At its monthly meeting Thursday afternoon, the Peoria Civic Center Authority board discussed a proposed $20 million investment from the City of Peoria to address a funding gap for the venue’s wish list of capital needs.
“That, combined with the DCEO (Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) grant that we've already received of $25 million, gets us close to that $47 million of capital improvement projects that we still need to do,” said PCCA board chair Yvonne Greer-Batton.
“But with that (grant award) being in 2019, the cost of almost everything has gone up. So, it doesn't mean all of the problems are solved. It just means we're better prepared to address them.”
Among the upgrades on the venue’s $47 million list are a new roof, heating and cooling system, carpeting and various other upgrades. Additionally, the outdated and faulty ice plant at Carver Arena needs to be replaced.
Since the Civic Center Authority cannot levy taxes on its own, it needs to rely on the city for additional funding. The city’s proposal would use revenue from existing Hotel, Restaurant and Amusement (HRA) taxes for the plan.
“This gets them closer to full capital funding of getting all that those capital needs funded. It's not all the way there, but it gets them closer,” Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich told WCBU on Friday morning. “We would not have to make any major changes to our agreements (and) there's no increase in taxes to anyone to do it. It's simply paid out of the proceeds of the HRA tax revenues that we receive.”
A final agreement on any deal has not yet been reached. The City Council is expected to discuss the proposal at its next meeting on Tuesday, with a potential vote likely on March 14. The Civic Center Authority scheduled a special meeting on March 13 to vote on possible intergovernmental agreement adjustments.
Urich said the HRA taxes produce about $10.6 million in revenues each year. He said the debt service from the $55 million in bonds the city issued in 2007 for an addition to the Civic Center will come off the books in 2028.
“As we started to look at that, we realized that we could wrap around some additional debt that could add another $20 million of capital financing for the Civic Center so that they could address the ice plant and some of their other needs. As we pay down that debt service, we would be able to do it and still provide some base level of maintenance support to the civic center as well.”
The lack of a long-term solution for the ice plant has been one of the sticking points delaying a new lease agreement between the Civic Center and the Peoria Rivermen hockey team. The current contract expires at the end of the current Southern Professional Hockey League season.
“Even though we would have the money to replace the ice plant, that is not a guarantee that the team would stay at the Peoria Civic Center,” said Greer-Batton. “We at the authority have agreed to negotiate in good faith, and we hope that the Rivermen are going to do the same and see if we can come up to a successful contract agreement. But right now, we don't have a contract that extends beyond the end of the current season.”
About 30 Rivermen fans attended the meeting. Three spoke during the public comment portion and pleaded with the board to make sure the team doesn’t leave.
“When you walk through those doors and into that arena, you become part of the Rivermen hockey family,” said longtime season ticket holder Jeremy Allen. “Don’t let yourselves be the one that breaks up that family.”
The ice plant was not high enough on the priority list to be covered by the $25 million state grant, so the city money would cover that cost. Original estimates placed the cost of a new ice plant at $2.5 million, but under this proposal, the Civic Center would set aside $4 million.
However, Greer-Batton noted a potential new ice plant would not be in place before the next hockey season begins.
“Ordering a new ice plant takes several months, and so we would not be able to get a new ice plant ordered and brought to us before the start of the 2023 season for the Rivermen,” she said.
The venue’s event calendar also doesn’t have a clear window for installation.
Asked if the Carver Arena rink can make it through another season with the current leaky ice plant, Greer-Batton said, “It is my guess — I couldn't say without the full authority chiming in on this — it is my guess that we would be able to make whatever investment was needed to buy whatever Freon has leaked out to successfully continue a season.”
