By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Civic Arena first opened in 1979, and has been a downtown staple ever since, hosting events like the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame, concerts and rodeos.
As some events start to open back up to the public in the wake of COVID-19, St. Joseph city leaders know the Civic Arena is in need of some tender love and care.
St. Joseph Parks and Rec director Chuck Kempf, whose department oversees the building's upkeep, says the day-to-day maintenance is constant, but there hasn't been any major renovations in the arena since its opening 41 years ago.
"There's really not ever been a significant amount of money that's been put into it to upgrade the building since it was built," Kempf confirmed.
During a recent city council work session, Kempf says the parks department presented the arena's needs in a four-tier manner, with the top tier renovations being the most urgent needs.
The NCAA Elite 8 Division II basketball championships are set to be played at Civic Arena in two years' time, and Kempf says getting the building "NCAA ready" is the highest priority right now.
"We would like to get some funding at least in the short-term to address those needs," Kempf said. "Really, that's why we presented the projects to the city council the way we did. We tried to put some tiers of projects together."
Kempf says it's also important to make the arena more welcoming for small events as well.
"We would like to improve the lobby, and the meeting and conference room area," Kempf said, "for the same purpose. Just to make it a little more friendly and inviting for smaller-type events. For people who don't necessarily need to use the entire arena.
"There's a lot of concrete, plastic and metal in that building that doesn't make it an overly comfortable setting. So, we'd like to do some things to soften it up a little bit."
The cost of getting Civic Arena prepared for the NCAA tournament is around $1 million. However, when infrastructural needs are thrown in, like plumbing, lighting and electrical repairs, and then new amenities like suites or a new sound system, the total price tag is in the neighborhood of $25 million.
Just like any other major public project, the price tag is always a concern for taxpayers. But, Kempf says whatever amount the arena gets will be well spent, and will benefit the community and its visitors in the long haul.
"We're a great host for these types of events," Kempf said. "(St. Joseph Sports Commission Board Chair) Brett Easley always says, 'You can't take our geography and our hospitality away from us,' and those tend to be things that are set in stone with St. Joseph, and I don't know if we use those things to our advantage as much as we should."
As of now, there's no exact timetable on when Civic Arena might see major improvements, or when the funding will come to make improvements possible. Kempf says the most practical and efficient way to fund the project would be through a bond issue that passes through city council.
"If they want to do it in a quicker fashion, then obviously the bond issue is the best and easiest way to get that amount of money in a short period of time."
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