Sports centre board member John Moyle said tradesmen were finishing painting and laying carpet in the lounge to get it ready to open to the public.
The upgrade project began about 11 years ago and the lounge was the first area to be completed because of its potential to generate income, he said.
The fit-out in the lounge
area, which included the kitchen and bar, was "looking awesome'' and had gone beyond people's expectations, Mr Moyle said.
"A bar with a pie warmer doesn't cut the mustard anymore.''
The upgrade was taking years because the board wanted to avoid debt, he said.
"We've used lots and lots of volunteer labour and that's why it has taken time, but it's pretty close now.''
The new lounge was a "great place to watch sport or the sun go down over Saddle Hill'', he said.
A lease for the eatery in the lounge had been signed and The Village Green Cafe & Bar was preparing to open soon, Mr Moyle said.
Darren Bezett and his partner Nicola Chisholm, of Maori Hill, are co-owners of the cafe.
On Friday, the couple
were waiting for the Dunedin City Council to sign off paperwork relating to the upgrade before the cafe could open to the public.
Mr Bezett said the cafe would employ 18 staff - 10 full-time and eight part-time - including head chef Ben Davidson.
The cafe had consent to seat up to 300 people and would be open from 10am from Wednesday to Sunday, Mr Bezett said.
Ms Chisholm, a former Otago Polytechnic hospitality tutor and owner of Terminus Cafe & Bar in Andersons Bay, would train the staff, including how to operate the $23,000 wood-fired pizza oven.
Ms Chisholm said she was looking forward to opening to the public.
"Well and truly - it's been a long haul.''
Mr Moyle said the completed work in the upgrade included the changing rooms downstairs for users of the squash courts and the toilet blocks near the lounge upstairs.
The remaining work included installing the gym floor downstairs and building two squash courts on the site of the old clubrooms, next to the two existing squash courts.
The plan to retrofit two courts, with a removable wall between them, would cost about $200,000, which was more expensive than expected.
"It might exceed our budget possibilities ... but we haven't ruled it out.''
The building of two courts with a fixed wall would be cheaper and could be built in the space instead, he said.