Sears Centre, the 11,000-seat arena proposed for Hoffman Estates, Ill., has attracted the attention of Anschutz Entertainment Group.
The Los Angeles-based company wants to cut a deal to promote events in the building and establish a presence in the Chicago market, said Steve Hyman, president of Consult, Construct & Operate, the firm partnering with the Ryan Cos. and Sears, Roebuck & Co. to privately develop and operate the facility.
AEG senior executives Dana Warg and Larry Vallon flew to Chicago recently to discuss a booking agreement for the $60 million arena, for which 72 suites and 1,000 club seats are planned.
“I think that speaks to the level of interest in the building and the way
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| The Sears Centre, expected to open in August 2006 in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago, is busy lining up tenants. |
we’re positioning it,” said Hyman, former GM at the Mark of the Quad Cities in Moline, Ill. “There’s an underserved 2 million-plus population [in the northwest suburbs] within an area of 9 million known as Chicago.”
“AEG would like this building to be its Chicago building,” Hyman said. “That doesn’t mean it would be anything exclusive. We’ve had interest from others.”
AEG also is building a $70 million Major League Soccer stadium for the Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, a suburb immediately south of Chicago.
The United Hockey League has said it’s ready to put an expansion team in Sears Centre, and Hyman said he owes the ECHL a return call to gauge its interest.
Arena Football 2 is another possibility. The AFL’s Chicago Rush plays at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, 15 to 20 minutes from Hoffman Estates.
One industry insider speculated that it makes better sense for the new WNBA team in Chicago to play in Hoffman Estates to draw from several communities with strong high school girls basketball programs. Team officials said they’re targeting the urban market in starting play in 2006 at the UIC Pavilion on Chicago’s near west side.
“I don’t think the WNBA is out of the question, but we don’t want to be accused of jumping in somebody else’s nest,” Hyman said.
Hyman anticipates breaking ground in June for an August 2006 opening. Developers must collect the necessary letters of intent and deposits from sports tenants and suite holders to trigger the suburb’s sale of $50 million in bonds to finance most of the project.
Sears and Ryan are responsible for the remaining $10 million, he said. Sears owns the 50-acre arena site and is providing the land for a portion of the profits. Ryan is building the facility. Sears committed to spending $10 million for naming rights over 10 years.
OPEN ENDED: The Dallas Cowboys’ announcement that HKS will plan their $650 million stadium in Arlington allowed Bryan Trubey, the project’s design principal, to shed more light on the low-dough ticket concept that would expand
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| HKS envisions gathering places behind both end zones for Cowboys fans without seats. |
the proposed 75,000-seat facility into a venue accommodating 90,000.
The plans are still taking shape, but the idea is to create multilevel spaces in the back of the building in both end zones that would allow more fans to be part of the game experience without having an actual seat, Trubey said.
The open design on both ends would put most of the facility’s permanent seats between the sidelines and temporary seating could be set up behind the end zones to meet the increased demand for the Super Bowl, he said. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue promised the residents of Arlington last fall that the Cowboys would get a Super Bowl if they approved tax increases to help pay for the facility.
“The one thing we’ve noticed in all of sports is that everybody’s incorporating a lot of party areas in their stadiums with more informal gatherings to watch the game,” Trubey said.
The concept is similar to American Airlines Center in Dallas, the NBA and NHL venue that HKS designed with iconic architect David Schwarz.
“You walk out into the bowl in the upper deck in the arena and in each of the four corners there are large party areas to hang out in,” Trubey said. “The separation is unique, and each area develops its own constituency and character. That’s what we’re trying to do with the Cowboys.”
CHEESESTEAK IN PARADISE: Jimmy Buffett fans had to buy tickets last weekend for the Chief Parrothead’s two August concerts at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia through New Era Tickets instead of Paciolan, the Phillies’ ticketing company.
Global Spectrum supports the Phillies with ballpark operations, and the facility manager booked Buffett and owns New Era. Officials conducted a Buffett presale promotion that was exclusive to the team’s season-ticket holders a week before the public on-sale date.
The Phils get a part of concert revenue, confirmed Joe Giles, director of ballpark enterprises and business development.
Don Muret can be reached at dmuret@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
