The Blackhawks on Thursday formally announced plans to build a "state-of-the-art, 125,000-square-foot community training center for youth hockey development programs, recreational leagues and other events that also will serve" as the team's practice facility, according to Chris Kuc of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The privately funded facility "will be built on a four-acre site currently housing Malcolm X College, which is scheduled to move into a new building in January." The $50M facility will take two years to build and is "being designed to contain two NHL regulation-size ice rinks, spectator seating and a parking lot." About 94% of the facility's utilization "is ticketed for public use." Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that the Blackhawks "will pay 'market price' for the land" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/31). In Chicago, Bill Ruthhart notes Blackhawks Chair Rocky Wirtz and Bulls Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, whose teams "jointly own the United Center, previously had talked about building" a $100M entertainment and retail complex next to the arena, but "sought a replacement for current tax incentives set to expire" in '16. When the city "didn't agree to such a change, the teams pursued a more modest office complex plan near the stadium." There also has been talk of the teams "seeking a guaranteed freeze in the city's amusement tax on sports tickets in exchange for future development by the teams." Wirtz on Thursday said that such a freeze "was not discussed as part of the deal to build the Blackhawks practice center" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/31).
