Arena Work Behind the Scenes For Now

City Hall has been quiet lately on the proposal for a Downtown event center and hotel complex. But Councilor Debbie O’Malley expects the project to resurface next month. Here’s the latest:

• O’Malley told the Journal editorial board this week that the city has asked the developers to trim expenses and come back with another cost estimate. The original estimate was for about $400 million, which would have included a 550-room hotel, an 11,000-seat event center and related development.
• The development team has succeeded in finding “millions in savings,” O’Malley said, and might present a new report to the City Council in January. The cost of construction materials has dropped, which may help the project.
• The project probably can’t go forward without some financial help from the state government, she said. The city has hoped to get $60 million from the state. Whether that’s realistic isn’t clear, O’Malley said.
• The council added the event center and hotel complex to its “wish list” of projects that might get federal funding through an economic-stimulus package.

By way of background, I should mention that the plan would still require a one-eighth-cent increase in gross-receipts taxes. That would add 12.5 cents to a $100 purchase.

O’Malley, Council President Isaac Benton and Mayor Martin Chávez have all said they hope to send the project to voters for approval before moving forward with it.