literally has to be built from the ground up, so his experience will be great.”

Deschene said work on the Turner Street arena is moving along. Crews have started erecting the walls. The city has also reached sponsorship agreements with LA Harley-Davidson and Acadia Contractors.

LA Harley-Davidson has agreed to pay $7,500 to advertise on the arena’s large scoreboard and $2,500 to advertise on the small scoreboard. Acadia Contractors has agreed to pay $2,500 to advertise on the arena’s dasher board.

“We set a goal to have $32,000 in advertising to start,” he said. “We’re well on the way.”

Deschene said plans call for opening the first, largest rink in the arena early in November, with work on the second rink scheduled later in the month.

“That’s the tentative date,” Deschene said. “The way I’m looking at this is by Thanksgiving, give or take a couple of weeks, we hope to have the new facility totally operational.”

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