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The dream of an arena, event center coming to Kalamazoo inches closer to reality
On Monday, the House passed the regional event center financing act, formally known as House Bill 4816.
It’s being sent to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office for final consideration before Kalamazoo County can begin working to bring the dream of the Kalamazoo arena and event center to reality.
For more than a decade now, bringing a massive arena and events center to Downtown Kalamazoo has been talked about.
The $110 million event center would be built between North Westnedge Avenue and Park Street, directly behind the new Hilton Garden Inn. It would be used to host conferences, sporting events, and concerts.
The bill would allow the Kalamazoo County Commission to raise the lodging tax by up to 4% to help provide a steady stream of funding to build and maintain the arena.
The tax would apply only to people staying in hotels in Kalamazoo. It would not impact Kalamazoo property tax rates.
The bill sponsor, Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Portage, said similar measures were already being used in other counties.
“In Detroit, the TCF Center was basically constructed using the economic tool. The Betsy Devos place in Grand Rapids also used a very similar tool,” said Iden.
With the bill ordered enrolled on Monday, it was in the hands of Whitmer who had until the end of 2020 to sign it. If she didn’t, it would be pocket vetoed.
If she does sign it, then it would go to hotel owners in the county for a vote.
“60% or more hotel room owners would have to participate in the vote and have to approve it,” said Iden. “They would choose accept the fact the additional dollars would then go to constructing and financing the project.”
If hotel owners approve the measure, it would be up to the Kalamazoo County Commission to finalize.
Kalamazoo County Commission Chair Tracy Hall said the current bill was more appealing than the last one, which included a restaurant tax.
“Many outspoken constituents a few years ago were against the arena. Would like to hear if the funding mechanism has changed their opinion on this,” said Hall.
Hall said the board would likely want to hear more from the developers about the job opportunities.
“How can we convey these jobs are done locally, and we’re hiring within our own county and urban core,” said Hall.
Hall said if all goes as expected, the county could create a board agenda item as early as January, but said it would likely be February.
On Sunday, Ron Kitchens with Southwest Michigan First said the initiative would only generate somewhere around $40 million. Kitchens said that would mean the county would still need to generate somewhere around $60 or $70 million dollars in private donations to make the arena and event center happen.
Kitchens said the hope was for ground to break on the arena and event center in Kalamazoo in 2024, and for it to be ready for occupancy by .
Building a new arena in Kalamazoo has been a decade long pursuit, and this was the closest it had gotten to becoming a reality.
“For me, as my last final act as I come out of the legislature, to be able to deliver an economic tool to our region, means a lot to me,” said Iden.
Iden said he was confident Whitmer would sign it.