City leaders were right that the new downtown arena would spawn economic activity — it’s already happening.
This is from an adult entertainment classified ad in The Eagle for an escort service: “Arena workers get $10 discount.”
Don’t waste time trying to reimburse Sedgwick County’s general fund for any bit of time someone on the county payroll spent related to the downtown arena, as County Commissioner Kelly Parks wants. Of course county employees — including commissioners — are involved in the massive project. Who expected otherwise? But the time is not excessive and is not worth haggling over. As Commissioner Tim Norton noted, regardless of which budget is charged, it’s all taxpayer money.
With the Intrust Bank Arena taking dramatic shape in Old Town, it was time for the arena’s management to do likewise. And it’s encouraging that rather than bring in an outsider, Philadelphia-based management company SMG tapped Chris Presson, formerly president of the Wichita Thunder and Wichita Wingnuts and a two-time Central Hockey League executive of the year. Known for being organized and hardworking, Presson started his job Monday at the Kansas Coliseum, which he also will manage. The expectations for general manager Presson and his staff will be as great as the Intrust Bank Arena’s potential to enliven downtown.
“Intrust Bank Arena†doesn’t roll naturally off the tongue, but give it time. Meanwhile, be glad Sedgwick County found a company with a classy name to attach to the downtown arena. It could be worse. Lexington, Ky., has Applebee’s Park. Huntington, W.Va., has the Big Sandy Superstore Arena (in photo). Charlotte, N.C., is home to the Cricket Arena. Providence, R.I., has the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. San Francisco has Monster Park. Jackson, Tenn., has Pringles Park. Corpus Christi, Texas, is home to Whataburger Field. And, of course, Houston was for a time home to Enron Field (since renamed Minute Maid Park).
Sedgwick County is getting $14.75 million for naming rights for its new arena: $8.75 million from Intrust Bank for the arena name and a skybox, $3 million from Spirit AeroSystems for the concourse name, and $3 million from Cessna Aircraft Co. for the outdoor plaza name. That’s more than many people expected and better than several other Midwest arenas. As several county commissioners said, it is also nice that the three companies have strong associations with Wichita.
When the 1 percent arena sales tax ended with 2007, it left the sales tax rate throughout the county at 6.3 percent (except in Derby, where it’s 6.8 percent). That leaves Wichita again looking good as a shopping destination for Kansans. In some Kansas counties and towns near Kansas City, rates are topping 8 percent and crowding 9 percent. In Topeka, Salina, Newton, Hutchinson, Pittsburg, Parsons, Lawrence, Hays and Manhattan and elsewhere, shoppers pay more than 7 percent sales tax.
As Eagle columnist Bob Lutz noted the other day, 2008 should see some planning for how to blow the roof off the downtown arena with a big opening event for January 2010. It may be too soon to book Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, “Hannah Montana†or Celine Dion (the last will open Tulsa’s BOK Center next November), but it’s not too soon to schedule a big basketball game. Lutz nominates Wichita State versus Kansas State. “We know by now Bill Self at Kansas doesn’t want to play Wichita State — certainly not in Wichita,†Lutz wrote. “But K-State’s (Frank) Martin seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t back down from anything. So, the Wildcats should come to Wichita to give the arena the kind of big first event it deserves,†complete with banquet, autograph ceremony, past stars, etc. Sounds like a fine idea for somebody to get going on.
It’s good news that the arena sales tax is bringing in more revenue than expected, contrary to the complaints of some arena opponents. Sedgwick County now expects to collect $205.5 million during the 30-month life of the sales tax, which expires Dec. 31, rather than the $184.5 million original estimate or the $201 million revised estimate. The extra revenue, which by law can be used only on arena-related projects, will help cover the higher-than-projected construction costs and is an indication that the local economy is strong (and hasn’t suffered much under the 1-cent sales tax, as some opponents predicted).
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Grumblers who have been complaining that the new downtown arena will become a money pit for taxpayers can be quiet now. The Sedgwick County Commission approved an innovative contract this week that protects the county from any loss during the arena’s first five years of operations. SMG, a Philadelphia-based company that will manage the arena, has agreed to foot the bill for any losses. In exchange, the company will get to share the revenue if the arena makes a profit.
“The contract places all the downside operational risk with SMG,” County Manager Bill Buchanan said in an e-mail. “Sedgwick County taxpayers do not have to subsidize this arena. That is huge!”
