AUBURN — Developers say competing site proposals for a new two-rink ice arena comes down to cost versus vision.
The plan to put the arena on Turner Street would be cheaper and could put visiting families, ready to spend money, in the middle of the Auburn Mall area, according to developer George Schott.
“The closer this rink is to all the amenities, the hotel, Walmart, restaurants and all that, the better it is for people attending tournaments,” said Schott, who is promoting using a lot he owns on Turner Street behind Shaw’s.
“For that reason, this is the absolute best site,” Schott said. “You just cannot get closer to the mall, or to Shaw’s and all the restaurants.”
But a plan to put it off Stetson Road could tie it in firmly with other planned recreation facilities, making the area a destination for visitors all by itself.
“I think we have a tremendous opportunity here to really make an impact for our region, if we work together. The city has a ready, willing and able partner and we’d hope they’d think beyond the rink.”
City councilors have scheduled another review of ice rink proposals at 5:30 p.m. Monday in Auburn Hall, part of that evening’s workshop.
City Manager Clinton Deschene said the meeting will be light on new information about either proposal. Instead, councilors hope to hear public opinions on the idea of building an ice arena and where it should go.
Both plans are designed to ease crowding for area hockey programs while providing an economic boost to the mall area.
Recreation officials estimate the arena should be built with room for 2,000 spectators.
That could make Auburn a destination for state and even New England youth hockey tournaments, bringing in families to stay in area hotels, shop in local businesses and eat in Twin Cities restaurants.
The YMCA favors making the proposed Auburn dual rink ice arena part of its larger recreation area south of Stetson Road and between Center Street and North River Road.
Their 76-acre plan calls for a traditional YMCA facility — with gymnasiums, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and day care space — on-site softball and athletic fields and a new and improved summer camp site for YMCA youth.
The entire complex would be linked with a mile-long athletic trail that would follow Bobbin Brook to the south and could be made to link up with the Androscoggin River and the planned Androscoggin Riverlands State Park upstream in Turner.
“We have access to the river,” DuBois said. “You could drive in and park with your mountain bike and off you go. Someday there’ll be all these walkways along the river, in addition to the trails we have on our campus. Or you could park and take your kayak and hop on the river.
The YMCA’s plan for their complex looks long term and would be years in the making. But a fast-tracked dual rink ice surface — complete with an on-site parking lot and driveway access to Stetson Road — would be a huge benefit to the YMCA.
“Rather than both of us developing separate lots, we could get together and share those development costs,” DuBois said. “We could share maintenance costs on the parking and combine some program costs. So, it would help on startup, absolutely. But it’s longer term, too. It’s more than just getting a road paved.”
Today’s estimates give site work, paving and utility work a $1.5 to $2 million price tag.
That’s where Schott’s proposed Turner Street site shines. It’s only 8.5 acres and wouldn’t have room for any other recreation facilities — just the rink and associated parking.
But it’s also only 131 feet away from Turner Street and bounded on three sides by roads. City estimates say site work expenses could be a third of those at the YMCA’s site.
“It’s substantially cheaper because it already has everything,” Schott said. “It has sewer service and it has three water mains along the side of it. So, as far as bringing in utilities, it’s a lot cheaper. It’s served by three roads. Providing those items can be very expensive, but they are already here and that’s huge.”
And while both sites are less than a mile’s drive from each other, Schott’s Turner Street site is more clearly in the middle of the Auburn’s developed mall area.
“Both sites have merits,” Schott said. “This one is more convenient. Both are free, so you can’t go wrong there. But this one is cheaper to build and I think you don’t have to say much more.”
The financial details and operations plan are the same for both sites.
The plan calls for developer Schott to bear most of the upfront costs, no matter which site the city chooses. Schott would borrow the $8.5 million to build the facility using private financing, leasing it back to the city each year for 30 years.
On the Turner Street lot, the city would have the option of buying the property outright. The YMCA would retain land ownership, according to its scenario.
City officials envision the rink costing slightly less than $1.25 million per year to operate. That would include staff salaries, property tax payments to the city and lease payments on the property.
They expect the facility to make slightly more than $1.25 million in revenues, from sign advertisements, concession and pro shop sales and ice rental. They forecast making a $5,687 profit the first year of operation, increasing slightly each year. That money would go into a ice rink enterprise fund.
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