The Worthington City Council will take additional time to consider how much money it wishes to commit to a proposed new ice arena facility in the community.
Council members heard a review of schematic plans for the arena as well as total project cost estimates during a special meeting Wednesday afternoon. Worthington Independent School District 518 has already committed $5 million to a new ice arena facility; Nobles County has said it would not contribute to the project.
Director of Public Works Todd Wietzema presented plans and cost estimates for the arena, noting that a local committee worked with Greystone Construction of Spirit Lake. The proposed arena would be a pre-cast concrete structure.
Total estimated project costs are $19,897,950 for a single-sheet arena and $28,758,900 for a two-sheet arena. Deduction of an elevated walking track included in the design would result in a savings of $1,585,000. Costs estimates for 2025, which takes into account 2.5% inflation, and 2026, which takes into account 5% inflation, were also presented.
The new ice arena would include seating that's about one-third more than what's available currently. There would be one or two NHL-sized rinks, four youth locker rooms, two varsity locker rooms, and upstairs and lobby viewing areas. The arena would be located off of Bioscience Drive and west of U.S. 59 and be available year-round.
The city has about $2 million to $3 million available from Worthington Regional Hospital sales proceeds that could give the arena financial project a boost, and bonding could be pursued for additional dollars. Council members will now consider what to do next, including looking into potential private interest in the project, the feasibility of a capital campaign and what operating costs may be at similar facilities.
Also Wednesday, the Worthington City Council unanimously approved a motion placing no limiting the amount of cannabis retail registrations in the city.
Council members had taken action in June to retain licensing and regulatory authority of cannabis-related businesses within the city, and this was the next step in the process to establish cannabis ordinances. State law requires that a local government entity must issue at least one retail registration per 12,500 residents, which means the city would have needed to issue a minimum of two registrations.
The council had three options to consider on the matter – limiting the number of retail registrations to two, setting a higher number or setting no limit. The latter was chosen, as city staff expressed concerns about limiting registrations fairly and anticipation about the market for retail stores in Worthington.
Retail cannabis businesses will need to first obtain a license with Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management, then register locally. Cities will have some flexibility to decide where these businesses can be, with an example of required distance from a school cited. There will be a limit on what cities can charge for registrations, but that has yet to be finalized. The Worthington Police Department would be responsible for compliance checks on the retail cannabis businesses in the city.
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