Perhaps the only thing more amazing than this contract is that anti-arena commissioners Kelly Parks and Gwen Welshimer voted against it.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Good for the Wichita City Council for not only speaking out Tuesday in support of Sedgwick County’s much-maligned downtown arena but also passing a resolution restating the council’s support for the project. The city can help address public concerns about arena parking. But, as City Council member Paul Gray said, "We need to stop this crazy talk about shutting the arena down."
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The majority of Sedgwick County commissioners were right Tuesday to resist Commissioner Gwen Welshimer’s wrongheaded suggestion to put the brakes on downtown arena construction over the parking issue. Even worse — her idea of moving the arena project to another site with easier parking, such as the county-owned Kansas Coliseum. Welshimer certainly is not alone in having concerns about where arenagoers will park. But voters approved the arena in 2004 in part so the millions of dollars could benefit downtown, rather than be spent at the Coliseum. Now, with land acquired and bulldozers ready to roll, the answer is not further delay but a clear parking plan — which is in the works and should be helped by a commissioner-led work group set up in response to Welshimer’s worries. The arena project is on track and nearly paid for. At this late date, it needs sharp oversight, not roadblocks.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Good for the Wichita City Council and Sedgwick County Commission for addressing public concerns about the availability and accessibility of arena parking, even as the county awaits a mobility and parking study. “I think that time has arrived that we need to come together publicly and give the public an understanding that we’re working together and trying to solve parking issues,” County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer said at a joint city-county meeting Friday, drawing assent from Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer. Obviously, the other partner in this issue is private business, which should and will have a role in meeting parking needs. But potential arenagoers need to know their elected officials are listening to them, and not just to consultants, about where they’re expected to park.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Though dirt now is being moved at the downtown arena site, a “groundbreaking” will come later. Moving day is Monday for Episcopal Social Services, which has purchased the former Breakthrough Club at 1005 E. Second St. And “we will be starting demolition on properties in mid-July,” Sedgwick County spokeswoman Kristi Zukovich told The Eagle editorial board Thursday. The project is on schedule, she said. Next, the arena citizen design review team and arena steering team will meet Tuesday, and the citizens involved will be recognized at Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting.
True, the arena project is not moving fast enough for some — and too fast for those still fighting to kill it — but what matters is that it’s now making visible progress.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sedgwick County officials should ignore a petition by a group of Wichitans hoping to put a revote on the downtown arena on the Aug. 7 ballot.
As County Commission Chairman Dave Unruh pointed out, Sedgwick County held a series of public meetings leading to a highly publicized countywide vote on the arena in 2004, and residents approved the measure by a comfortable margin.
The Legislature has authorized the sales tax, and planning is well under way.
The arena is going to happen.
The group’s complaints about details of the arena, such as parking and seating capacity, don’t rise to the level of a revote.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
No one would say it’s been easy, but the dispute between Sedgwick County and Episcopal Social Services at least has been resolved. The County Commission’s agenda today includes an agreement with the agency about the county’s $1.3 million purchase of its building at 233 S. St. Francis to make way for the downtown arena, setting July 8 as the agency’s deadline to move. The county’s first $500,000 appraisal and offer was far from what the agency needed to find another building. Even now, ESS won’t find a permanent home for several years: It’s buying the building being vacated by the Breakthrough Club, then planning a capital campaign to build and move elsewhere downtown two or three years from now. “It’s important that we’re easy to find,” Sandra Lyon, CEO of Episcopal Social Services, told The Eagle editorial board. It’s also important that, throughout this challenging transition, the county and community help this vital social-services provider in every way possible.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It was great to see Exploration Place drawing big crowds with its Titanic exhibition, which closed Sunday after a successful run that drew more than 70,000 people and made about $200,000 profit for the museum.
Hosting these blockbuster traveling exhibitions is looking like at least part of the solution for turning around the fiscally troubled science museum.
As Exploration Place president Al Meloni told The Eagle, “Wichita is ready for world-class quality. The arena’s got nothing to worry about. If you bring quality acts, people will always respond.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
About two dozen people attended a rally for an arena revote Sunday. Not exactly an overwhelming show of support.
Mayor Carlos Mayans attended, saying that he wasn’t opposing the arena but was all for accountability. "This is not as much about the arena than it is about their frustrations," he said of those attending the rally.
Well, no — the rally was to call for a revote on the arena to scuttle the project.
Did any WE Bloggers show up?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
It’s true, as Sedgwick County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer said last week, that citizens are "sick of consultants." She and other dissenting commissioners were right to reject another study of downtown arena parking until they know more about the study’s scope and cost. That’s just good fiscal oversight.
