Phase 2 of renovations to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center will unveil a new front of the building and lobby, which are still under construction.

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The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

PROVIDENCE — The puck will finally drop at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center tonight.

The 34-year-old facility has been closed for the last six months as Phase 2 of the three-part $80-million renovation project was completed. Even though there’s still plenty of work ahead before the Dunk is completely renovated, the Providence Bruins will host the Portland Pirates tonight at 7:05 in their “new” home.

If you haven’t been downtown since Phase 2 of the renovations began last May, you won’t recognize the place. The dreary-looking, outdated facade of the building is gone and has been replaced by a modern upscale look. There have been 300 workers on-site daily, with work being done around the clock. Crews have spent the last 48 hours giving the building a spit shine in preparation for tonight’s game. Ice was made last weekend, the scoreboard was connected and both tenants — the P-Bruins and the Providence College basketball team — slowly have begun to move back in.

Something to remember for those fans heading to the city tonight, however, is that the area is still a construction site, and will be for the next 11 months. With that in mind, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority wants its patrons to enjoy the work that has been completed and picture what the finished product will look like.

“It was a big team effort to make this facility state-of-the art,” said Dunkin’ Donuts Center executive director Larry Lepore. “When Phase 3 is done, it’s going to be a spectacular building. It’s going to be everything it was when it first opened in 1973. It was a state-of-the-art building back then, and we’re back to being that caliber facility again. It’s only going to get better.”

There will be some growing pains for the next couple of months, according to Lepore, but once the public gets used to the new surroundings, things should flow a lot better.

“I’m excited for the opening,” added Lepore. “It’s been a long six months. For the most part, the public will be pleased with what they see in this phase of the renovations. … It’s certainly going to be a lot more comfortable for the patrons.”

Phase 1 began last year with a new ice surface, compressors (known as ice chillers), boards and glass, along with other structural aspects of the renovations.

Phase 2, however, was the biggest stage of the project and that’s what fans will notice tonight. Besides the new front of the building and the new lobby, which is still under construction, the main concourse has been made wider, with food courts, and there are new restrooms, including family lavatories. More natural light is provided with the addition of two new wings on each side of the building. There are sections within the arena where fans can sit in the new seats, which will be fully installed as part of the last project of the renovation.

The main restaurant won’t open until January, along with the new sky bridge that will connect the Dunk to the Convention Center, Westin Hotel and Providence Place mall.

The most important aspect of the renovation was the safety issue, and Lepore calls the facility “the safest public building in the country” because of the advanced life-safety measures now in place.

“Since 9/11, and certainly the [Station Club] tragedy in West Warwick, patrons are more aware of their surroundings,” said Lepore. “When they come here, they will physically see life-saving equipment.”

What the fans won’t see is the Dunk’s advanced fire-alarm system with sprinklers throughout the building, including the arena bowl. Lepore said he knows of no other facility that is fully equipped in this manner.

“There are a lot of bells and whistles that we never had before,” he said. “This will allow us to do a better job in protecting the customer.”

What fans also won’t see are the locker rooms. The P-Bruins and Friars have much larger and more comfortable dressing rooms, and the visiting teams will have updated facilities, as well.

Even with Phase 3 scheduled to be completed by next September, there will still be construction going on after that.

“We’re more than halfway home,” said Lepore. “As people continue to come into the building, they will see even more improvements.”

This wasn’t an easy face-lift, and when the project is complete and the building fully operational, it’s going to be as though a new building was dropped into downtown.

“We’re excited to show people the progress we’ve made,” said Kerrie Bennett, spokeswoman and project manager. “We’re very pleased with everything that has been accomplished, and we’re opening on time so that’s a big plus. … You wish you could do everything overnight, but this was a complete gut and rebuild.”

Both the P-Bruins and PC have had a lot to deal with. The P-Bruins were forced to play their first 10 games on the road, but posted an 8-1-1-0 record, while the basketball Friars will start their season in Puerto Rico tomorrow.

“We’re really looking forward to the P-Bruins opening up,” said James McCarvill, executive director of the RICCA. “We appreciate their patience playing on the road the way they did, and we’re looking to show them and their fans a great time [tonight].

“Everybody has done a lot of hard work,” added McCarvill. “It’s a complex project with a lot of moving parts, and trying to work around the schedule last year to prepare for the work we had to do this summer — we got a lot done.”

It will all be on display, beginning tonight.

“It’s a big job and it’s not finished,” said McCarvill. “It’ll be finished next year and we’ll try to continually improve both the property and the performance of the events.

“It’s not going to be as pretty as it’s going to be next year, but it should function,” said McCarvill. “There is one more turn of the wheel. If you like what you saw last year — new ice surface and video board — and you like what you’ll see this year — more restrooms and better signage — there’s going to be more next year. We’ve got one more chance when you get to see something new for the first time.”

jmcdonal@projo.com