MARYLAND HEIGHTS • The city will provide up to $6 million in public money for site preparation, road improvements and other construction for the St. Louis Blues practice facility to be built here.

In exchange, Maryland Heights City Administrator Jim Krischke said the city would look for commitments such as public programming and special community events at the facility. Krischke said those details would be part of the agreement, estimates for which range from $3 million to $6 million. The City Council on Thursday authorized negotiations with the Blues.

“There’s going to be a lot of work in how we structure that and make sure we get the proper value for our investment,” Krischke said.

The total project cost is estimated at $40 million. The 250,000-square-foot facility would hold four ice rinks, including one outdoors, and would be on land owned by St. Louis County on the north side of Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park.

Maryland Heights’ contribution would help pay for preparing the site for development with utility and road improvements, the installation of parking lots, and trail and walkway extensions connecting the facility to the park, according to a city news release.