The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber is joining those calling for a new entertainment arena. A report released Monday morning says the nearly 50-year-old Heritage Bank Center is limited in what events it can host. The report reviews the costs for a replacement, how it could be financed, what is needed in a new arena, and possible locations.
Consultants hired by the Chamber say the current site is too expensive to re-invent and identified several alternatives, ranging from Covington to Warren County. Two places were singled out as the top contenders: the western end of Downtown, and the building that houses the Towne Center Garage and Crosley Telecommunications Center, home to WCET.
The Downtown site would be southwest of the Duke Energy Convention Center, on land reclaimed with the reorganization of the I-75 roadways leading to and from the Brent Spence Bridge and the future companion span. Designers say they will be able to create 11 acres of space for development.
The Towne Center Garage and Crosley Telecommunications Center is at Central Parkway and Ezzard Charles, and is close to Music Hall and TQL Stadium.
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Sites were judged on criteria including ease of acquisition, proximity to population and parking, access to public transit, and nearby amenities.
A site next to the Hard Rock Casino, in the northeast corner of the basin, also was identified as a contender, but the report says stakeholders were concerned it felt “isolated” from the rest of Downtown.
The cost and possibilities to pay for it
The price of land acquisition and construction for an 18,000-person capacity could be anywhere from $550 million to $650 million.
The report identifies several paths to pay for a new arena, with a 70% public, 30% private funding split. Public funds could come from tax increment financing, a new Hamilton County sales tax, or a sin tax on alcohol, tobacco, and legalized marijuana. A fee on ride share operations, naming rights, and sponsorships also were identified.
“A new Cincinnati arena would operate profitably even without a major league tenant and would not require ongoing operating support from a public entity,” the report says.
The authors say a new arena would allow the area to host NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments, larger scale concerts, and other conventions.
The Heritage Bank Arena currently is home to hockey, other sports, concerts, and other entertainment, but the number of events has been dropping since 2016, according to the report.
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Renovating the current facility or building new on the site were considered, but had problems including costs, and downtime during work. A renovation could take 12 to 18 months, while building new on the site could take twice as long.
"The current arena site is too complicated and too expensive for a new, modern arena," the report says. "However, it is imperative that the future of this site continues to support the infrastructure, planned development and growth, and existing businesses at The Banks."
The report says “doing nothing will not preserve the status quo,” arguing that the region’s ability to attract “high quality programming will likely diminish” as performances get more elaborate, and peer cities “outpace us.”
