RENOVATIONS — WesBanco Arena Manager Dennis Magruder looks through the new hockey glass and dasher boards, which are part of $950,000 worth of new renovations for the 1977 structure.

WHEELING — Through 40 years at WesBanco Arena, patrons have seen everything from an Elton John concert to a steel cage professional wrestling match between Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage and countless future NHL stars who took the ice for the Wheeling Nailers or an opposing team.

Arena Manager Dennis Magruder is not certain the building, which opened as the Wheeling Civic Center in 1977, will again become a regular venue for big-name entertainment acts as it was in the 1980s and 1990s. However, he said the $950,000 Wheeling Council recently voted to spend for new hockey dasher boards and a new outdoor storage area will prove beneficial.

“We have been dressing some of our youth hockey players in meeting rooms or even in public areas,” Magruder said. “The new storage building will let us expand our locker room space.”

Magruder also said the ECHL wants the Nailers to have two Zamboni machines available to scrape the ice. The new storage area will allow the arena to house the original Zamboni, he said, which has been located at the Wheeling Park ice rink.

“Even with just one Zamboni here, at times we’ve had to store it outdoors,” Magruder said. “Now, we shouldn’t have to do that anymore.”

As for the new dasher boards and glass, Magruder said the former equipment served well during the lifespan. Wheeling’s original ECHL franchise took the ice as the Thunderbirds for the 1992-93 season, while the team name became the Nailers a few years later.

“How long will the new ones last? I really don’t know,” Magruder said. “The original ones served us very well, but this technology is 25 years better.”

The new glass and boards saw their first ECHL action Friday night during the Nailers exhibition game against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Wheeling opens its regular season against the same opponent at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 21 at the arena.

The new upgrades continue the work that began a few years ago, as city leaders agreed to invest about $8 million to repair a leaking roof, install a new scoreboard, and create an entirely new lobby area.

Magruder said he is grateful the previous and current City Council, as well as City Manager Robert Herron, have recognized the need to upgrade and repair the arena.

“For several years now, little by little, we are becoming a 21st-century building,” he said. “The fans and the patrons are getting better amenities. The whole experience is much better. If they would have decided to abandon this building, we would have lost it. I don’t think Wheeling, today, could afford to build something like this from scratch,” Magruder added.

Magruder said programming and events at the arena have changed as the entertainment industry, as a whole, has changed.

“Bands and artists simply don’t tour as much as they used to,” he said. “They used to tour to sell their music. Now, a lot of that is done on the Internet.”

Magruder said it is more difficult to attract big-name entertainment to an arena because the artists who do tour often prefer larger outdoor venues.

“Yes, we would love to have more concerts here again,” he said. “It is hard, though, because they tend to want to go to the large amphitheaters.”

Although concerts are not as common as they once were at the arena, Magruder emphasized programs such as “Disney On Ice,” set for multiple shows Oct. 26-29, as a highlight.

“The world has changed a lot in 40 years,” Magruder said. “It’s just the nature of things. You have to adapt with the times.”

Moving into the future, Magruder said the arena still needs to replace the 1977 metal floor chairs. Overall, though, he said things are looking up for the venue.

“How many arenas anywhere in this country make it 40 years anymore? Not many,” Magruder added. “And this one now looks and functions like a new arena.”