Arizona Arena Approved

Prescott Valley officials have signed off on a development agreement to build an estimated $20 million minor-league hockey and arena football venue in an underserved part of central Arizona, approximately 50 miles north of Phoenix.

Funding for the arena, in the downtown section of the rapidly growing town and region, will come largely from private sources.

With the Central Hockey League insistent on placing an expansion team in Prescott Valley in time for the season opener in November 2006, groundbreaking will need to take place by mid-June, Global Entertainment Inc. President/CEO Rick Kozuback told the Arizona Republic. Global Entertainment Inc. operates the CHL.

In addition to hockey and football, the arena will serve as a concert venue.

A feasibility study reported that the business community of Prescott Valley is in favor of the project, according to the newspaper.

“The majority of the business leaders we interviewed strongly believe that the proposed arena will provide a much-needed entertainment venue in a town that is otherwise lacking in this area.”

Operating revenues could exceed expenses by about $2 million in the arena’s first year and by about $1.5 million annually in the next four years, according to feasibility study projections cited by the Republic.

Those figures were based on 32 CHL games, 10 arena football games and 61 other annual events including concerts, trade shows and family entertainment.