Related articles:

City should be open about arena operators

Other articles by Rob O'dell:

New exec: Smaller steps key to Downtown2 Rio Nuevo design firms ranked tops in profitabilityCity to close for 5 added days to save some moneyCouncil: 'Safety initiative' means huge tax hikeDevelopers want Rialto's back rentSpring training evidently near endFinal cost to city for short film: $820,000City delay may doom Downtown dealDowntown deal revamped, drops housing, arts space Electric shocks could be problem at 3 parks

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President

Tucson's push for a new Downtown arena will gain renewed vigor this month, as the city is closing in on deciding on a company to operate it and will soon launch a search for a company to build it.

The city is now in negotiations with two operators before choosing one to run the day-to-day business of the arena: securing shows and tenants, running concessions and handling general upkeep. The operator would take either a fee or a percentage of the profit.

Next, the city will release a request for proposals to build the Downtown arena, which the City Council has mandated will not cost more than $130 million.

The city is looking for an arena in the 9,500- to 11,000-seat range that would cost less than that cap.

The council had previously approved a 12,300-seat arena designed to resemble a desert tortoise. But council support for that plan evaporated after an updated financial analysis showed the cost had grown from the $130 million originally approved by the council to $196 million. The arena would have been built by a Texas-based developer, Garfield Traub.

Garfield Traub is free to submit plans along with everyone else to develop a new arena, said Jaret Barr, an assistant to City Manager Mike Hein. The city expects to start its search for an arena builder before the end of the month, Barr said.

"Competition is a good thing . . . to get the best deal possible," Barr said.

The city didn't stick with Garfield Traub because the company wants to be the developer of the arena, rather than the contractor that would build it. Garfield Traub's previous plans had it overseeing a contractor that would actually build the arena.

Barr said that setup means "an extra layer of fees," and Tucson would rather hire just an architect and a contractor who would actually build the arena itself.

Some in the community, such as Tucson Convention Center Commissioner Michael Crawford, have criticized the city for not continuing to use Garfield Traub on the project, contending the arena could be built sooner if the city didn't solicit new bids.

Hein said the goal is to break ground on the new arena in March 2010.

That's just as fast as Garfield Traub could do it, Barr said.

But first, the city must select an arena operator, a process run by the city's Procurement Department.

The city won't release the names of the two operators who were selected as finalists out of the four companies that responded in the competitive bidding process. It also won't release the names of the three-member panel that is selecting the operator.

Members of the City Manager's Office were required to sign confidentiality agreements promising they would not disclose information about the search.

Procurement Director Mark Neihart said the city selected a process designed to limit any outside influence or pressure on the decision.

Because the Procurement Department doesn't handle development agreements, Neihart said the selection of the arena builder will not follow the same process as the selection of an operator.