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Wednesday, February 9, 2000
Council OKs plan to map out new arena
Consulting, building contracts approved for convention center expansion, arena
By Jonathan Osborne
Caller-Times
The City Council approved a plan Tuesday that would map out not only the space needed for the expansion of the Bayfront Plaza Convention Center, but for an adjoining arena as well.
The arena, which will go before a public vote in November's bond election, would feed off the convention center and help the city draw more conventions to Corpus Christi, said City Manager David Garcia.
"They can be jointly utilized," Garcia said. "This is exactly what San Antonio did (with the HemisFair Arena)."
The council approved a $175,000 contract with PKF Consulting Inc. to assess the needs of the expansion and the arena.
"At the completion of this study, we hope to have a program that we can then turn over to contractors," Garcia said. "At that point, we'll turn around and build it."
Assistant City Manager Tom Utter said the consultants should return with a report to the council by June or July.
The council also approved a $486,000 contract with Gilbane Building Co. to manage the entire expansion project.
Gilbane will follow the project, reviewing PKF's needs-assessment report as well as assisting during the selection process for the architects to design the convention center's expansion and the arena.
The arena, which is planned to seat 8,000 to 10,000, would be funded by a sales tax if city voters approve it in November.
Officials believe an arena, which will cost $25 million to $35 million to build, would most benefit the city if it were located near the convention center, which will undergo expansions funded by a 2-cent increase in the hotel and motel taxes.
"We can attract bigger conventions," said Char Beltran, director for the Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We also need a venue for our local events."
Beltran said the arena could be home to ice hockey, college basketball, concerts, rodeos, graduation ceremonies, conventions and other large events. It would replace Memorial Coliseum, which was built in 1953.
The Corpus Christi Ice Rays are in their second season of play in Memorial Coliseum. The men's and women's teams for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi brought Division I college basketball to the coliseum for the first time in November.
Should voters approve the project, the arena would be funded from a eighth-cent increase in the sales tax, along with private financing.
Councilman Rex Kinnison said planning the arena to be built near the convention center would prevent the city from duplicating services, such as parking.
"It's a great deal," Kinnison said. "They will complement each other. If you separate them, you just take away from it."
Staff writer Jonathan Osborne can be reached at 886-3716 or by e-mail at osbornej@caller.com
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