Just a glance around the former Lakeview Golf Course site and environs in northeast Ralston and Tom Hillgrove could already see the vision.
Hillgrove is president of Rink Management Service Corporation and was in town last Thursday and Friday for the initial stages of a feasibility study that is hoped to bring into clearer focus the vision: An ice sports and entertainment complex at the Lakeview site.
During his initial visit, Hillgrove said he was impressed with the plans for the arena and, referencing early demographic data, said Ralston is in a prime position to provide such a facility to an area in need.
“I think Ralston and the surrounding area could certainly benefit from this,” Hillgrove said. “There are more people than just me or the city officials who think we need something like this. People are desperate for value-oriented, family-oriented entertainment, and this is the kind of venue that a lot of people would find to be a great place for that.”
For the last seven months, Ralston has been abuzz with conjecture, curiosity and action as the city watched the so-called “Ralston bill” – Legislative Bill 779, sponsored by Ralston’s state senator, Steve Lathrop – pass the Nebraska Legislature.
The new law gives smaller municipalities a stab at monies available through the turnback tax, a mechanism allowing for the capture of sales tax to pay off bonds on such venues as the one being ultimately proposed at Lakeview.
Since LB 779’s passage in April, the plans for a 3,500-seat, $30 million arena have been modified, and it was announced last month, pending the results of the feasibility study by Hillgrove’s company, the project will move forward in two phases.
The first phase includes construction of an 83,000-square foot facility housing two sheets of National Hockey League-sized ice with seating for 500 at each sheet.
Locker rooms, equipment storage, some retail space and a parking lot large enough to accommodate 250 cars are also part of the venue, which has an estimated cost of $11.6 million.
Phase two will take up the original idea of a 3,500-seat, multi-use arena, including a 120,000-square foot building with another NHL-sized rink with concourses, club seating and a larger parking lot, able to hold 1,050 cars, all with a pricetag of $15.4 million.
Hillgrove and his Virginia-based company will be undertaking the study to look at both phases of the project.
In the 12 years of the company’s existence, Hillgrove and Rink Management Services have been involved in the construction of 47 ice rink construction projects. The company also manages 25 rinks, including 12 for municipalities and other government entities.
In addition to a demographic survey, Hillgrove said he’ll also focus on a study of the ice facilities in the metro area and look at the projections for ice sports participation among adults and youth.
Ralston Mayor Don Groesser said he’s glad to have Hillgrove and Rink Management Services in town.
“I’m hoping he’ll come back with a report for us that shows the specifics of our situation,” Groesser said. “We need someone to tell us the truth about whether we can do this thing or not and we’re expecting to learn a lot from Tom’s expertise.”
Specifically, Hillgrove said he’s examining three areas when it comes to the facility’s use: hockey, figure skating and the prospects for other sport and nonsport entertainment.
In addition to talking with city officials, Hillgrove will be speaking with the ice sports community in the area and developing a plan to meet their needs.
“I’m coming in with an open mind,” he said. “We’re not going to be coming to any conclusions, but we are pretty comfortable with our skill sets when it comes to analyzing ice rinks.
“What we’re ultimately trying to do is take our institutional knowledge and see if it matches with the realities of the situation in the community.”
An encouraging sign, Hillgrove said, is that Omaha has been bitten by the hockey bug.
The visibility of the Omaha Lancers and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s teams have helped foster the creation and expansion of youth and adult hockey leagues.
The game, traditionally the province of northern states and Canada, has been making inroads farther south, and Omaha, with a relatively closer proximity to those hotbeds, has played a natural part in the expansion.
“It’s a sport for boys, girls, kids, adults,” Hillgrove said. “And it just keeps getting bigger. People like to watch hockey, and more people are playing it. We see it taking root in a lot of places.”
Hillgrove said Rink Management Services also looks at opportunities on the ice outside of hockey.
In the rinks currently under its management, the company has administered more than 900,000 skating lessons and prides itself on promoting the world of ice skating and ice sports to beginners and seasoned skaters alike.
Citing recent work his company has done in Dallas, where just 27 sheets of ice exist for a metropolitan community of 6.5 million, he said arenas of the type Ralston is proposing begin to reveal their value in short order.
“Something like this can make a contribution to improving the quality of life immediately,” Hillgrove said. “And then, with a little more vision, in 15 to 20 years, I think you’re going to see an incredibly positive impact.”
Hillgrove said the Rink Management Services study is set to be completed in a month and, depending on its results, Groesser has said construction on phase one of the project could begin in September, giving the venue a scheduled completion date of Aug.15, 2011.
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