Officials impressed during tour
By Steve Hunter
Nearly everyone who took a private tour June 9 of the more-than-half-built Kent Events Center left with the same reaction.
“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” said Kent City Councilman Ron Harmon, during the tour led by Kent Economic Development Director Ben Wolters and project superintendent Neal Schaefer. About a dozen officials were there for the tour.
The anticipation continues to grow for all of those involved with the construction and operation of the 6,025-seat arena under construction at West James Street and Fifth Avenue North. The $78.6 million center is slated to open in January 2009, and will be anchored by the Seattle Thunderbirds minor-league hockey team, although the facility is planned to serve as a venue for a variety of regional events. The T-birds presently operate out of Seattle’s KeyArena.
Representatives from the city, the Thunderbirds and the center’s newly hired management company SMG, were part of the tour.
“Every week I walk through it’s amazing how quickly it changes,” said Colin Campbell, assistant general manager of the Thunderbirds minor league hockey team. The team that will be the anchor tenant of the arena. “It will be exciting for our product and all of the events. I think it will be very, very exciting to watch an event here.”
The Thunderbirds plan to move to Kent in January, the middle of their 2008-2009 season. They have a 30-year contract with the city to be at the center, and they’ll play upwards of 40 games a season there.
Today, construction of the center is about 60 percent complete.
“We’re a little ahead on the interior and a little behind on the exterior,” said Schaefer, who is employed by Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, the lead contractor. “We need some good weather.”
When the tour group walked up a temporary stairway to reach the suite level of the arena, everyone got a sense of just how close fans will be to hockey games, concerts and other events planned for the facility.
“People are excited about the atmosphere,” Campbell said. “The KeyArena suites are 10 rows higher and there’s a tighter slope here. Everything will be close to watch, no matter what’s going on.”
A total of 20 suites, ranging from 10 to 16 luxury seats each, will run along the sides of the arena. The Thunderbirds have sold 13 of the suites, Campbell said.
The Thunderbirds also have sold about 1,700 season tickets for 2008-2009. Ninety-two percent of last year’s season-ticket holders have renewed, Campbell said. The renewal rate has ranged from 80 to 85 percent the last few years at KeyArena.
Construction continues on the roof and exterior. That work should be complete in about eight weeks, so that construction can begin on the suites, Schaefer said.
The glass facade at the front of the building facing West James Street will be one of the last pieces of construction. The glass will run 16 feet from the ground to a steel beam across the front of the building. Stainless steel will cover the upper part of the building.
Another feature of the facility will be the 2,400-square foot Rainier Room on the upper level in the southeast corner with windows looking toward Mount Rainier. The room will be available to rent for meetings or special events.
The Thunderbirds will operate a team store at the center, to the right of the main entrance. The box office will be to the left of the entrance.
Promoters have shown a lot of interest in booking events at the new arena, said Tim Higgins, the SMG employee who will function as general manager of the center.
“Every facility has a honeymoon period of one to two years,” Higgins said during the tour. “But we truly believe the honeymoon will carry on indefinitely here. You’ll see a lot of shows.”
Higgins said it was too early to reveal the names of any shows, but he added, “Big acts are looking here.”
Wolters agreed with Higgins that it’s too soon to say who’s coming to town, show-wise.
“There will be a time very soon when we will not want to keep it a secret,” Wolters said. “But we’ll wait until we can lock down contracts.”
Public tours of the events center will start once the facility is completed, Wolters said. The city also plans a grand-opening party for the public.
Contact Steve Hunter at 253-872-6600, ext. 5052 or shunter@reporternewspapers.com.
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