LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials have asked architects to review their cost estimate for building the Breslow Ice Center near the new Pinnacle Bank Arena in west Lincoln.
The $11 million estimate is higher than average for other, similar new ice centers, according to the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/1eJ1to3 ). The estimate is for a facility with a single rink that would be big enough to expand to two rinks.
UNL vice chancellor Christine Jackson told the newspaper that the university also is developing an alternative that may reduce some of the UNL space within the center so a second rink could be accommodated.
The Breslow Ice Center is to be built between the Pinnacle Bank Arena and the West Haymarket baseball stadium.
Former state auditor John Breslow first announced his intention to donate $7 million for the ice rink in 2007. At that point, the facility was slated to open in the Haymarket with two indoor ice rinks in early 2010. But the project languished while university and city officials focused on finishing the Pinnacle arena for basketball and events.
Dean Mulso, who is director of the Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association, said it’s difficult to make comparisons with existing ice rinks. Amenities such as the number and size of lockers, the size of the lobby and office space, the kind of seating and the exterior all make a difference, he said.
Initial plans call for a 53,400-square-foot ice center, featuring a single National Hockey League-size sheet of ice. Also in the plan are staff offices, seats for 700 spectators, team locker rooms, a training room, referee locker rooms, coach offices, equipment storage space, maintenance areas and a room for an ice resurfacing machine room.
Public space includes a warming lobby, rental skate storage, a pro shop, concessions and meeting and party rooms.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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