SPORTS—Scaled-Back Plan For Ontario Arena Gains Approvals

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After months of negotiations, Ontario city officials and executives with CoachSports Inc. have reached an agreement to reduce the size of a planned multi-purpose arena, cutting the project’s cost by $9 million and bringing construction of the long-planned facility closer to reality.

CoachSports has secured $46 million for development of the arena, which is to be home to its new, as-yet unnamed, West Coast Hockey League franchise. But the city, which donated the 50-acre site of the former Ontario Motor Speedway for the project, has said it would not help underwrite its construction.

“We are still negotiating the project,” said Greg Devereaux, Ontario’s city manager. “Through that process it became clear that the 10,000-seat arena was more than either side could afford. The costs were running away from us.”

Devereaux said downsizing the arena from more than 9,000 seats to around 6,500 was necessary because the city had decided against making up the difference between the secured funding and the estimated $54 million cost of the larger arena.

Tim Connolly, chief executive of CoachSports, said he expects the final details to be worked out within the next 60 days and the arena to be open by the spring of 2003.

In addition to donating the land for the project, Ontario, which has been eyeing redevelopment of the Speedway site for more than four years, has agreed to forgive taxes on some site-related revenues for a period of time. How long that incentive remains in place is a subject of the ongoing negotiations.

“The city, for example, will rollback the parking tax from the parking fees that they charge, as an added incentive,” said Devereaux.

Last April, Barry Kemp, president of CoachSports, announced that his company would raise the $40 million to $50 million needed to build a multipurpose arena and would assume responsibility for any losses, should they occur.

The arena was originally designed to hold up to 11,000 spectators and include 36 suites and 500 “club seats” (higher-priced seats with amenities like waitress service). It has not been determined how the reduction of the planned arena’s size would affect suites and club seats.

Mike McCall, commissioner of the Boise, Idaho-based WCHL, praised the decision to reduce the proposed size of the arena.

“From a league’s perspective, a smaller arena will create a more fan-friendly environment, which is outstanding for hockey,” said McCall. “A 6,500-seat arena should create a great demand (for tickets) in the Ontario area.

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