California State University, Fresno is nearing the final phase of construction of the $100 million-plus Save Mart Center.

Seats by the thousands sit in crates, ready for installation in the arena, where Fresno State's basketball teams are scheduled to play beginning in November.

Deborah Adishian-Astone, Save Mart Center project coordinator, reported that construction is proceeding on schedule. The arena's beige exterior and the tile roofing are almost complete.

Between 200 and 300 workers are concentrating on interior assignments, finishing sheet rock, painting interior areas, installing lighting and entering the final phase on concession and food service interiors.

Crews are beginning to install red arena seating, "a major milestone," Adishian-Astone says.

The university is issuing bid specifications for the main scoreboard, furnishings, "anything not bolted down," she says.

The multipurpose arena will also be the site for ice hockey matches and big-name entertainment acts.

"Stars' dressing rooms, locker rooms, stuff for operations, forklifts -- we have to manage and oversee that process as the final phase approaches," Adishian-Astone says.

The Save Mart Center is the undertaking of the CSU Fresno Association, a nonprofit corporation financing the work with a $74,475,000 bond debt.

The arena will have space for 18,000 concert seats; 16,000 for most basketball games.

University spokesman Mark Aydelotte says that workers are preparing ice-making equipment and piping, which will run under the basketball floor for ice hockey matches.

Restroom tile is going in.

Last week, white hard hats seemed to float high up the outer wall on the arena's north side. In fact, workers were walking on a portion of the lower roof.

Other tethered workers navigated catwalks, where they will install the scoreboard, lighting and sound equipment high above the arena floor.

Still to come, Adishian-Astone says, is landscaping.

A campus planning committee must approve a final landscape plan before planting takes place, Adishian-Astone said.