With the Anaheim Ducks officially kicking off their season Thursday, Oct. 5 against the Arizona Coyotes, its home, Honda Center, has unveiled three new food and beverage concepts, an expanded team store and a new 10,000 square foot gathering place at its south entrance.

The expansion creates a large and welcoming open space for fans to meet that will be typically open 90 minutes before an event. It’s located in between the new Anaheim Ducks team store and the new food and beverage options. Those include The Kitchen, Express Eats and the Sierra Nevada Draught House, all of which were placed where the 250-seat full service Standing ‘O’ restaurant once was.

Related: First look at new Honda Center foods

“The concourses in this building are extremely busy and this all of a sudden adds 10,000 square feet which takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of the rest of the facility,” Honda Center President and CEO Tim Ryan said during a walk-through of the new digs, which were still rapidly being constructed Wednesday afternoon.

Honda Center president and CEO Tim Ryan poses in the new South Entrance to the 25-year-old building in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Workers put the final touches on the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A giant Stanley Cup is seen through a new entrance to the Ducks Team Store, part of the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.(Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A new Sierra Nevada-themed patio sits off the new food and beverage area called “The Kitchen,” part of the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Honda Center president and CEO Tim Ryan shows off the new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle in “The Kitchen,”part of the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Workers put the final touches on the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Honda Center president and CEO Tim Ryan checks out the offerings at “Express Eats,” part of the Honda Center’s new South Entrance remodel in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Workers put the final touches on “The Sierra Nevada Draught House,” part of Honda Center’s new South Entrance remodel in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)



A new entrance to the Ducks Team Store is part of the Honda Center’s new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.(Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The new South Entrance to the Honda Center, part of a remodel to the 25-year-old building in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.(Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The new South Entrance to the Honda Center, part of a remodel to the 25-year-old building in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017.(Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Whole pizza made in a stone hearth oven, salads and sandwiches are some of the available items in the new eatery “The Kitchen,” part of the Honda CenterÕs new South Entrance remodel in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Honda Center president and CEO Tim Ryan walks into the Honda CenterÕs new South Entrance from the Team Store in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Workers put the final touches on the Honda CenterÕs new South Entrance in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Workers prepare the Honda CenterÕs new South Entrance for the season opener in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. The new construction connects the Ducks Team Store, the South Entrance and three new food and beverage concepts which will be prepared by executive chef Jo-Jo Doyle. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Fans walk through the new South Entrance before the Ducks’ home-opener at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. (Photo by Bill Alkofer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The open space will include a new walk-up bar just inside the new south entrance doors. Its marble counter top is approximately 22 feet wide and 44 feet long and it will also feature giant floating screens so fans don’t miss a moment of the action and so they can watch television pre-game. Hopefully you won’t wait too long to get served: up to 16 bartenders will be at work, Ryan added.

“My gut feeling on this is that this will become the central meeting place for Honda Center,” Ryan said, noting that the bar area will not be completely finished for about six weeks.

“This really speaks to the demographic of Orange County,” he continued. “You walk in here and this is what fans have come to expect – high-end merchandise and they want to get back to their seats quickly, but the days of serving just hot dogs, sodas and popcorn, that ship has sailed. Now, this allows us probably 30 more points of sale (cash registers), which will get people back to their seats faster. Merchandise and food and beverage, it used to be a small part of the business, but now it’s an integral part of the experience.”

Ryan also noted an increasing number of guests arriving to the venue via Uber or Lyft services – as many as 500 per concert and around 250 for hockey games – which has led to an increase in food and beverage sales.

Though the Shock Top Terrace, which serves about 1,200 guests, and the Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Club, which serves about 250, are reserved for season ticket holders, premium suite and VIP guests, the new space will be open to the general public.

“I’m hoping that this kind of fills in all the blanks, so to speak, and now we have something for everybody,” Ryan added.

Executive Chef Jo-Jo Doyle kept some fan-favorites from Standing ‘O’ including the burgers, tacos and pizzas. Express Eats is exactly that, a grab-and-go concept with house-made prepackaged food including half rotisserie chicken or roasted meatloaf with green beans and mashed potatoes; pizzas baked in “stone hearth ovens,” grilled chicken Caesar; quinoa and roasted chicken mixed green salads and a variety of wraps.

The Kitchen will serve burgers; carved meat sandwiches; signature al pastor, chipotle chicken or carne asada tacos; and loaded crinkle cut fries. Guests can also grab a beer from one of 10 taps at the Sierra Nevada Draught House as well as wine and signature cocktails.

“What we’re going to do is train the staff on these food items and we’re always talking to our guests as they come in and out of the building and trust us, they tell us what they’re looking for and we welcome that,” Doyle said.

Doyle, who said he certainly has “the best job ever” in creating these culinary experiences for fans, noted that for those coming in for the first time, he’s really digging the al pastor tacos.

“I think they’re dope,” he said. “Any of the fries are awesome because that’s smoked tri-tip on there with beer cheese and it has a little tangy barbecue sauce on it.”

The team store is now “at least three times bigger” than the old store and features a 7,000 square foot space (which is not part of the 10,000 square feet used for the new south entrance) and includes two new entrances on the outside for fans who want to shop on off-game days.

“We have an entire wall of women’s merchandise and women’s cut shirts, not just jerseys,” Ryan pointed out. “We also have an entire line of children’s merchandise.”

There’s also a large area within the team store with an entrance facing the new open space that will sell merchandise from any artists and events that roll into town.

In the past three years, Ryan said that Honda Center has upgraded its Wi-Fi twice, so guests will have better internet access. They’ve also installed a custom LED lighting system that makes the playing surface for Ducks games more visually appealing and installed new carpet on the Pacific Premier Bank Club level concourse and within the suites. Within the next 12 months, the adjoining parking lots will be repaired and resurfaced and the seats on the east and west end of the arena will be replaced. It’s all part of an ongoing multi-million dollar renovation project that is a series of continual upgrades versus one large overhaul, which could shut down the venue for periods of time.

“You have to provide the people with what they’re looking for and I think this is another concept that meets that goal,” Ryan said. “It all starts with creating a great experience for any kind of event.”