Brian Sharp

@SharpRoc

An envisioned $38.5 million makeover of Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial could add restaurants with outdoor seating, court-side clubs, "party pits" and main lobby message boards or graphics as well as an outdoor marquee.

For now, the city is seeking $5 million from the state to install the marquee, lobby graphics and new dasher boards, repair the roof, upgrade the bathrooms and study the rest, according to a funding application the Democrat and Chronicle obtained through an open records request. Total cost: $6.4 million.

Monroe County and the Rochester Red Wings, meanwhile, are asking the state for $4.5 million to help pay for a $7.5 million makeover of Frontier Field. The city wants a new downtown performing arts center, and has asked the state to help pay for a study.

Then there is the long-sought renovation and expansion of the Riverside Convention Center — a $100 million undertaking that would double the size of the facility.

"Where we are right now is we recognize the need," Delmonize Smith, the city's neighborhood and business development commissioner, said of the local facilities. "We've been acting on that need, and that excitement and opportunity. But we also recognize the need to pause, and think about what is our plan."

And don't forget Sahlen's Stadium also has its wish list, the most immediate being a minimal but rather urgent investment in scoreboard maintenance.

When it comes to city investments, Mayor Lovely Warren and her team are developing a comprehensive plan that looks ahead to 2025. As Smith explains, the directive is "not to try to catch up to where the need is today" but rather position the city for the future. It's a process that hasn't been undertaken in more than a decade. That will help prioritize where the city puts its money.

"It sets the framework of how we move forward, what does our community really want to see?" Warren said, later referring to these facilities as critical infrastructure that both serve citizens and draw tourism dollars. "Many of them need work."

Each is a tall order, generally seeking not just to maintain their current standing but also strengthen their financial position as multi-use facilities competitive with venues in other mid-sized cities. Just as universities are expanding and renovating stadiums and building new and better research facilities, cities are investing in spectacular and sometimes lavish arenas.

"They are distinct venues," said Don Jeffries, president and CEO of VisitRochester and co-chair of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council's tourism and arts subcommittee that has seen some of these presentations. "I don't think there was any joint effort to say, 'Hey, we need to fix all that this year.' I think it just happened that way."

So with limited funds at the state and local levels, who gets priority?

Blue Cross Arena — which opened in 1955, and is home to the Rochester Americans, Knighthawks, Razorsharks and Lancers — hosts an average of 150 events a year. It last was renovated in 1998, a $41 million overhaul that brought the venue up to date and added 5,000 seats, luxury boxes and a new look. Current seating capacity stands at 13,000.

But there is a lack of seating options, according to the city consultant. The lack of a marquee hinders promotion and possible advertising revenue, and there is some significant work needed on the building and systems. The list of Blue Cross Arena improvements are among the recommendations listed in a consultant report delivered to the city last month and obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle this week through an additional open records request.

The biggest of those suggestions involve significant changes to the bowl seating that could include removing some existing seats and suites to put in more spacious lounge and restaurant or club/bar spaces with tiered dining areas and other seating, possibly extending outdoors and used even on non-event days. There is a suggestion for adding valet parking and drop-off on the east side of the facility, and expanding food court options inside to include a new space over the existing lobby.

The report by Kansas City-based consultant Populous notes that "the viability of these potential improvements would need to be tested with a market study." The city request for state funding would include money for such a study. In it, the city states that the improvements could increase attendance, revenue and cost-efficiency, improve the region's image and accelerate downtown's renewal while reducing reliance on tax subsidies.

Blue Cross Arena is estimated to require a tax subsidy of at least $775,500 in the current budget year, almost double that of last year given escalating maintenance costs, debt service and loss of scoreboard sponsorship. Other needs include upgrades to meeting space, possible replacement of systems supporting the ice floor, and various improvements to air, water, power, sound and video systems as well as food service.

Elsewhere, the plan to refurbish Frontier Field would potentially add a baseball museum in the old firehouse, install a new field, improve access to bring in concert staging and equipment, revamp the concourse and suites and improve the front gate entrance. As for the performing arts center, Rochester first asked the state for $100 million to help build it, then, at the governor's urging, for a lesser amount to first study the idea.

Then there is the concept being pitched for the Riverside Convention Center. Expansion there would push southward, adding a second lobby and building upward, taller than the parking garage across the street while also connecting via the aqueduct to Blue Cross Arena, said Joe Floreano, the center's executive director. By doing so, he said, the center could attract more events, some simultaneously, filling hotels while increasing its employment from 610 to 1,000.

Smith said he has had "some very early discussions," but the city is not currently seeking state assistance.

"We've been looking at this for a number of years," said Floreano, who has watched money go to build Frontier Field, renovate and expand Blue Cross Arena, build a soccer stadium and raze Midtown. "All that time we have been sitting out there, and to me, it is our time. If it is not our time now, it is going to be way too late, and you are going to see one of the jewels of Rochester turned into an empty facility that can't serve the needs of the community."

BDSHARP@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/sharproc