Photo: Fort Wayne Parks Department
Parks and recreation departments rarely have a problem envisioning spectacular recreation facilities and programs. The issue is finding enough funding to construct and sustain their plans. The city of Fort Wayne, Ind., happens to be in the enviable position of capitalizing on the proceeds from the sale of City Light Utility to Indiana Michigan Power. Mayor Tom Henry, city council, and the community have mandated that these Legacy Fort Wayne Funds be used in “transformational projects” for the city.
In 2010, before the funds became available, a strategic decision was made to privatize the existing parks and recreation ice business and seek private investment that would yield a new facility. Canlan Ice Sports, a state-of-the-art rink with three sheets of ice, was built in the retail sector of the city. With the new strategy satisfied, the McMillen Ice Arena located in McMillen Park—once a thriving facility for figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, sled hockey, and open skating—had become a mostly unused 83,000-square-foot facility. The future of the building had to be addressed—functioning as an ice arena was no longer possible. Renovate or rebuild or demolish—that was the question.
“Building a complex like the former ice arena from the ground up would likely top $8 [million] to $10 million,” says Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Director Al Moll. Renovating the facility was the best option, but what type of project would “transform” the southeast side of town and also engage the community? The leisure-services staff members knew what they wanted—a community center like the one the department ran downtown, but bigger and better. Because such a massive building would need major public support to keep it operational, it was essential to ask the community what it wanted.