Arena Back on the Table

M. V. Jantzen

City leaders are tying the future of Thalia Mara Hall to a sports-arena economic-impact study.

by Valerie Wells
February 1, 2012

City leaders fear that one day, the USA International Ballet Competition could leave Jackson because Thalia Mara Hall needs about $9 million in repairs.

"We stand the risk of losing it to other cities," Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. Told the Jackson City Council during its Jan. 24 meeting. He said other municipalities would jump at the chance to host the IBC.

The council voted Jan. 24 to pay an out-of-state firm to study the economic impact and need for an entertainment and sports venue in Jackson. Brailsford and Dunlavey of Washington, D.C., will evaluate the feasibility of a sports arena and suggest the best size, cost and location of a new facility. They'll also schedule the first three months of events.

After the city issued a formal request for proposals and received responses, an internal committee selected Brailsford and Dunlavey.

Mayor Johnson said that a private group had raised $70,000 in pledges for an arena study in 2010. "They hit a snag," the mayor said. "I decided to take it over. We weren't able to get $70,000 in pledges." The city is still seeking private funds to help offset the costs.

The city is tying the possible sports arena to the future of Thalia Mara Hall. Brailsford and Dulavey's sports arena study will cost $109,000; an additional Thalia Mara Hall study will cost no more than $15,000. The firm will study the hall for the economic impact its improvements might have on Jackson's central business district.

Thalia Mara Hall has had improvements in recent years, including a new roof, new seats, a new orchestral shell and a new floor. It still needs $9 million of work. "IBC is one of our biggest tourist venues," Councilman Quentin Whitwell said at the Jan. 24 City Council meeting. "Support of our arts is critical. We could spend a little to make a lot."

Council members had a chance question the proposed study before voting.

"What is this group going to tell us that we can't figure out for ourselves?" Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba asked.

At the Jan. 23 work session, representatives from Brailsford and Dunlavey told the council how they would conduct the study. Jason Thompson, a senior associate with the firm, said that the initial step is a market study. Next would come a feasibility study, then an impact study. The final step is implementation, and Thompson said his firm would plan the first two or three months of events and operations. They will even develop a budget for a sports arena. "This is not a cookie-cutter study," he said.

Brailsford and Dunlavey specializes in program management and facility planning for schools, universities, sports organizations and municipalities.

The firm would consult with Dale Partners Architects, a Jackson firm, and SOL Engineering, also based in Jackson. In addition, Brailsford and Dunlavey will work with Chicago-based CLK Consulting, a firm that specializes in operations and programming of sports events.

Some councilmen were skeptical that an arena would draw people. "We are not a major market," Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber said. "We don't have a major sports team."

"A sports team is definitely not necessary for a project like this," Thompson answered. "A sports team takes up the best dates."

The firm would look at the demand in the Jackson market and make suggestions based on it, Thompson said. First, the firm would look at the possibility of having a sports tenant, possibly with a small semi-pro league. Then, the firm would look at touring shows, such as Disney on Ice, and determine if enough people in central Mississippi would pay to see them. Next, the firm would evaluate the feasibility of high-school and college events. "Some arenas have a college team tied to it," Thompson said.

Yarber wanted to know if Thompson meant that the first thing to do is to bring in a sports tenant.

"We are not here to push you," Thompson said. His firm will look at the market and see what Jackson can support. When Council President Frank Bluntson asked him about size, Thompson said it depends on what the study shows. He said he was hesitant to throw out a number, but that if he had to guess before doing the study, he thought Jackson might support a mid-size arena.

The firm is looking at sites in the area bounded by Fortification Street, U.S. Highway 80, Gallatin Street and the Pearl River.

"We don't want to cannibalize what is already happening," Thompson said.

"We will look at what is going on. Don't do this project at the expense of another. That's not the purpose."

At the Jan. 24 meeting, Lumumba suggested Lake Hico as a site for a larger sports complex to include ball fields. He thought that might be a better option for the city. He was the only council member to vote against the arena study.

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