Construction crews are hard at work building Austin's new Packer Arena and renovating Riverside Arena and the projects for both are still on-schedule.

At Packer Arena, the walls are up, a roof is on the building and the city still plans on having ice in the facility by Dec. 1.

Currently, City Engineer Jon Erichson says, "the geothermal system is going in and in the meantime, electricians, plumbers, things like that are happening."

He says he's heard many positive comments about the arena. "People are very surprised at how nice it looks," even at this early stage in its construction, he says.

Meanwhile, at Riverside Arena, the locker room renovation is well under way.

"A lot of masonry work is being done right now," says Erichson. The ice plant -the equipment that makes ice for the facility – also is in the process of being installed.

He expects "substantial completion" of the Riverside Arena renovation will be about Oct. 1.

Amanda L. Rohde can be reached at 434-2214 or by e-mail at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com