Two multipurpose arenas at financial standstill

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Like two NASCAR drivers racing for the finish line, the city of Springfield and Chen Sports Group are in competition for the area's first multipurpose arena. The problem is that both engines have stalled.|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield's Jordan Valley Park 7,000-seat arena is on hold because of a $5 million financial shortfall, city officials said last week. The project was scheduled to go to bid this spring, but lack of funding and other priorities have postponed the bid date to spring 2004, said Benjamin Alexander, Jordan Valley Park planner.|ret||ret||tab|

According to a F.W. Dodge Report filed Jan. 17, Springfield's $24 million project is deferred and further action is indefinite. The Dodge Report, a product of McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., is a national service that tracks construction projects.|ret||ret||tab|

Alexander projects that the arena will be complete by August 2005.|ret||ret||tab|

Todd Rahr, the Chen Sports Group official responsible for securing naming rights for the 7,000-seat arena planned in Ozark, said once naming rights and other private funds are secured, Chicago businessman and Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks owner Horn Chen will follow through on the nearly $12 million multipurpose facility in Ozark. Chen, whose arena proposal for Springfield was turned down, could not be reached for comment.|ret||ret||tab|

"The plans are really no different than they were when we announced them in (early) 2001," said Rahr. The Chen Sports Group does not have an estimated completion date.|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield planners are downplaying the competition, instead focusing on a few Jordan Valley Park projects under way: the Exposition Center, Car Park and Hammons Field.|ret||ret||tab|

"We decided it was more important to focus on getting those projects off the boards and into the ground. And that's what they are doing right now," Alexander said.|ret||ret||tab|

Despite the delays, both sides are determined to build arenas, leaving one big question: Can two arenas successfully co-exist in this market?|ret||ret||tab|

Rahr says no. "It's only big enough for one arena," he said. "There's no doubt that's on the mind of everybody in the Chen Sports Group as well as the people up in Jordan Valley Park. If we all build against each other, all it's doing is just making it so much harder to earn a profit."|ret||ret||tab|

Alexander declined comment when asked if the two areas could co-exist, but said he felt confident in Springfield's plan.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our arena is part of a long-term vision that the community developed," he said. "It is part of an interconnected network of facilities. What's happening in other communities is important, but that's not driving our decisions."|ret||ret||tab|

Asked if the city will continue its plan even if Chen's financing comes through first, Alexander said, "I think our plan is still well grounded. It is a logical design for this community and in a major urban area with a lot of amenities surrounding it hotel establishments, dining and residential. When you look at the major urban areas Springfield is it. What better place to put your tourist attraction and your entertainment destinations?"|ret||ret||tab|

So is the Chen Sports Group playing a waiting game? "The answer to that is no," Rahr said. "What we are trying to do no pun intended is get all of our ducks in a row: partnerships with other private entities and the naming rights. |ret||ret||tab|

"Is the Springfield situation in the back of our minds? Absolutely. But I don't think that is going to deter from us going ahead with this project, unless they come up with the financing prior to us getting it done. If we've got all of our ducks in a row and they're still in the same position, we're ready to go ahead."|ret||ret||tab|

When that happens is anybody's guess. Both sides are hard pressed in finding financial assistance in these tight economic times.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is taking longer than what we originally projected based on the circumstances the economy and everything else," Alexander said. "It's a tough time to raise money. We're doing it cautiously and steadily."|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield budget administrator Mary Mannix said the city is seeking both private and public monies for the arena, but she would not disclose the sources of the already secured funds.|ret||ret||tab|

Springfield Sports Commissioner Brad Eldridge, who has worked in the sports facility management industry for 13 years, knows the trouble in financing such projects. |ret||ret||tab|

"It is a challenge to come up with the financing for a facility like what both of them are looking at," Eldridge said, because availability public money is diminishing. "Those days are somewhat coming to an end because (of) how conservative people are about using taxpayer dollars for facilities."|ret||ret||tab|

Mannix said the arena is projected to generate $7 million in annual taxable sales, which would generate about $50,000 annually in Tax Increment Financing district monies. Another $50,000 each year would come from the Community Improvement District through ticket surcharge fees. Both of those figures and the arena's operation revenues, for which Mannix had no estimate, go toward the anticipated $2 million annual debt service.|ret||ret||tab|

When Eldridge worked for Chen in the Mountain Ducks' front office and pitched the Ozark arena to city officials there in December 2000, he figured it would need 110 events a year to meet a debt service of $800,000.|ret||ret||tab|

Alexander said Springfield is shooting for 120 event days to pay off the approximately $2 million debt service.|ret||ret||tab|

The next step in Springfield is finding an operator for the arena. Although interviews have not started, Alexander said candidates include John Q. Hammons, Tony Sansone's Group 7, which manages the Jordan Valley Ice Park, and the national firms of SMG and Global Spectrum, both of Philadelphia. He said another possibility is hiring an individual manager who would work for the city.|ret||ret||tab|

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