arena | the beginning

A vision realized

By ANDREA BENNETT, PHOTO BY GABRIEL LUIS ACOSTA

AFTER A DOZEN YEARS of planning, the unwavering focus of Ontario officials and a few false starts, the idea for a venue like no other in the Inland Empire is finally a reality.

"This is a region that will shortly be at 5 million people and a city that is approaching 300,000," Mayor Paul Leon said. "Now, we have a $150 million centerpiece of the region that stands out of the skyline. That's something I'll be proud of for the rest of my days.”

It began with the seed of an idea more than a decade ago. The IE was booming, growing faster in population than any other region, yet it lacked a venue for professional sports, large concerts and the like.

"A market study identified us as not just underserved but the largest underserved market in the country when it came to professional sports," said Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner.

Former NFL great Walter Payton approached city officials about a football stadium. Then, former NBA star Magic Johnson proposed an arena next to the stadium.

The city purchased land at the east end of the LA/Ontario International Airport in hopes a private developer would build an arena on public land.

An investment in Ontario's future

But it soon became clear that the property was unsuitable for the project.

"The property we had wouldn't support the development needed, and the best location was the site of the old Ontario Motor Speedway,'' said City Manager Greg Devereaux.

"It had better access, better visibility." Ontario sold that land to Los Angeles World Airports and bought about 230 acres of Ontario Center land from Sares-Regis Group and the Lewis Group Of Companies.

But Payton died in 1999, and Johnson pulled out shortly thereafter.

"We shopped around for developers, but the cost of development kept increasing, so the subsidy from the city kept increasing," Wapner said.

Barry Kemp, television producer and former owner of the Long Beach Ice Dogs, began talks with Ontario officials six years ago about a minor league hockey team as the anchor tenant for a private arena. He even got Rossetti Associates to design the facility.

Still, the project stalled.

"(Kemp) thought the city needed to put in $20 million when the cost would have been about $55 million," Devereaux said. "It still would have been a good deal, but the city just didn't have the money." A string of other potential developers didn't pan out either, and the project went dormant for a few years.

In the meantime, land values continued to rise, as did construction costs.

"As it became apparent how much the city contribution would have to be to make it happen, to give a private party so much money didn't really make sense," Devereaux said.

So the vision was tweaked. The arena would be a publicly constructed and owned facility.

AEG, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, which owns or operates such facilities as Staples Center in Los Angeles and The Home Depot Center in Carson, was selected from five bidders to operate the arena in Ontario.

"We didn't want another convention center — with bonds to pay and subsidizing operations every year," Wapner said. "So, AEG is responsible for all operating costs and provides at minimum $1 million per year, plus 70 percent of all profits above that goes to the city." The deal meant there was no exposure or risk for the city.

Kemp returned to the scene as a partner in managing the arena and its home ice hockey team, the Ontario Reign.

Turner Construction Co. was hired to oversee the building of the 225,000- square-foot venue just north of Interstate 10, and Rossetti Associates went back to the drawing board.

"We started moving full speed ahead in 2006 with new information and slightly new ideas," said John Truong, Rossetti's lead project designer.

The facility needed a name, and in October 2006, a multi-tiered agreement with Citizens Business Bank was struck.

The deal gives marketing opportunities and naming rights to the bank.

Today, Kemp's 30-year-old son Justin is executive vice president of business operations for the Ontario Reign, overseeing ticket sales, finance, community relations, corporate partnerships and marketing.

"I think we can set records," Justin Kemp said. "The area out here can support this market better than any other in the NHL. There's no competition." AEG hired Steve Eckerson to run the show as general manager of the arena.

Eckerson, who says he plans to book at least 125 events the first year, said it won't be hard to get people flocking to Citizens Business Bank Arena, which will serve as the centerpiece of the planned mixed use urban center called Piemonte.

"There are 4.1 million people in the Inland Empire and no arena,'' Eckerson said. "Unlike arenas put into depressed areas, this is the focal point of a new, vibrant and growing area." The arena is part of Ontario's long term economic development efforts.

"It makes it much more attractive for young knowledge workers to live and work here," Devereaux said. "And it's more attractive for white-collar businesses to locate in Class A office buildings here because they have to attract those young knowledge workers." Citizens Business Bank Arena is one part of the puzzle of economic investments, which include the convention center, upgrades at the airport and a destination mall.

It is an investment in the future.

QUICK FACTS
OWNER: City of Ontario
OPERATOR: AEG Facilities
NAMING RIGHTS PARTNER: Citizens Business Bank
CONCESSIONAIRE: Levy Restaurants
COST: $150 million
SIZE: 225,000 square feet
SEATS: 9,500 fixed seats with additional portable seat risers to accommodate capacities of 11,089 for concert; 9,736 for hockey, and 10,832 for basketball
LUXURY SUITES: 36