4A corporation reviews first entertainment center proposals

4A corporation reviews first entertainment center proposals

Written by Rachel Youens Thursday, 07 June 2007

Within two years, Central Texans could be driving to Cedar Park to catch an Ice Bats game, the Ringling Brothers Circus or John Mayer in concert.

The idea of a Cedar Park Entertainment Center stumbled over the past four years, but a new source of funding and a new round of proposals could bring the center to reality.

In November, voters passed a proposition to allow the city’s 4A Economic Development Corporation to use funds reaped from a half-cent sales tax to finance the planning and construction of an entertainment center.

This is not Cedar Park’s first attempt at an entertainment center. In 2005, voters approved bonds for a facility that would host the Austin Ice Bats. The project was stopped in July 2006 when financial and scheduling issues arose.

Since then, the 4A board researched the business and construction of entertainment centers to avoid the pitfalls of the city’s previous project.

“We had to get into a steep learning curve,” Economic Development Director Phil Brewer said. “On the outset, we anticipated that there was a model everyone had used and that we could adapt that model to our needs. We ended up learning that there was no model; every deal is different.”

Research and decisions

Their research included one trip to the city of Hidalgo, Texas to see the Dodge Arena, a $20 million complex featuring 6,800 seats. Determining the size and cost of the potential entertainment center, as well as whether the center should be expandable for the future and if there should be one sheet of ice or two, are the 4A board’s biggest challenges.

Annually, the 4A corporation pulls in about $2 million. It plans to spend about $30 million on the center, although the idea of a public and private partnership has not been ruled out, 4A board President Lowell Moore said.

After the November proposition passed, the 4A board began casting its nets to find a development group interested in the project. Out of several submissions, three candidates emerged, and on May 23 each of the development groups presented their proposals in a seven-hour meeting with the 4A board. The entertainment centers pitched ranged from a $150 million mixed-use village to a more modest $37 million home for the Ice Bats.

Candidates

The International Facilities Group presented a 5,000 to 6,000-seat arena at a cost between $35 million and $48 million. The company’s past projects include San Antonio’s AT&T Center and the Laredo Entertainment Center.

Their vision for Cedar Park’s project is a flexible place where both sports teams and community events can take place. They also recommended the city encourage the development of a hotel that would support visitors coming from outside the city.

The second proposal came from CS&J Management, a $37 million project that, if chosen, could open as soon as December 2008. CS&J Management is run by Randy Sanders, President of the Austin Ice Bats.

This proposal comes with the team attached, and Sanders says a name change to the Cedar Park Ice Bats would be possible. Even if CS&J is not chosen as the developer, the Ice Bats would still consider making the entertainment center their home, Sanders said.

The Ice Bats have been without a “bat cave” since moving out of the Travis County Expo Center in 2006 and presently play at the 2,000-seat Chaparral Ice in north Austin.

The largest and most costly of the three proposals came from Stewart Green Properties, which pitched not only an entertainment center, but a full complex of shops, hotels and restaurants that would surround the center. It would use the entire plot of land and cost about $150 million.

One of the heads of Stewart Green is Norman Green, who is a former member of the National Hockey League’s board of governors as well as former owner of the Dallas Stars hockey team. With Stewart Green’s proposal came the promise that he would bring an American Hockey League team to the entertainment center.

Next step

On May 29, the board met in a private session to put together additional questions for the developers. If the board decides on a proposal, they will bring it to the city council for approval.

The entertainment center will not go back to voters because the November election gave the 4A corporation the power to handle the project.

If the 4A board members decide that none of the proposals suit the city, they can search for other possible candidates or scrap the entertainment center project altogether. No timetable has been set for the project yet.

“I want the entertainment center to contribute to the quality of life in Cedar Park, and for it to be a community amenity,” Brewer said. “We anticipate it will be a catalyst for development.”

Considerations

• Construction — The price of cement and overall construction has risen since Hurricane Katrina. Ice rinks are difficult to construct because the chilling mechanisms must be carefully set.
• Number of seats — Too many, and the facility will lose money. Too few, and the facility won’t be able to draw big-ticket events.
• A home team — Having a sports team make its home at the center would help both financially and in establishing an identity for Cedar Park.
• Noise control — The land being considered bumps against a neighborhood, so transportation and noise must be controlled.
• Development — Effectively using the land as hotels, restaurants and shopping develop around the center.

Source: May 23 meeting of the 4A board