But as our Tuesday editorial argues, hiring consultants likely makes sense in this case. Crafting a final downtown parking plan involves complicated issues that call for expertise and experience, such as how best to manage the parking system, meet the needs of new neighborhood redevelopment and office space, and incorporate mass transit.
Oh, yeah — and do we need a new parking garage or not?
Commissioners need to make sure they get this right. If that means hiring a consultant, then do it.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
As previously noted on this blog, brand-new Sedgwick County Commissioner Kelly Parks wants to talk to his fellow commissioners and county staff about possibly calling another vote on the arena.
“I have constituents that want to revote on it,” he told The Eagle editorial board Tuesday, adding, “I want to make sure that the ballot question, that the promises in there are kept.”
Our editorial today argues that it’s too late — because $106 million has been raised, the management firm and design have been chosen, and some properties have been acquired. Besides, the public already approved it two years ago. As we said, “Arena doubters should show more respect for the already stated will of voters, and for the positive impact that just the prospect of the arena has had on downtown.”
What do you think?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It can be appropriate for history to trump progress, but the Wichita City Council was right to override its own Historic Preservation Board Tuesday and give Sedgwick County the go-ahead to demolish seven "historic" buildings in the footprint of the downtown arena. These buildings arguably fit the criteria for gaining historic status, yet weren’t so special as to merit scuttling the arena; the fate of eight more buildings remains to be determined. Going forward, the city, county and community will need to do all they can to help Episcopal Social Services relocate and raise money for a new building. "It’s just kinda sad, . . . but I know it’s for the community good," said Sandra Lyon, executive director of Episcopal Social Services. She’s right on both counts.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Wichita’s entertainment scene is about to kick it up a notch. It’s good that Sedgwick County officials are negotiating with a proven national company, SMG, to manage the downtown arena. Its track record suggests it will deliver more major acts to Wichita than ever before.
Of course, the arena naysayers won’t want to go. But most Wichitans will welcome more big-name excitement in our city.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Some Wichitans are pouncing on news that the cost estimate of the downtown arena has risen from $184.5 million to $201 million — as it turns out, the amount of revenue now expected to be raised from the 30-month arena sales tax.
Cynics will see that as too convenient. But the higher price tag of the arena wasn’t that hard to predict — many public projects around the nation have seen cost overruns because of rising material costs and other factors.
Politically, though, the Sedgwick County Commission will take it on the chin, especially in light of earlier commitments to bring the project in on time and within budget.
“I’m still very, very confident we’re going to be able to build this within the budget we put out,” Commission Chairman Ben Sciortino told The Eagle back in April, referring to the $184.5 million figure.
It might be safer and more realistic for county leaders to pledge that they’ll stay within the revenues brought in by the 30-month tax, whatever that amount raises.
By law, the tax will come to an end Dec. 31, 2007.
If the final cost goes beyond those revenues — and that’s not hard to imagine — commissioners should have to go back to the public and make their case for more funds.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The Rolling Stones concert proved that Wichita can deliver 32,000 fans to a topflight event — and pull off the logistics like an old pro, too.
Yes, it can happen in Wichita.
This biggest concert in Wichita’s history should silence the naysayers who whine that the new downtown arena won’t draw people and won’t sell out. Nonsense. If the 17,000-seat arena can attract top acts, then the people will come.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The sales tax for the downtown arena continues to exceed projections, bringing in more than $6.3 million last month — $375,000 more than projected. That puts the total collected halfway through the 1 percent, 30-month sales tax at nearly $85.5 million — $1.5 million ahead of schedule toward the goal of $184.5 million. Regrettably, the pace of collections is not so great that people are still talking about ending the tax early, and there no doubt are plenty of unanticipated costs ahead. But seeing the project dollars ahead is far preferable to the alternative.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Arena skeptics might want to consider what the arena already has done for downtown commercial real estate values. As an Eagle article noted, commercial office buildings are moving at a brisk pace. In 2005, 106 business properties sold, valued at $68 million. Compare that with 2002, when 28 properties sold, valued at $15 million.
“There’s more enthusiasm downtown than we’ve seen in many, many years,” said Marlin Penner, president of John T. Arnold Associates.
A large part of investors’ confidence is the downtown arena going in, and WaterWalk.
‚”You plant an arena downtown, and downtown explodes,” said Dave Lundberg, one of the Minnesota developers.
The arena is already changing the landscape of downtown — and ground hasn’t even been broken yet. In short, the arena is performing as promised.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
