Thanks to Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive for their support. With pictures, videos, and calm explanations of your inspection, Turbo Tim’s helps you understand issues and make caring for your car easy!
While the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame chose a site in Inver Grove Heights last year for their new facility, it’s far from a done deal. The Minnesota Legislature turned down their $25 million funding request, leaving the project exploring other options. Inver Grove Heights City Council received an update on the project during a work session on Tuesday.
What Is It?
The proposal: A 140,000-square-foot facility, featuring a Hall of Fame and museum, ice arena, performance venue, events center, and restaurant.
Where: Just south of Interstate 494 at Argenta Blvd. and 65th St., east of the Viking Lakes facility.
Cost: The current price tag is $112 million:
- $40 million private capital: According to the developer, this has been secured.
- $30 million in private fundraising: This hasn’t been raised yet, though they’re building relationships and waiting to secure state funding before making asks. Kelly Brooks-Paradise, daughter of hockey legend Herb Brooks and president of the Herb Brooks Foundation has enthusiastically endorsed the project.
- $20 million state funding: During the last legislative session, they asked for $20 million in cash and it didn’t come through. In general, the state does a lot more bond funding than cash.
- $22 million city funding: The city is expected to acquire the land and make improvements (grading, utilities, roads, parking), which are estimated at $20-22 million. The city has a purchase agreement for the property, locking the price in at $8.7 million. The city asked the state for $5 million general obligation bonds, which also did not come through.
Timeline: The initial timeline planned for construction to start in 2026 with an opening in 2028, though with delays in funding that’s going to be pushed back. The city’s purchase agreement for the property was recently extended through the end of 2027.
Retooling: The developer has worked to reconfigure the project, including cost reductions from the original nearly $150 million design and finding partners. Those reductions included scaling back on lavish interior design, dropping a second story, lowering the quality of ice from an NHL standard to something more modest, and reassessing some plans (e.g., refocusing performance space on local acts instead of national acts). But the facility footprint remains unchanged. They’re also planning to partner with APX Hockey, a hockey performance and training organization that wants to consolidate their operations in one location and would be a long-term lessee and operator of the arena.
“This particular project is one of the more impactful, ambitious, and really good projects that I’ve seen. This has great potential,” said Dean Urdahl during the work session. Urdahl is a former state representative and lobbyist for the project. “The changes made fall in line with my philosophy to do the possible and make the best of it.”
City owned: They’re also exploring a shift to the city owning the facility and leasing it. That would make the project eligible for general obligation bonds from the state, which are much easier to secure, though it also adds risk for the city.
Council’s take: The work session was just an informational update with no action taken. Council members didn’t state their positions, though Council Member Mary T’Kach was the most skeptical, peppering the developers with questions. Council Member John Murphy also said “the icing had come off the cake” and called the project a harder choice.
More: Get more details on the project from the Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame or the city’s project page.
Want more stories like this focused on Inver Grove Heights? Become a member and support local news.
