15° and Overcast
Image
So as exciting as it is to imagine 34 home games a year in Centennial Park Ice Rink with 5,000 fans at $18 a ticket, it is hard to imagine the proposed Niagara Falls project making economic sense.
Even if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dropped from
the sky tomorrow with $250 million for construction and the Ralph Wilson Foundation kicked in $10 million for site acquisition, and the city proves it already owns half the site, it is hard to imagine the legacy cost of operations would be viable.
All of this goes without mentioning Niagara Falls Redevelopment’s Urbacon Data Center which may be a real thing or may be an elaborate scheme to drive up the cost of land much as happened years ago with the waterpark. Urbacon even has a Website it’s a real thing. https://niagaradigitalcampus.com/
The last grand folly foisted upon our fine city by a well-meaning mayor resulted in the train station. While there is no debt service associated, it goes in the hole about $130,000 annually because the mayor has not found a way to make it profitable by extracting revenue from unused space. Add in the removal of Robert Moses Parkway and Train Station Dyster also presided over the completion of the public safety complex which, admittedly, is poorly placed. Dyster prior to being mayor, was at the center of the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center.
So far the major Restaino legacy is recovering from the fiscal failings of the Dyster administration and spending $56 million of American Rescue Plan funds. He needs the hockey rink to cement his legacy.
Amateur hockey tournaments could be a huge draw – stop in the Craft on a Friday or Saturday night at this time of year or visit Prospect Point or Stedman’s Bluff and you are bound to find hockey families from all over staying in the Falls with kids playing in tournaments at the LeCom Center or the Northtown Rinks in Amherst or Hyde Park or Sabreland (or whatever they call it now) or Lockport or Dwyer Arena at Niagara University. There are 17 rinks within a 40-minute drive of Niagara Falls without crossing the border. Adding one more is not filling a need unless that need is to pad an ego.
We have some pathetic legacies. E. Dent Lackey comes to mind. So does Michael O’Laughlin. The industrial decline was no one’s fault. Urban Renewal was a disaster. The Casino happened on James Galie’s watch.
We know there is a Centennial Park feasibility study coming. The cart remains ahead of the horse, “ready, fire, aim” as Vince Cauley might say.
We also know that study will demonstrate Centennial Park will be an economically viable hub and destination because it’s hard to imagine the mayor retaining the services of any consulting firm that wouldn’t reach his desired conclusion.
We even have a Website. It’s a real thing. https://cjsarchitects.com/work/project:city-of-niagara-falls-centennial…
Mayor Restaino should be hanging his hat on surer things. For example, supporting removal of the remainder of Robert Moses Parkway or letting the public know about the rebirth of the city market. He can claim both things happened on his watch. He could also let voters know about how well he has managed city finances and how great it is to have police, fire, DPW taken care of and LED streetlights.
Heck, he could even hang his hat on getting Beech Avenue Park built in the 4th District.
Centennial Park is an albatross even if the city only has to carry the cost of operations. The good news is the project is dead in the water if it requires bonding because it takes a 4-1 vote to pass and I can’t see Brian Archie voting yes when the community that supports him says no.
Of course, there is a caveat: The Mayor could find a way to threaten Archie’s job if he doesn’t fall in line or otherwise get personal leverage. There is precedent. Remember when he got Myles fired.
