Arena site funds to go to Jordan Valley Park projects

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved new uses for the federal funding, which now will go to the new gateway feature at the downtown quarry site and a new, 3,500-seat outdoor amphitheater in Jordan Valley Park.

The quarry at National Avenue and Chestnut Expressway was a water landmark for decades before it was recently filled in. The city plans to turn the site into a gateway to the 300-acre Jordan Valley Park, with plazas for community activities honoring Springfield’s sister cities, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and Isesaki, Japan.

The city also plans to use the funds for the design work of a new outdoor amphitheater north of the Jordan Valley Ice Rink.

Congressman Roy Blunt helped acquire the federal funds over four budget years as a HUD economic development initiative. The money was intended for a multipurpose arena on a 1.7-acre plot next to the Springfield Expo Center, but last month the city outlined a deal with hotelier John Q. Hammons to build a hotel on that site instead.