New York governor's loan pledge boosts hopes for vast ice rink complex in city armoury
by Kim Megson | 21 Apr 2017
Kingsbridge Armory National Ice Center includes a wellness centre and a 5,000-capacity arena for regional and international ice hockey fixtures / New York Economic Development Corporation
A seemingly doomed plan to build one of the world's largest indoor ice rinks inside a huge New York armoury has been given a new lease of life after state governor Andrew Cuomo committed US$108m (€100.3m, £84.1m) to the project in his 2018 executive budget.
Canadian hockey legend Mark Messier has been leading a consortium of investors attempting to get the project off the ground since 2012. However, their hopes were left skating on thin ice last December after a Bronx Supreme Court judge threw out the group’s lawsuit against New York’s real estate arm, which was holding the building’s lease in escrow until proof of phase one funding had been provided.
Attorneys for the consortium reportedly argued an active lease was required for the state to release funds for the development.
Now Cuomo has stepped in with bridge loan funding in an effort to rescue the project, which he thinks will create as many as 400 permanent jobs.
The plan for the 795,000sq ft (73,800sq m) Kingsbridge Armory National Ice Center includes a wellness centre, a 5,000-capacity arena for regional and international ice hockey fixtures and rinks for figure skating, speed skating, curling and sled hockey for disabled athletes. The centre would also feature 58,000sq ft (5,500sq m) of space for retail, food and beverage.
The Armory is a New York City Landmark (NYCL) and is listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. The site has been mostly vacant for a number of years, apart from the storage of graffiti removal trucks used by the mayor’s office.
The building was created in 1917 to house a regiment of New York’s National Guard.
According to reports in 2016, the ice centre project is estimated to cost US$350m (€325m, £227.7m). The arena, which has been approved by the city’s council, has been designed by Canadian studio BBB Architects.
Messier is popular locally, having once captained local ice hockey side New York Rangers.
New York Andrew Cuomo Kingsbridge Armory National Ice Center
A seemingly doomed plan to build one of the world's largest indoor ice rinks inside a huge New York armoury has been given a new lease of life after state governor Andrew Cuomo committed US$108m (€100.3m, £84.1m) to the project in his 2018 executive budget. Canadian hockey legend Mark Messier has been leading a consortium of investors attempting to get the project off the ground since 2012. However, their hopes
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"Culture is the beating heart of this project"
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