BREWER — Louis Janicki told a packed city hall Thursday afternoon that he was ready to go forward with plans to construct an ice arena in Brewer.

And his plans call for not just one sheet of ice, but two.

Janicki is the owner of the Kickit Soccer Shop in Brewer, coach of the Nokomis High School boys soccer team in Newport, and president of the U.S. Soccer Federation of Maine.

He said if all goes as planned, groundwork will be done in April and construction will begin in May with a mid-September opening scheduled.

City officials, figure skating and hockey participants and fans, and members of the media were told by Janicki that the concept for a new arena actually began last June when he was looking for a place to hold indoor soccer events. The closest facility, he said, was in Castine, which would limit the number of people who would participate.

It was later, while enjoying Thanksgiving with former University of Maine roommate and soccer and hockey teammate, Roger Theriault, owner of the Central Maine Civic Center in Lewiston, that the idea for the multi-purpose facility in Brewer materialized.

Janicki, accompanied by his wife Carol, said he knew that Penobscot Valley Ice Sports Inc. had considered such a proposal, so he met with members of that organization. That group’s plans had been put on hold because it was too expensive a project for a non-profit public organization to undertake. Janicki offered to construct a skating rink that could be used in off seasons for indoor soccer or inline skating, but he needed the support of the area skating and hockey supporters and the city.

Shawn Small, president of the PVICI, and his organization had laid the groundwork for such a project. They listened to Janicki’s proposal and threw their support to him. Then the city of Brewer joined in, said Janicki, and agreed to a public-private project.

Janicki compared the city’s support to what Freeport recently did in assisting L.L. Bean’s expansion plans through tax increment financing.

Janicki said the plans for the arena call for Phase I, the initial regulation-size hockey arena, and Phase II, which would allow for an eventual second rink at the same site. It would be used for ice skating from Sept. 15 to March 15.

Mayor Donna Thornton said the project still had to go through the permitting process with the planning board, and it must get site development approval from the Department of Environmental Approval.

Thornton pointed out that the Brewer Ice Arena will be privately owned and operated, which means that it will be generating new property taxes and expanding Brewer’s tax base.

Development of the arena should have a domino effect attracting other business to the area, according to Thornton.

The mayor explained that the city acquired 18 acres from the state after the I-395 project was completed. The city has agreed to sell the Janickis a four-acre parcel of the city-owned land behind Brewer High School for $80,000. The area is currently without any utilities, but with the arena moving into the area the city will be able to develop the remaining lots by extending Acme Road and installing water, sewer, and power utilities. Then the city can sell the lots for additional economic development.

The city has agreed to finance the land sale over a five-year term.

To assist Janicki with the land acquisition, Brewer will structure a Tax Increment Financing Credit Enhancement Agreement. The city will apply to the state Department of Economic and Community Development for the financing. The five-year TIF will contribute 50 percent of the developer’s real estate taxes to finance land acquistion costs.

Thornton said that because of current economic conditions, cities can no longer go ahead and finance such projects. The cost is prohibitive for private development as the Penobscot Valley Ice Sports group learned. Only by a partnership of private business and government can such projects be realized.

Small said there was sufficient ice time in the area and skating sports flourished when Alfond Arena and Sockalexis Memorial Arena on Indian Island were operating, but then Sockalexis closed and 50 percent of the ice time at the Alfond Arena was lost when it was converted part time to basketball play. Sawyer Arena in Bangor has helped, but more ice time is needed.

Small said his group represents 1200 to 1400 skaters in the immediate area.

Small also predicted that a second sheet of ice in Brewer will be sooner instead of later because support of skating sports is growing and the demand for ice time is there. He said since initial reports of the new arena were made, he has received inquiries from Ellsworth, Bucksport, Newport, Mount Desert Island, and all-girl youth leagues interested in using the facility.