 |
||||
  
 
 |
Funding deadline just a slapshot away for Bridgerland Ice Arena
By Casey Hobson
Children skate across the white ice, bundled in turtleneck sweaters, mittens and stocking caps. They laugh and scream as they mockingly shove one another into the plexiglass encompassing the ice rink. One little girl, dressed in blue sweat pants and a yellow fleece jacket, loses her balance and falls flat on her back. She lies there for a minute, her arms and legs spread wide as if making a snow-angel. She crawls over to the wall and uses it to brace herself while she stands up again, then skates away. Scenes like these unfold in ice rinks everywhere, but not in Logan. But with the Dec. 31 funding deadline for the Bridgerland Community Ice Arena just two weeks away, a scene like this may one day be common in Logan, though efforts to date have only raised $2.74 million. The ice arena is estimated to cost $5.8 million and will be the new home for the Utah State University hockey club, as well as a facility for public use. The Aggies currently commute to Ogden every day and practice at The Ice Sheet at Weber State University. The team plays its home games there as well. So why the urgency? The George S. & Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation pledged $500,000 as a challenge grant to give the project the backing it needed to attract other pledges and donations. However, if the funding is not completed by the end of the year, Arena Executive Director Janet Borg said the challenge grant could be withdrawn, though she doesn't expect it will come to that. "I have a feeling they're probably gong to say build what you can," Borg said of the Eccles foundation's purposed funding deadline. "We've identified (sources for) the total $5.8 million. I'm really optimistic. It'd be different if we didn't know where it was coming from. I think they're going to be impressed with how much money we've put together." Borg said the Eccles foundation will probably do one of two things: withdraw its challenge grant or allow building to begin with the money already generated. Though it doesn't have the money in the bank, the BCIA knows from where the remaining $3.1 million will come; it's just a matter of collecting. "We just need pledges by the end of the (month)," Borg said. "We don't need the money. We need people that say, 'We're going to do this.'" The arena has yet to be named, something which could bring in over $1 million itself. Major arenas, such as the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, are largely financed by the corporations for which they're named. Borg said numerous corporations and individuals have been approached with the idea, and while some immediately rejected the offer, the majority are still considering it. "We want a family name or a corporation name on this facility," she said. "You don't make a $1 million contribution overnight. You never know. A lot of them have the capability and the interest. We're hoping one of them will step up and say, 'This is what I want to do as a legacy for my family.'" For the last 10 years, one sixty-fourth of the sales tax generated in Utah has supplied money for the Olympic venues such as The Ice Sheet in Ogden. Now that these venues are complete, Utah state Sen. Lyle Hillyard is trying to pass a bill that would allow this revenue to be used for the Bridgerland Community Ice Arena. Such a bill would generate another $1.1 million. This bill and a corporate sponsorship (a name for the arena) should account for the majority of the $3.1 million the BCIA lacks. However, if revenues come up short at year's end, Borg said the arena can still be built. In all, the BCIA has raised nearly $6 million in soft and firm donations. "I mean, here's the bottom line: If we don't raise a dime from today until Dec. 31, we can still build the arena, she said. "But it's going to cost a lot more in the long run. It's a mistake to do it that way. We're trying to do it right the first time." Borg said BCIA currently has enough money to build a facility that would accommodate the public and the hockey club. However, without the extra $3.1 million, things like bleachers may be temporarily left out until the rest of the money is raised. "No matter what, we're building this," Borg said. "The best news is that we can build something today." Building the arena in a temporary fashion where additions could be made as income is generated might not be the most appealing idea, but it would allow BCIA to keep the challenge grant. The challenge grant is the foundation for all the other pledges BCIA has received. If the challenge grant is pulled, it is uncertain what would happen with the other pledges. "We've had enough conversations with the Eccles foundation and the county that they understand we can't build a bare minimum (facility) and expect it to work," Borg said. "The revenue wouldn't support it. If we build a minimum that is operable, then that is OK." So, what's the difference? The latter would include a rental desk, lobby, restrooms, temporary seating and locker rooms. With such facilities, the rink could temporarily serve the needs of those using it. Construction is expected to begin in the spring, and if all goes well, the rink should be ready by December 2000. Tentatively, the arena will be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to midnight. The largest blocks of time (60 percent) will be reserved for public use and the Utah State hockey team. "Thirty percent of the revenues come from public and 30 percent come from hockey, so you've got to feed those two groups," Borg said. Associated Students of USU Executive Council President Nate Anderson, who is a co-captain on the hockey team, said it would be nice not having to travel all the way to Ogden every time the team needs to play. "I just see it bringing a new and different type of enthusiasm to the team and to the program as a whole," Anderson said. "It's really tough right now when even if you want to go skate in the afternoon with your buddies, you can't do it because the ice rink is over an hour away. "I think sometimes it's nice to make the caravan out of the valley and go have a trip out of it, if you know what I mean. But at the same time, I think we should draw very well here." The Aggies average nearly 1,500 fans per home game at The Ice Sheet, despite the 60-mile trip to Ogden. With that figure in mind, Anderson said he doesn't expect the arena to have any problems filling the planned 1,860 seats. "I don't think we'll have any problems selling that out on a regular basis," he said. Anderson said he expects the rink to make the team more competitive from a recruiting basis, and he knows it will help the community as well. He also knows the rink is vital if hockey is to survive at USU. "I've said for a long time that if we don't get a rink in Logan, this program is going to eventually die because the commitment required to drive to and from Ogden in the middle of the night is very substantial," he said. For questions or further information on financing the ice rink or making donations, call Borg at 563-8640.
|
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
||