Mayor Rahm Emanuel talked about the long-term benefits the arena would have on the city.
(Photo/Josclynn Brandon)

Officials: New DePaul Arena Will Boost Tourism, Neighborhood

By Will Wilson
@RedLineProject

Posted: Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a plan Thursday to build a state-of-the-art $300 million tourism and tradeshow event center near McCormick Place in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood -- with a new DePaul basketball arena at the heart of it.

The 10,000-seat facility -- which would cost more than $140 million for the arena itself -- will be the new home of the Blue Demon men’s and women’s basketball teams.

 “I’ve made it a priority to make sure that Chicago’s convention and tourism industry is no longer second and no longer losing jobs and starting to add jobs,” Emanuel. said. “The city of Chicago, because of series of challenges was actually beginning to lose its place in the convention industry to Las Vegas and Orlando.”

With Chicago media, DePaul officials and McCormick Place employees on hand, Emanuel and Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority CEO Jim Reilly explained that the new center would play host to many events that will draw business to the South Loop neighborhood, helping fill hotel rooms in the area.

The total cost of the arena will be equally shared by MPEA and DePaul, given each use as a public and private facility. DePaul’s participation will allow MPEA revenues to be invested in other aspects of the District, such as Navy Pier.

The site of the planned events center will be north of Cermak Road between Indiana and Prairie avenues. Construction of the facility looks to begin in 2014 and is expected to open during the 2016-2017 basketball season.

DePaul will contribute $70 million for design and arena construction. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority will contribute the other $70 million along with $33 million in tax increment financing funds to cover costs of the land. That brings the total cost of the arena to $173 million, including land costs. The remainder of the $300 million budget goes for two hotels and other development at McCormick.

The project is part of a larger $1.1 billion project designed to revitalize Navy Pier, the historic Motor Row and nearby South Loop neighborhoods, and will include a boutique hotel at the arena and a nearby, 1,200-room headquarters hotel.

DePaul's president, Father Dennis Holtschneider, said the school considered as many as 12 other properties around the city closer to the Lincoln Park campus to build an arena. One of the many speculated venues was the United Center, where the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks play. Although widely reported that DePaul would get free rent for 10 years at the United Center, Holtschneider said at Thursday's press conference that was not true.

With dates and time being an issue, Holtschneider put that idea to rest by saying the deal would have required DePaul to pay significant operating expenses in order to use the United Center.

“We’ve always said at DePaul, ‘We don’t need an arena for that many days of the year,’”  he said. “This becomes a way where we can actually afford to do this without raising tuition.”   

Emanuel said the project, which includes improvements to Navy Pier, will create 10,000 construction jobs and 3,700 permanent jobs.

Women's Coach Doug Bruno and men's Coach Oliver Purnell begin their
press conference. (Photo/Josclynn Brandon)

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