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The cost of a new Downtown arena has risen more than 50 percent, pushing the price tag to nearly $200 million and potentially killing the project.

The higher cost has also put a hold on finalizing a deal to build a taxpayer-financed Downtown hotel because of the increased likelihood that plans for a new arena could be scrapped.

Plans for that hotel are on hold until the City Council discusses the arena costs in late April, said project manager Jaret Barr. That's because the council voted unanimously last year for a new arena where the costs did not exceed $130 million.

Several city officials said the idea of rehabbing the arena at the Tucson Convention Center is now back on the table because of the $196 million estimate to build a new arena.

The new arena's projected price tag was uncovered by a public-records request by the Arizona Daily Star that was released Friday.

After the information was released, Tucson Convention Center Director Rich Singer released a memo to the City Council saying the costs of the new arena had increased to $166 million.

But other e-mails obtained by the Star showed infrastructure and other costs such as furniture would raise the arena's price tag another $25 million to $30 million, to as much as $196 million.

"Keep in mind that this estimate does not include operator FF&E (Furniture, Finishes and Equipment), city contingency, chilled water piping and plant expansion and so on. All of this could add another $25-$30M (million)," Bill O'Malley, construction manager for the Down-town redevelopment project Rio Nuevo, wrote in an e-mail to Singer.

Singer said he informed the council of the cost increases after learning from the city attorney that the e-mails would be released to the Star. He said he didn't plan to tell council members otherwise, although he had known of the new cost estimate since at least March 19, e-mails show.

He said very little real design work has been done and that the costs could actually be lower. He said the new cost projections may be larger than the actual costs to build the arena.

But council members said the projected cost increases should at the very least have them reconsidering their decision to build an arena.

Councilwoman Shirley Scott said the projected price tag is too large for the arena to be funded by taxpayers, adding it instead should be built by the private sector. "That number strikes me as too much . . . as way over the top," Scott said.

Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said the council needs to discuss the new figures to decide if building an arena is still the best decision. "Anytime a cost of a project shifts that dramatically, I would want to revisit that decision," Uhlich said.

The issue was already put on the council's agenda for late April by Councilwoman Nina Trasoff who said given the new numbers, "it's a perfect time to revisit it."

E-mails show Trasoff was doing her own work on the new arena, as she had sent conceptual plans for Tucson's arena to an architectural company in Toronto — Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects.

Architect Murray Beynon trashed the design of the arena, saying it was "one of the worst designs that I have ever seen."

Trasoff said her efforts were only meant to answer the question "is this the right arena?" for Tucson.

Only Mayor Bob Walkup did not express concern, contending this is the first time anyone has seen real numbers relating to the arena's cost.

He said the city needs a new arena but needs to build only what it can afford. He rejected the idea of rehabbing the TCC arena, however, saying it has been obsolete for years.

The city shouldn't be surprised at the new costs said Bruce Ash, a Tucson businessman.

"This should not have been a surprise. I think they have been lowballing it all along," Ash said. "That kind of number is what I always expected it to be."

Ash said a new arena is critical for Downtown, and, without it, the city could lose new high-end restaurants, future Downtown events and "a host of business- and convention-related traffic."

He suggested the city seek out a private-sector developer to build an arena, and said the city should reject calls to redevelop the TCC arena, calling it "awful."

Attorney Larry Hecker, a member of the new supergroup of public and private interests trying to redevelop Downtown, was less pessimistic.

He said the council was right to reconsider the arena plans given the increased costs but said the city is still "close to getting a vibrant Downtown."

"If that cost gets prohibitive, there are other things that can be done," Hecker said. "The idea of an arena is a good one, but I don't think the success of Downtown depends on it."

The council voted unanimously to build a new $130 million, 12,300-seat arena oriented north-south along the Interstate 10 frontage road just south of West Congress Street.

Another $64 million would go toward expanding the TCC and converting the existing arena to convention space.

A third component for the redevelopment was a new $250 million convention center hotel complex, which city officials hope will generate enough revenue to cover the debt service on the hotel and a portion of the arena mortgage. Construction of the hotel would be financed using the city's access to low-interest, tax-exempt financing.

In November, a city committee recommended Texas-based developer Garfield Traub be selected to build a $203 million, 707-room Sheraton hotel to pair with a remodeled Tucson Convention Center.

But the panelists recommended spending $28 million to buy the nearby Hotel Arizona on Broadway from owner Humberto S. Lopez and $17 million to buy seven acres of prime real estate Downtown from Allan Norville.

Barr, the hotel project manager, had been negotiating with Norville and Lopez for the past five months, but he said that would stop until the arena issue can be resolved. The arena plans do not affect hotel financing, Barr said, but what is done with the arena affects the location of a new convention hotel, and could affect the decisions to buy Norville's and Lopez's properties.

City Manager Mike Hein said people need to wait until all the numbers come in for the hotel, arena and TCC renovations before passing judgment.

"There's a point at which you say it's not economically feasible," Hein said. "We may try to look at rehabilitating the existing arena. Until I get all the numbers together, I don't know."