Council Recommends Moving Ahead with Arena Expansion

A proposed $3.4 million addition to aimed at bringing the 46-year-old facility in line with other Twin Cities hockey arenas received unanimous approval from Edina City Council members Tuesday night.

Dubbed The Hornet's Nest, the 24,000-square-foot addition would be located just north of Braemar Arena's west rink. In addition to creating permanent locker rooms for 's boys and girls varsity and JV hockey teams, the two-level building would feature dry-land training facilities and a 3,000-square-foot retail space.

Eric Anderson, alongside the nonprofit organization Drive for the Hive, has been pushing for changes at the aging ice arena for some time now. Anderson said Edina hockey players are often forced to travel to Woodbury, Wayzata and Eden Prairie for training, rather than patronizing their hometown arena.

"The times have changed and Braemar has changed very little," Anderson said.

Anderson explained the lack of permanent locker rooms for the EHS teams was the impetus for the project, but said while exploring options to remedy the situation it became clear there was also a "great need for a training facility."

"We've since discovered that fulfilling that need is a way to drive additional revenue to Braemar," he said. "So it felt like a win-win."

Parks & Recreation Director John Keprios said the additional space created a sort of "domino effect" at the arena, making a series of modifications to already existing structures increasingly necessary.

Between relocating the Zamboni room, renovating the current Zamboni room to expand the lower level lobby space, creating lower level ADA pathway access and installing a railing to create a standing room only space in the arena, the additional improvements add up to $481,345.

Drive for the Hive has offered to help fund 25-percent of the proposed $3.4 million project through private donations, totaling out to nearly $740,000. The city would fund the remaining $2.7 million through 20-year bonds.

The initial negative cash flow estimates would be offset by $42,000 in annual surcharge revenues and $48,000 in additional revenue generated by the sale of an estimated 320 hours of ice rental available due to the addition of the dry-land training facility. Not counting that anticipated $48,000, city officials expect the arena to post a negative cash flow in the first year. Within 10 years, however, the arena would have a $15,889 operating balance.

Council member Ann Swenson said she was comfortable with donors helping fund the project, so long as the name of the arena is not altered.

"I view this as a city-owned piece of property and I guess that I don't see it as the Target Center, nor the Xcel Center," Swenson said. "I think it's great fundraising is being done—I appreciate that and it's how we get something like this done in the city—but I prefer that it be of the people and stay that way."

Council member Joni Bennett raised some questions over whether the city should be allowing a commercial entity to occupy space on public land. In this case, Bennett said it appears the project costs are going to be paid for "through  privatization on public land."

"That's where I get less comfortable," Bennett said. "We don't have a policy on that. We've had other proposals come forward to us in the past and it's been difficult to address them because we haven't had a policy on them."

Mayor Jim Hovland countered Bennett's concerns, pointing out several other successful collaborations both in Minneapolis and other neighboring communities.

"You don't have to look far to see examples of it," Hovland said. "It's just something we haven't entered into—at least as far as this council is concerned—before. We're going to feel our way together and we're going to venture into some new territory."

Hovland conceded there is undoubtedly some element of risk involved in a venture like this, but said nobody should be fearful of entering into an agreement given the amount of thought and work that has already gone into the project.

"Unless you're pushing forward, you're going backward," he said.

The project will now funnel back through the city for various approvals, next scheduled to appear before the Planning Commission on May 23 to rezone the property to allow retail and dry-land training space. Provided all goes according to plan, the final rezoning and a public hearing on the project could then take place at the City Council's June 5 meeting.

Follow Edina Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter