Sedgwick County: INTRUST Bank Arena

The next stage┬áAfter 12 years of false dawns, Sedgwick County, Kansas is set to unveil the flagship in its revitalization of downtown WichitaÔÇöthe 15,000-seat INTRUST Bank Arena. Andrew Pelis reports. Plans for Sedgwick County to build a new facility to replace the 30-year-old Kansas Coliseum had been muted for many years and finally came to fruition following a public vote in November 2004.┬áRon Holt, assistant county manager for Sedgwick County Government, who coordinates all aspects of the project, says; ÔÇ£The County has owned and operated the Kansas Coliseum since 1978. The existing site is located roughly 12 miles north of WichitaÔÇÖs downtown area and was in dire need of renovation. About 12 years ago there was an effort to start looking at revitalizing downtown Wichita, and it was recognized that the city, with a population of 380,000, needed a downtown venue. There were numerous efforts by elected city leaders and local business people to get the Arena project off the ground, but none were successful. ÔÇ£The last effort was in 2002,ÔÇØ he continues, ÔÇ£and the folks running that project finally decided they too would have to put it on hold. The County Commissioner at that time indicated that it could no longer wait and would go ahead with an 18-to-24-month renovation project of the existing Kansas Coliseum. About 22 months down the line, the County was ready to announce a bid process for a $55 million project to renovate the Coliseum when various city leaders and public business leaders stated that it was critical to incorporate a new arena in the downtown area as part of the overall revitalization project.ÔÇØIn June 2004 the city and public business leaders submitted a plan to the County that was not viewed to be viable, so the County provided a counter-plan indicating that if the public wanted a downtown arena, it was willing to build one instead of renovating the existing Kansas Coliseum, but only if the public agreed to fund the entire project with a sales tax.ÔÇ£Opposition was very vocal, with not all residents wanting an arena downtown; part of the reason was that they preferred to renovate the Kansas Coliseum,ÔÇØ states Holt.The County and a sports commission therefore put together a plan and undertook a number of surveys, making tremendous effort to communicate the intentions for the new arena, and in November 2004 the project got the public go-ahead by a vote of 52 percent to 48 percent. At that stage the County sought approval from the State Legislature to collect a one percent sales tax over a 30-month period, and in April 2005 a bill was signed by the governor allowing the County to collect this sales tax from July 1, 2005, until December 31, 2007. Located in the center of the revitalizing area of downtown Wichita, the INTRUST Bank Arena will be a modern, first-class sports and entertainment venue housing the local ice hockey team, the Wichita Thunder, basketball games, rodeos, monster truck shows, concerts and family shows such as Disney on Ice.The design of the building involved three local architectural firms and HOK Sports of Kansas City, with the common aim of complementing the existing downtown area. ÔÇ£The exterior will be brick and limestone fa├ºades, and the expansive lobby view toward Kellogg will welcome visitors and blend with the surrounding architectural heritage,ÔÇØ explains Holt. ÔÇ£The south exterior has a large, contemporary design with a lot of glass and flowing lines, while the north part of the arena exterior ties in with the historic old town in which it is located.ÔÇØWhile the building is not LEED-accredited, it features a number of energy conservation initiatives offering a modernistic appearance. Having agreed on the design, the bid process took place in September 2007, and Sedgwick County was delighted that, though it received just one bid (from a local company partnered with a national firm), the bid was within its allocated construction budget. ÔÇ£The county used a design, bid and build process, and because the only bid we received was from a local construction company, many of the jobs created went to local people,ÔÇØ states Holt. ÔÇ£Because weÔÇÖre using a general contractor who is responsible for the entire construction of the arena, there have been no problems with workers or materials or even with prices. Materials are delivered for the most part on a just-in-time basis, with almost all our materials sourced locally, other than steel, which arrives from back East. We have a very good project, very good delivery and very good construction people who have put their hearts and souls into this project,ÔÇØ he enthuses.The nature of the financing has also safeguarded the project from the pitfalls of the current economic crisis. ÔÇ£It hasnÔÇÖt bothered us at all because we had this sales tax for 30 months,ÔÇØ assures Holt. ÔÇ£Construction started in November 2007, and we had sales tax collections through December 2007 providing $206.5 million in the bank for this project. When the project is completed it will be paid for in full, and weÔÇÖll have roughly a $12 million operational maintenance reserve fund.ÔÇØ Premium seating (20 suites, 40 loge boxes and 300 club seats) will be just one feature of the INTRUST Bank Arena, and encouragingly 14 of the 20 suites have already been sold. All the premium seating is on one side of the building, which allows seating for the general public on the halfcourt line on the other side of the building on an event-by-event basis.┬á The new arena is due to open in January 2010 and has been built with a life expectancy in excess of 30 years. The project remains firmly on target to meet its opening date. ÔÇ£Construction is about 60 percent through now,ÔÇØ explains Holt. ÔÇ£We have parking and landscaping work to complete on the exterior, and in a couple of months work can start in earnest on the interior finishing, electrical and mechanical aspects.ÔÇØThe INTRUST Bank Arena will make a large and long-term impact on downtown Wichita. Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita are working together to create a neighborhood that will make downtown a vibrant community and a destination point for years to come, in an atmosphere that provides for future economic development and enhances quality of life in an exciting center city.With the project progressing smoothly within its operating budget and on schedule, undoubtedly the people of Sedgwick County can look forward to a new arena of which they can truly be proud. ÔÇô Editorial research by Mike Fretwell┬á