Proposed Woodbury Ice Complex
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SEC Scotty
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spin-o-rama
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copy the shortcut, paste it in the browser, and erase the "nclick_check=1" from the link. That way you usually bypass the PP login requirement.newsguy35 wrote:I refuse to pay money to reply to what goes on in my neck of the woods... what is up scotty?
http://www.twincities.com/washington/ci_7188711?
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SEC Scotty
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Plan would give Woodbury five new, private ice rinks
An equity firm is talking with the city about a sports complex that would open in 2009 next to the new East Ridge High School.
By Ben Goessling, Star Tribune
Plans to attach a new sports complex to Woodbury's Bielenberg Sports Center could bring the city as many as five new hockey rinks -- and put its two existing ice sheets under the management of a private equity firm.
Mesaba Capital Partners of Woodbury is in talks with the city about a $40 million complex that would bring three indoor rinks, two refrigerated outdoor sheets and a 100,000-square-foot field house to Bielenberg by 2009, when East Ridge High School opens next door.
Woodbury Mayor Bill Hargis said Tuesday it is only "a conceptual discussion and plan right now" and added that Mesaba has not presented its ideas to the city's planning commission.
"Because we do our work out in public, sometimes people think the deal's a done deal when it's not," he said. "The concept would be for the private group to manage the entire ice arena, but we're a long way from getting to that conclusion. We have not seen detailed pro formas or market studies."
But that hasn't done anything to quell excitement about an expansion that could give Bielenberg the kind of regional clout enjoyed by the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine.
Woodbury Area Hockey Club President Bill Mezzano said the Minnesota Wild has expressed interest in using the arena for its practices.
Doug Risebrough, Wild president and general manger, said Monday the team is talking with several communities about moving its practices out of the crowded Xcel Energy Center.
Even if the NHL team doesn't come, Mezzano said there are enough plans in place to generate the kind of profit private equity firms like to see -- and that hockey rinks usually fail to produce.
Because of hefty operational costs and limited year-round use, municipal hockey rinks in places such as Burnsville and Inver Grove Heights are frequently subsidized by taxpayers.
Lakeville contemplated anchoring a regional sports complex with four hockey rinks in 2004 but scrapped the idea and eventually built a one-sheet arena. And voters in Farmington turned down funding for a $24 million sports complex that included two ice sheets in May after district estimates showed it would lose $325,000 annually in its first years.
The Woodbury complex would not be taxpayer-financed; in fact, it could save the city some money if Mesaba takes over operations at Bielenberg.
Whoever foots the bill, Mezzano is confident they'll be running the complex in the black.
He pointed to the Super Rink as a feasible business model and added that plans call for the Woodbury facility to include a sports-themed restaurant and retail space.
"There are facilities around the U.S. that are benchmarked that way. A classic one is Lambeau Field," he said, referring to the Green Bay Packers' home stadium. "They can generate [revenue] during downtime when they don't play football. It's a portfolio, really."
Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546
Ben Goessling • bgoessling@startribune.com
An equity firm is talking with the city about a sports complex that would open in 2009 next to the new East Ridge High School.
By Ben Goessling, Star Tribune
Plans to attach a new sports complex to Woodbury's Bielenberg Sports Center could bring the city as many as five new hockey rinks -- and put its two existing ice sheets under the management of a private equity firm.
Mesaba Capital Partners of Woodbury is in talks with the city about a $40 million complex that would bring three indoor rinks, two refrigerated outdoor sheets and a 100,000-square-foot field house to Bielenberg by 2009, when East Ridge High School opens next door.
Woodbury Mayor Bill Hargis said Tuesday it is only "a conceptual discussion and plan right now" and added that Mesaba has not presented its ideas to the city's planning commission.
"Because we do our work out in public, sometimes people think the deal's a done deal when it's not," he said. "The concept would be for the private group to manage the entire ice arena, but we're a long way from getting to that conclusion. We have not seen detailed pro formas or market studies."
But that hasn't done anything to quell excitement about an expansion that could give Bielenberg the kind of regional clout enjoyed by the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine.
Woodbury Area Hockey Club President Bill Mezzano said the Minnesota Wild has expressed interest in using the arena for its practices.
Doug Risebrough, Wild president and general manger, said Monday the team is talking with several communities about moving its practices out of the crowded Xcel Energy Center.
Even if the NHL team doesn't come, Mezzano said there are enough plans in place to generate the kind of profit private equity firms like to see -- and that hockey rinks usually fail to produce.
Because of hefty operational costs and limited year-round use, municipal hockey rinks in places such as Burnsville and Inver Grove Heights are frequently subsidized by taxpayers.
Lakeville contemplated anchoring a regional sports complex with four hockey rinks in 2004 but scrapped the idea and eventually built a one-sheet arena. And voters in Farmington turned down funding for a $24 million sports complex that included two ice sheets in May after district estimates showed it would lose $325,000 annually in its first years.
The Woodbury complex would not be taxpayer-financed; in fact, it could save the city some money if Mesaba takes over operations at Bielenberg.
Whoever foots the bill, Mezzano is confident they'll be running the complex in the black.
He pointed to the Super Rink as a feasible business model and added that plans call for the Woodbury facility to include a sports-themed restaurant and retail space.
"There are facilities around the U.S. that are benchmarked that way. A classic one is Lambeau Field," he said, referring to the Green Bay Packers' home stadium. "They can generate [revenue] during downtime when they don't play football. It's a portfolio, really."
Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546
Ben Goessling • bgoessling@startribune.com
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OnFrozenPond
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I'm all for new rinks, but two things jumped out at me.
1. Plans include a sports-themed restaurant
Like we don't have enough of those.
2. There are facilities around the U.S. that are benchmarked that way. A classic one is Lambeau Field.
I think it is a stretch to compare a hockey rink in Woodbury (no matter how nice) to Lambeau Field.
1. Plans include a sports-themed restaurant
Like we don't have enough of those.
2. There are facilities around the U.S. that are benchmarked that way. A classic one is Lambeau Field.
I think it is a stretch to compare a hockey rink in Woodbury (no matter how nice) to Lambeau Field.
