Sports complex project clears two more hurdles

WASILLA -- The city of Wasilla's multi-million dollar sports arena project passed two important milestones last week, according to the city's project manager Don Moore. A committee chose the local construction contractor Howdie Inc. to work with the Anchorage-based architecture firm Kumin Associates to complete designs for the job.

The second milestone came when the city council voted to allow the city to exercise its power of eminent domain by taking about 190 acres that's needed for the sports arena, an extension of South Church Road to Mack Road and a new street leading to the Wasilla airport.

The city plans to build the arena on a 60-acre site within the parcel described in the eminent domain declaration. The land in question was once owned by the nonprofit The Nature Conservancy. It was purchased by the city once in 1998 but TNC also had a deal in the works with Gary Lundgren, a private land investor. The city sued both TNC and Lundgren and asked for its deal with TNC to be upheld. Wasilla has been declared the winner in the case, but appeals by Lundgren have kept title to the property under a legal cloud.

Moore said the fact that the two actions came at the same council meeting was more coincidental than anything else, but they are related.

"They are two important milestones in the project. That they came together [at the same meeting] was not something that was planned," Moore said. "We do need a contractor to assist in the cost estimates in order to go further with the design and most fundamentally, we need a building site."

The initial contract with Howdie is for $1, but Moore said it is being entered into with the understanding that the city intends to award Howdie the full construction contract at a later date.

The full contract will have a total value of between $11 million and $12.5 million, Moore said. The city has no obligation to pay Howdie for the full contract amount in the event that no solution for the real estate problem is found.

The project is proceeding with a design/build strategy, and a more accurate picture of the construction costs will be available before the next part of the contract is awarded. One factor will be the cost of related infrastructure such as the South Church to Mack Road extension and utilities to the arena. Moore said the city is attempting to build as much of the related infrastructure with federal and state funding as it can.

"We're trying to get as many of the bond-issue dollars as we can into the building," Moore said.