MANKATO — The city of Mankato has joined its two co-owners in approving a nearly $14 million plan to keep All Seasons Arena running and make some improvements to the 51-year-old community ice rink.
Following a detailed presentation Monday night, which came a week after the Blue Earth County Board and North Mankato City Council provided unanimous approval for the project, Mankato’s council had essentially just one question.
“When do we start?” Council President Mike Laven asked.
The answer is April, assuming construction bids come in at predicted levels.
The project, which is to be completed in time for the 2025-26 season, might not be everything local hockey boosters hoped for during a lengthy push for better indoor ice facilities. But without the new ice-making system that’s at the heart of the project, the South Rink — which hosts local high school games — could fail in a way that would not be fixable even with an emergency portable ice plant.
“We’re trying to avoid that at all costs,” Mankato City Manager Susan Arntz said.
Lofty dreams, rising price tags
For years, supporters of youth hockey and figure skating have dreamed of additional sheets of ice — either a new multi-rink facility to replace All Seasons or additional rinks to supplement the sheets there.
Back in 2012, the Mankato Area Hockey Association was asking the North Mankato City Council to build a two-sheet rink west of the Caswell Park softball complex. A study commissioned by the ASA Board of Directors the following year put the cost of a new rink at $3 million but cautioned the final price might be closer to “$5 million or a bit more depending upon future developments.”
Either way, it was more than either the local governments or private organizations were willing to pay.
A voter-approved extension of Mankato’s half-percent local sales tax in 2016 provided new hope, although indoor ice was only one of many potential expenditures authorized by the referendum. And costs continued to rise.
In 2019, MAHA proposed a two-rink facility at the junction of Highways 22 and 14, estimating it would cost $18 million. City officials later projected the actual cost at nearly $30 million when site preparation expenses and utilities were included.
The plan never advanced past initial concepts. Neither did briefly-considered alternatives that would have purchased private land near All Seasons for a one-rink expansion (estimated to cost $15.3 million) or expanded the downtown civic center with additional ice (preliminary price estimate: $17 million.)
After COVID stalled progress on all sports and rec projects for two years, a new problem emerged during the post-pandemic economic recovery — skyrocketing construction costs. Repairs at the civic center, renovation of Mankato’s municipal swimming facility and construction of a softball complex absorbed millions of dollars of sales tax revenue beyond what had been anticipated.
Arntz wanted to ensure that All Seasons Arena, which was slated for a $5.5 million modernization of its ice plant, wasn’t going to be the source of similar costly surprises. A comprehensive facility assessment sought by Arntz in 2022 found there were plenty. A consultant identified nearly $9 million in needed fixes — saying many of them were urgent.
A detailed plan
A detailed feasibility report completed earlier this month raised the price to $12.3 million, not counting financing costs that will push the total to $13.94 million. While the revised plan focuses on fixing the guts of the facility, it also aims to make it a better place to skate and spectate.
“Staff and the design team met with each of the end user groups to gather feedback on needs,” the Feb. 5 report states, “and the overwhelming consensus was formed to improve the ice systems to ensure continued ice availability, identify improvements to the lobby and spectator experiences, and clearly define the separation of players and spectators. The recommended improvements will advance each of these goals.”
The project won’t address parking concerns at the landlocked facility, which was built in 1973 with a second sheet of ice added in 1998. In fact, a 1,200-square-foot addition to house a new ammonia-based ice-making plant will actually eliminate a handful of west-side parking stalls.
But that ice plant and new ice floors and piping in the rinks will ensure that kids have a place to skate. Other mechanical fixes include new boilers, furnaces, water heaters and dehumidifiers. The project addresses fire code and accessibility issues as well.
Beyond bare-bones fixes, the North Rink will be reduced to NHL dimensions, creating room for the addition of a spectator mezzanine and seating for 450. The notoriously cramped arena lobby will be expanded. And the South Rink will see concessions and public restrooms moved to the second floor, creating a warm viewing area overlooking the ice for fans while enhancing the privacy of young skaters using first-floor locker rooms.
Parker Skophammer, administrative services director for the city of Mankato, praised facilities manager Jim Tatge and consultants ISG and Knutson Construction for the number of improvements they were able to squeeze out of a limited budget.
“They’ve stretched $12 million about as far as you can stretch it,” he said.
Divvying up the bill
Although the three local governments will pay the bulk of the project’s costs, Mankato Area Public Schools is making a $1.14 million contribution toward the construction. MAHA has committed to cover $180,000 for improvements to a training area used by hockey players.
That leaves Blue Earth County’s share of the project costs at $842,000 if bids come in at estimated levels. Mankato’s share, based on a formula that attempts to reflect the number of ASA users from each government’s jurisdiction, would be $7.57 million and North Mankato’s would be $2.43 million.
Blue Earth County is planning to pay cash for its portion, but the two cities and the school district intend to sell bonds for a portion of their shares. With those interest expenses included, the total project cost rises to $13.94 million, including $8.06 million for Mankato, $3.2 million for North Mankato and $1.5 million for the school district.
With Mankato’s approval Monday night, the project is to be put out for bid as soon as Tuesday with bids opened on March 19. The councils and County Board won’t have a strict yes-or-no decision about whether to accept the lowest bid when a contract is awarded in April. That’s because the project is being bid with alternates — meaning interested contractors will be asked to itemize what they would charge for eight potentially optional elements of the renovation.
Any or all of the alternates could be dropped to reduce costs, particularly if the bids come in higher than anticipated. Those items include new entry doors to the main lobby, planned new windows and other exterior improvements, and a system that would reuse the heat generated by the ice-making plant to warm the water used in restrooms and locker rooms.
Based on current estimates, the elimination of the alternates could reduce the final cost to $12.01 million — or $13.57 million with financing expenses included.