The long-awaited dream of bringing a hockey arena to Mohawk Harbor is nearing its completion. The city council has given a unanimous nod to allocate $2.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding towards the project during its recent Monday night meeting.
The final financial hurdle for the $50 million arena, set to be the home ground for the Union College men’s and women’s Division 1 hockey teams, will be tackled at the county Legislature on Tuesday evening. The county board is considering a $5 million ARPA funding contribution to the project.
Last summer, the city council decided to withdraw $2.5 million in ARPA funding that was initially granted to the proposed Capital Region Aquatic Center in 2022. This decision was made after the aquatic center revealed plans to relocate its project from Mohawk Harbor to Rotterdam.
After considering a plan to include the $2.5 million in ARPA funding in the 2024 city budget last fall, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy proposed last month to utilize the funding to bring the arena project to life.
“I’m delighted to see the project progressing,” McCarthy expressed on Tuesday. “It’s going to further enhance the significant economic activity we have downtown with Mohawk Harbor and throughout the community.”
As per the county’s proposed agreement with arena developers Galesi Group, the arena would serve as a secondary venue capable of hosting county events such as the SUNY Schenectady graduation or the SummerNight festivities in case of bad weather.
The city council is scheduled to discuss a community benefits agreement for the Mohawk Harbor arena during a special council meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. This agreement would detail the city’s requirements for the developers to receive the Schenectady ARPA funding.
“I anticipate it will be similar or complementary to what was proposed in the county’s narrative,” McCarthy said regarding the city’s community benefits agreement.
During the council’s Feb. 5 meeting, Galesi Group CEO David Buicko assured the council that the developers would agree to clawbacks. These would stipulate that city money must be returned if the arena owners fail to meet the terms of the forthcoming agreement, which could include a clause guaranteeing a certain amount of time reserved at the arena for community and school district events.
“I’m still gathering my information, but I want to ensure that we have clearly outlined how the community can benefit from this resource,” City Councilman Carl Williams said regarding the forthcoming discussions on the community benefits agreement.
The special Thursday meeting of the council’s City Development & Planning Committee will also include a discussion of the city ARPA projects that are still pending. The council awarded a total of $25.9 million in ARPA funding for 33 projects in the summer of 2022 and has until the end of 2024 to allocate the federal funding with several projects facing deadlines to secure outside funding.
Schenectady County Metroplex Chair Ray Gillen commended the council for backing the arena project, which is expected to break ground this spring and is projected to open in time for the Union College hockey season in the fall of 2025.
“We are grateful to Mayor McCarthy and the city council for approving funding for the new Mohawk Harbor Arena,” Schenectady County Metroplex Chair Ray Gillen said on Tuesday. “This is a $50 million investment that will attract more visitors, create jobs, and increase tax revenue for Schenectady County while providing residents with a year-round indoor sports and entertainment venue.”
City Councilman Joseph Mancini highlighted the potential for the Schenectady City School District to host events at the arena as a community benefit of the arena project.
“I believe it will continue to draw people into Mohawk Harbor and inject more vitality into the city and continue its development,” he said of the project. “I love the idea of hosting various sporting events and trade shows. It has a lot of potential and I’m excited about it.”
Galesi Group is contributing $20 million in funding to the arena, which will be owned by the real estate firm, with Union College entering into a $20 million deal to host the school’s two hockey teams at the arena for 25 years.
“I’m very enthusiastic about this,” City Councilwoman Doreen Ditoro said on Tuesday. “I believe the arena will boost businesses in the city on multiple levels. With the college, there will be many people that can support the hockey teams, but any type of youth hockey could practice there and with youth sports I’m sure that it will be opened up to the youth in our community. Also on a different level, with our trade shows everyone would benefit.”
Ditoro said that she does not want to see the council place restrictions on the developers in the community benefits agreement.
“I’m going to wait and see what Council President [Marion] Porterfield specifically wants in there,” she said. “This is privately run by the Galesi group and I don’t think we should demand what we want in there. Obviously we want to make sure that the community benefits from the event center.”
Disagree. This decision seems like a waste of taxpayer money. There are more pressing issues that could benefit from this funding.
Disagree. Taxpayer money should be allocated towards more essential needs in the community instead of funding a new arena.