On Monday during the council’s work session meeting, city officials toured the new addition at Northwest Arena and the National Comedy Center. Keith Martin, Northwest Arena general manager, said the $4.5 million expansion project will house the Netflix Stand-up Comedy Hall of Fame; “The Zone,” which is going to be an interactive children’s play area; office space; and a conference room. A newly renovated reception area, with catering capabilities, that overlooks the main ice arena rink is available for the public, organizations or businesses to rent. The event space is where the arena’s Wits ‘n Giggles stand-up comedy shows have been held, which has been expanded to provide more room. The space has always had windows that overlooked the main ice rink. However, after the expansion project, the windows will now slide open so people can use the space to have a better experience during all events hosted at Northwest Arena like hockey games, stand-up comedy specials and musical performances. The space can be rented for wedding receptions and corporate events.

Another aspect of the expansion project is the office space on the third floor that will be leased by the National Comedy Center. The office space includes a new conference room that overlooks the downtown area along West Second and Third streets and the Chadakoin River. The conference room is available to rent for board meetings and business receptions.

The second floor of the expansion project will house “The Zone.” There will be several features to the children’s area, with one being an announcer stating a child’s name as they enter the area with the colors of their favor sports team being highlighted. There will be a space for children to have their photo taken with their favorite sports team uniform for their very own sports card. He added children will also be able to design their very own locker for their favorite sport.

In the free play area, children will be able to play all kinds of different sports and games, and there is even an overhead jumbotron that will show instant replays. The area will also include STEAM and STEM educational learning activities. The Zone will also include a toddler bullpen for infants. Children will also be given an RFID chip to record each experience they have at The Zone, so they can know when they’ve hit a personal best score.

Jamestown city officials standing on the new patio outside the reception area that is part of the three-story addition at Northwest Arena. The Jamestown City Council and city officials toured the new addition at Northwest Arena Monday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Kristy Zabrodsky, Jamestown Center City Development Corp. co-president, said arena officials will start the fundraising process to raise money for the equipment for The Zone, which she said will be done by the end of the year. She said after the fundraising process is done, construction of The Zone will start with the goal to have the children’s area open by Summer of 2022.

The first floor of the expansion project will still include the secondary rink at the arena. However, a new concession area has been constructed outside the secondary rink so people no longer have to go upstairs to the concession area overlooking the main rink if they want food or a drink.

The first floor will also include the creation of “The Hall,” the new Netflix stand-up comedy hall of fame, with that aspect of the project being supervised by comedy center officials. Zabrodsky said the comedy center is leasing the space from the arena for the Hall of Fame and the office space.

The expansion project construction started in November 2019 after grant commitments were received from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation and the Gebbie Foundation. The foundations will fund the $4.5 million, with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation committing $1.5 million over two years and the Gebbie Foundation funding $375,000 a year during the next eight years for a total of $3 million.

The contractor for the project was E.E. Austin & Son of Erie, Pa., which also has a location in Falconer.

After the tour of the arena expansion project, Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center executive director, gave a tour of the center and its interactive exhibits. She discussed the LaughSafe health and safety program that was created in order to reopen the museum. She said the only exhibit the center had to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic was the hologram theater because of the capacity limitations for indoor areas.

The interactive exhibit experience that opened in 2018 was making progress in the right direction — like being named USA Today’s “Best New Museum” in the country in February — prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which lead to the facility closing its doors on March 16.

Because of programs like LaughSafe, the center was able to reopened July 3. Comedy center officials consulted with Dr. Graham Snyder, UPMC Pittsburgh chief epidemiologist, on creating the LaughSafe health and safety program.

For more information on the National Comedy Center, visit comedycenter.org.