Key hockey officials back Lind’s Greeley arena plan

GREELEY — Joe Sakic and two other key hockey officials have thrown their considerable weight behind an ambitious proposal to build a $1.1 billion complex including an arena and three ice sheets for youth hockey in west Greeley.

Sakic, a star player and team captain who helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to two Stanley Cups and now serves as the team’s president for hockey operations, joined Scott Howson, president and CEO of the American Hockey League, and Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey, in writing letters to the Greeley City Council in support of Windsor-based developer Martin Lind’s “Cascadia” proposal, which would include a new arena for the Colorado Eagles minor-league franchise that Lind owns, if Greeley officials approve the plan.

“The Colorado Eagles have been the American Hockey League affiliate of the Avs since 2018,” Sakic wrote. “Excellent partners since day one, both organizations share the commitments of giving back to the community through the sport of hockey and growing the game throughout Colorado. The Greeley West Side Project will help us continue to fulfill both.

“I have very fond memories of my time playing youth hockey,” he wrote. “My local rink was a place for kids to congregate and have fun. Had I not been fortunate enough to have hockey be my career path, I know the lessons I learned on the ice and from my coaches would have translated into any profession.

“Similarly, I always enjoyed attending professional hockey games whenever possible. Sport has the unparalleled ability to not only unite, but bring joy to many people, and there is nothing quite like cheering on your home team in person.”

The arena proposed for Greeley, Sakic wrote, “will allow more people to experience the game of hockey, whether it be as players or spectators. The three ice sheets dedicated to youth hockey will afford even more kids the opportunity to learn both hockey and life skills, and the new arena will give Eagles’ fans a best-in-class in-game experience. This project will not only introduce the sport to new players and fans, but will also be a hub for community activities, and I fully support it.”

Howson’s letter noted that the 32-team AHL drew almost 7.4 million fans to its games last season and that the Eagles, a farm club for the Avalanche, “are one of the premier franchises of the AHL with sellouts every game over the past two-plus seasons and a game presentation that is second to none.”

When he has attended Eagles games at their current home at the Larimer County-owned Ranch Events Complex east of Loveland, Howson said, he has seen a fan base that “is passionate and supports the Eagles as well as any other franchise in our league. The proposed new arena is much needed for the Eagles to take the next step and continue to be one of our flagship clubs. It will allow the Eagles to continue to grow their fan base and provide fast, exciting AHL hockey to a greater number of people in Northern Colorado.

“I have no doubt that Martin Lind, [Eagles team president] Ryan Bach and the entire Eagles’ staff will excel with this new opportunity and will continue their long-standing contributions to the community which they currently do on so many fronts, making Northern Colorado a better place to live,” Howson wrote. “In addition, the investment in providing the youth in the area with three sheets of additional ice will continue Colorado’s trajectory as a prominent force in the sport of hockey in the United States.”

Kelleher’s letter reminded Greeley officials that the headquarters of USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, is in Colorado Springs.

“It’s especially gratifying to see our ongoing efforts to grow the game take hold, particularly in our home state,” he wrote. “This new development will provide much-needed infrastructure in support of the ongoing increase in the number of players participating in our game – be it girls, boys, adults or those competing in one of our six disciplines of disabled hockey.

“Through the many life lessons hockey teaches and the physical fitness benefits it provides, our sport continues to contribute positively to the overall quality of life for both individuals and families. And as the momentum continues with regard to new participants, this proposed new development will help support that growth and no doubt be a great benefit to those in Greeley.”

Besides the new and bigger home for the Eagles and training facilities for youth hockey, Lind’s Water Valley Co. envisions the Cascadia project as including a hotel, convention center and indoor water park.

Greeley city officials will receive a market study on Friday and an economic impact report on Dec. 20. They need to know whether the project, which Lind would build on 110 acres north of U.S. Highway 34 between Weld County Road 17 and 131st Avenue, a mile west of Colorado Highway 257, would be financially viable. They need to know what role the city would play in terms of incentives or cost-sharing, how such a project would affect downtown Greeley, and whether some of the city’s new $65 million in debt for transportation that voters just approved would help fund traffic improvements there.

Lind’s proposal to Greeley would require the city to guarantee the project’s $1.1 billion debt. Cascadia would be funded through the revenues it generates once it opens as well as through $793 million in bonding for the hotel, arena and water park, $235 million for infrastructure to be financed through general improvement district bonds, and through $62 million in bonding for water and sewer infrastructure. The main bonding for the project would be through a “conduit borrower,” set up as a 501(c)(3) agency by Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Provident Resources Group.

Lind said he needs the Colorado Eagles to be playing on new ice somewhere by June 2028 because his lease at The Ranch’s Blue Arena will have run out.

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