Congratulations to Intrust Bank Arena for being selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in 2011. The tournament will be a nice economic boost for the city and will help promote women’s basketball in this area — particularly if Wichita State University or another Kansas team makes the tournament and is assigned to play here. Successfully hosting the tournament also could boost Wichita’s efforts to land the men’s tournament in the future.
The nagging question of who might perform at the new Intrust Bank Arena finally got some impressive answers this week, with the official announcement that Brad Paisley will open it Jan. 9 and the unofficial report that Taylor Swift will play there April 1. Though Paisley has been here before, selling out a scaled-down Kansas Coliseum in 2005, his stature in country music has soared since. And for star power, it’s hard to match country-pop singer Swift, the nation’s biggest-selling album artist of 2008 (and the target of Kanye West’s infamous bad behavior at last month’s MTV Video Music Awards). After so much speculation about the arena’s opener, it’s useful to remember that its real value to the economy and quality of life will be long term. Those unhappy with these acts should be patient. (No one could have predicted a Swift show when Sedgwick County voters approved the arena way back in 2004, as she was only 14 and her debut album was two years away.)
One new arena’s success is no guarantee of another’s, of course, but it was interesting to read that Kansas City, Mo., will reap a $1.8 million profit from the Sprint Center’s operation during the past fiscal year. That’s because of a profit-sharing deal with arena operator Anschutz Entertainment Group; also, without an NHL or NBA team, the Sprint Center has the flexibility to book more big concerts and other events. The arena also was ranked by Pollstar among the nation’s top five live entertainment venues for the first quarter of 2009. “It means it’s a must-play marketplace. Two years ago, it wasn’t,” Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group, told the Kansas City Star.
Similarly, Sedgwick County’s contract with manager SMG for the Intrust Bank Arena protects the county from losses for the first five years. And what if it proves profitable? SMG would get the first $450,000 of annual profit after recovering money for any prior losses. The county would receive the next $450,000 in profit after being reimbursed for any capital expenses exceeding $250,000. And after that, the county would receive 60 percent and SMG would receive 40 percent of any remaining profit.
Considering that Sedgwick County voters approved a downtown arena nearly five years ago, nobody would say that the process has been speedy from start to finish. But it was surprising to learn last week that Dondlinger and Sons might have the Intrust Bank Arena finished by Nov. 1 rather than the contractual date of Jan. 22. How often do multimillion-dollar construction projects come in ahead of schedule? Anticipation was further stoked by recent announcements about the arena leasing club seats, booking the Class 6A and 5A wrestling tournaments for February, and bidding to host first- and second-round games in the 2011, 2012 or 2013 NCAA Tournament. Pretty soon, those who’ve long dreamed of a downtown arena will be able to take their seats in one.
The recent arena-building experiences of Tulsa and Kansas City, Mo., have held valuable lessons for Wichita. So it bodes well for Sedgwick County’s Intrust Bank Arena, opening early next year, that Tulsa’s BOK Center and Kansas City’s Sprint Center were among the nation’s top five live entertainment venues in the first quarter of 2009. The BOK Center, which opened last fall, came in second to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. The 1½-year-old Sprint Center came in fifth.
The new proposal for a tax-increment finance district near the Intrust Bank Arena is a good compromise from an earlier plan approved by the Wichita City Council but opposed by Sedgwick County leaders. The proposal, which will have a public hearing at today’s council meeting, would make the TIF district about half as large as the earlier plan. That helps alleviate some of the county’s budget concerns yet still recognizes the responsibility the two governments share to improve the area around the arena and help bolster economic development.
The city of Wichita and Sedgwick County appear to be working through their differences over how to pay for needed improvements to the neighborhood around the Intrust Bank Arena. The County Commission approved its $9 million portion of the projects Wednesday, to be paid by arena sales-tax revenue. The city would be responsible for $2 million in related sewer and water responsibilities, to be considered by the City Council at a special meeting today. Another proposal for tax-increment financing for the arena neighborhood also is on the table, two months after the county balked at a larger TIF district. The progress comes as a relief. The city and county have a shared responsibility to ensure that the prime venue will anchor a prime neighborhood.
It’s good that planners are finally coming up with a strategy for downtown arena parking. Last week they recommended that Sedgwick County gain control of 2,400 parking spaces within four blocks of Intrust Bank Arena. County Commissioner Tim Norton also thinks that the city and county should build a parking deck off Waterman on the other side of the railroad overpass from the arena. Some other county commissioners aren’t convinced about a deck. But given the public’s perception, real or imagined, that arena parking is a problem, the parking deck could be a wise investment — and a good use of tax-increment financing money, which the city and county also need to approve.
The Wichita City Council acted wisely Tuesday in voiding, if only temporarily, the tax increment financing designation for 30 blocks around the Intrust Bank Arena. In doing so, it was responding to understandable concerns raised by Sedgwick County Manager William Buchanan about the broader fiscal impact of the TIF district. The split over the issue must to be resolved in a way that funds needed projects and spurs private development without drawing down too much of the tax base. And the sparkling new arena must not end up a diamond in the rough of its neighborhood.
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
