Bangor council to revisit plans for new arena

BANGOR – City officials are going to take another look tonight at plans to replace the aging Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center.

The arena issue resurfaced during a January meeting of the council’s finance committee as members were considering whether to fund an update to a 2003 study by HOK Associates.

The city tapped the Kansas City, Mo., architectural firm to develop preliminary designs for the arena and evaluate possible locations.

After several council members raised questions about the project, however, the update was put on hold pending further discussion.

That will take place tonight during a workshop set for 5:15 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall.

Patricia Blanchette wondered if residents really want a new arena, especially one they might someday have to support financially. She also thought city officials had not sought enough input from residents about the matter.

Blanchette and council colleague Annie Allen thought the matter should be put to the community, perhaps in the form of a referendum question.

According to city documents relating to the arena project, HOK began with a list of 20 sites and pared them nine locations they deemed feasible.

The nine sites, some owned by the city and others privately held, included the Bass Park property and several waterfront and downtown sites, areas few had thought of as contenders before.

HOK’s plan called for a three-level, 220,000-square-foot facility comprising a 7,500-seat arena and adjacent convention center.

HOK estimated the cost at $40 million.

In a related 2002 study, Minneapolis-based Convention Sports and Leisure International concluded Bangor could support an arena of up to 7,500 seats, a 25 percent increase in seats from the existing auditorium.

But much has changed since then.

Some of the sites no longer are available, and some space that was thought to be off-limits since has opened up.

The city has identified a revenue source to cover the cost of the project. As it now stands, the city is socking away the revenues it is receiving as host city for Hollywood Slots at Bangor, which opened in November 2005 in the former Miller’s Restaurant.

The city now has more than a year of racino revenue data under its belt and can more accurately project funding and its timeline, Barrett said last week.