MASON CITY – A Mason City council listening post held Monday night exposed rampant confusion connected to a downtown hotel-arena deal that officials are depending on voters to approve later this year, and the local youth hockey group expects the city to yield the arena for 6 months of the year for its sole use.
NIT captured most of the meeting on video; the footage shows citizens asking questions and throwing around figures as they conversed with council members Travis Hickey, Paul Adams and Bill Schickel. Questions were asked about the downtown “Renaissance” deal that is now allegedly worth $38 million. The arena hinges on $18.5 million in bonds that Mason City voters will have to OK at 60% or better in a November 7 vote. City Administrator Brent Trout first gave the audience of about 25 people an update on the Gatehouse Hotel / Arena project and other items of importance. Then, citizens asked questions about a range of topics, including the hotel and the arena, vital pieces to the Renaissance.
It was revealed during the question and answer session that there may be no deal set in place between a major player in the arena equation – Mason City Youth Hockey – and the city for use of the arena. NIT is told that the Youth Hockey group expects to have use of the arena for 6 months out of the year. A long-time member of Mason City Youth Hockey told the council Monday night that it’s a “deal-breaker” if they cannot get that. Youth Hockey has said they would raise as much as $2 million to contribute to the Renaissance project – but they must get the ice for 6 months out of the year. This may hamper other events that could possibly be held in the arena during that stretch of time – October through March.
One man who attended the listening post told NIT “I’m even more confused after attending this thing than when I walked in. I thought there’d be concerts and tractor pulls and all kind of things in the arena all year round. Now it seems like less than half the year. It’s useless to the public for 6 months of the year.”
NIT has reached out to top members with the Mason City Youth Hockey, seeking clarification on their expectations for use of the arena. Youth hockey president Shane Cooney tells NIT late Tuesday that “Our understandinc is that mcyh will operate the ice arena during the ice season-which is generally about six months. During the season the ice is needed all day-seven days per week. Any potential lease that doesn’t provide that level of access would not meet the needs of mcyh and would be unacceptable. I have, however, never heard of there being any issue with the proposed lease meeting that need.”
City officials also were not 100% clear on the revenue sources that the arena would bring to the table to cover the $600,000+ expenses to run the venue each year. Mr. Trout listed fees and beer sales among the revenue sources, but couldn’t get more specific Monday night. Just days ago, Mr. Trout was in Des Moines, selling the project to economic development officials who hold the purse strings connected to up to $10 million in state funds that could help complete the project.
It was also revealed that much of the Renaissance plan is not set in stone; location for the hotel could change, for example, and the city is still considering whether to pay $150,000 up-front to Gatehouse Development for a feasibility study for its proposed hotel. Some are asking the city council not to pay the $150,000 until after voters approve or decline the bonds for the arena in November.
Goddammit. My taxes went up this year and this will do me in again. What in Jesus name are these clowns doing?
Mr. Cooney, are you acting like a “bully” ? Show the public the 2 million first and then we might listen.
This again is a waste of money. No way we should pay $150,000 for a study for Gateway. I don’t give a crap that we might get a boatload of money from the State of Iowa, that is also our tax money, being it coming from the City or the State, it is still our tax money being spent. The City council and Trout make this sound like free money but they are using are taxes for this. There is no such thing as free money folks.
Mr. Cooney does a terrible job booking the Surf, over pays and now with Tree Town he’s running blind.
Wow. every feel like people NOT in the know are running the show. vote this down.
This is a wonderful and badly needed project for the community. However, Mason City Youth Hockey’s request for exclusive use for 6 months out of the year is a deal breaker. Their contribution either needs to increase substantially or they need to dial back their expectation in terms of how much ice time they will receive.
You’d think that those holding a City Council Listening Post would come armed with enough information to answer questions from the citizens. After all, listening posts by elected officials are designed to update the audience on topic of interest. Let me rephrase that: why didn’t Councilmen Bill Schickel, Travis Hickey and Paul Adams come prepared to answer questions on the proposed Hockey Arena project, given the fact that they have been strongly behind it for the past two years? Yet none of them know how many months the hockey group will own/use it! Oh well, I guess it’s time to clean the swamp”.
I thought the referendum vote was to be in August, did they change it? Also, I doubt that MCYH will ever come up with the $2 million to start with and if they don’t, Trout has said that the city will cover it. I don’t think it would be fair to the much larger majority of the citizens to give the MCYH sole use of the arena for the small portion they MAY be paying. As far as the $150,000 for a feasability study, why waste more money on this mess, let’s just have the vote NOW and put this unwanted farce of a project behind us!!!
I agree with the sears building. I avoid the downtown and so do a lot of people I know. NO PARKING For events and to jam packed !
Why not use all the empty space in the Sears buildings for this arena. Plenty of parking and no need to chop up the mall. Leave the mall intact and go somewhere else. Something needs to go in the Sears center.
One major cluster F….K !!
So the youth hockey wants a forever lease for 6 months every year because of a 2 million donation to the project? Doesn’t seem fair when looking at the total cost of the arena and project. With Cooneys reaponse they sound childish. If I don’t get my way I’m taking my ball home?
agree. Be a business man Cooney, for once geez
The six months they want is the time that people would want to use the facility for other venues. During the summer people are outdoors and do not want to be inside. By not having it available during the winter for anything other than hockey is a deal breaker. Build a new rink at the fair grounds and scrap this other pipe dream of our crooked mayor. What else are they hiding from the public?
I agree
$150k for a “feasibility study”? How the hell is THAT feasible??
A feasibility study for a project the City didn’t ask them to build. The Gatehouse proposal goes way beyond what the City wanted to do. Just give Chodur a piece of the city hall parking lot, build the parking ramp and pay for it with the hotel property taxes and be done with it. Why are we now on the hook for $6 million for a hotel?
for $2 million, youth hockey could build a very nice facility of their own at the fairgrounds..
That’s a good point, but is it possible, as I don’t know anything about construction costs on this big of a project.
What events do they really think they are going to pull in.People around here aren’t going to pay 100.00 a ticket for big name concerts.The crap that the Surf and Niacc get isn’t going to work.The downtown hotel doesn’t work if you don’t have a downtown. Build the hockey only arena at the fairgrounds where kids can have the ice year round.Let the horse crowd have the old arena.
Your comment doesn’t answer my question, it just states what people already know.