Gebbie Foundation President Greg Edwards said Jamestown’s ice arena project was a group effort that was designed to make a major economic difference in the community by uniting various foundations and leaders in the pursuit of a common goal. Prior to the construction of the arena, Edwards said the city had experienced the typical “Rust Belt” trajectory of decline and was facing significant economic and sociological challenges in the region.

After an analysis team considered various ways the Gebbie Foundation could invest the roughly $3 million-per-year in endowment funding, Edwards said the foundation worked with other partners — including the city of Jamestown and the Board of Public Utilities — to determine the most effective way to revitalize the community.

“This project from its inception was a team concept, how the Gebbie Foundation could partner with others to really make a difference in the trajectory of the city of Jamestown,” he said. “It was a decision after much professional analysis to really help advise the Gebbie Foundation where we could be most helpful impactful in trying to reverse that decline. The ice arena was a viable first big step.”

IMPORTANT PARTNERS

Pictured are former businesses located on the property now occupied by the Northwest Arena.

After visiting an ice arena in Ontario, the foundations and project coordinators decided to design a similar facility in the Jamestown area. Edwards said the project required a detailed process of vision, design, analysis and construction. He explained that the commitment to design the arena began officially in 1998 and was completed in 2002 when the ice arena finally opened. While Northwest Arena is owned and operated by the Jamestown Center City Development Corp., a local nonprofit agency, the Gebbie Foundation helped provide an enormous amount of funding for the project, which was crucial for the success of the arena.

Edwards said the Gebbie Foundation contributed more than $21 million to the construction of the ice arena facility. He explained that the Gebbie Foundation and other local foundations partnered in the city to carry out the project with a private-public partnership, led in large part, by the Gebbie Foundation. The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency was another important partner in conjunction with the local foundations.

“I think a symbol of the approach can be identified in one particular step,” he said. “A very appropriate and viable step would have been to partner with the city of Jamestown and move under eminent domain to acquire all of the properties necessary to build this facility and the footprint necessary, but the Gebbie Foundation took a different approach and instead contracted with a professional team to negotiate a fair market value and acquire the properties from the businesses, but more importantly give them the opportunity if they chose to be relocated in the city of Jamestown so this city would not lose the benefit of those jobs and that revenue.”

The process of negotiating with the local businesses resulted in 11 of the business relocating in the city, preventing a loss in jobs and opportunities for the community. Edwards said this step signified the unity and teamwork that ultimately led to the construction of the arena and a better economy in the downtown region.

FACING CHALLENGES

Pictured is the Northwest Arena and the downtown region two decades after construction of the ice arena. Photos provided by the Gebbie Foundation

With a project as large and complicated as the arena, Edwards noted that there were many challenges that could have threatened to derail to construction of the ice arena.

“Number one was the acquisition,” he said. “Number two, there were some significant utility structures that went through the footprint of this site.”

The Gebbie Foundation partnered with both the BPU and private contractors to move the utilities and create a space that would be suitable for the ice arena.

Another challenge arose during the excavation portion of the construction. During the excavation of the property, petroleum contamination was discovered.

“That added time and significant dollars to the project, but there was a commitment to do it and do it right and be good to the environment,” Edwards said. “A membrane was created and placed below the foundation so it would prevent any contaminants from rising up through the construction site. The contaminants were focused into an area and monitoring wells were put in and appropriate steps were taken to collect and treat and monitor that contamination.”

Pictured are former businesses located on the property now occupied by the Northwest Arena.

According to Edwards, the monitoring and treatment of the contamination continued until about four years ago when the DEC certified that the contaminants were remediated to a level that no longer required additional treatment or monitoring. In addition to the project’s commitment to following environmental standards, Edwards said there was a commitment to use as many local companies and contractors throughout the construction as possible.

“The goal was for this to be a stake in the ground to prove that Jamestown’s trajectory could be different, that it had a bright future in front of it economically and that his could be a turning point for the city,” he said. “I’m confident in saying that the vast majority of people who’ve been in and around Jamestown since the opening in 2002 can recognize that.”

Edwards said the Northwest Arena project showed the community what was possible when different foundations, organizations and partnerships worked together for the good of the community. As a result of the success of the arena, Edwards said the city’s first Urban Design Plan was established in order to continue to improve the downtown region.

“I was once asked, ‘How is it that Jamestown is able to realize these significant gains?'” Edward said. “The very easy answer for me is our willingness to come together to find success in developing the common good and then committing to it in a team. I think the arena was a real positive, real significant first step there.”

COMMUNITY IMPACT

After 20 years of operation, Edwards said there is “solid evidence” that Northwest Arena has had a major impact on the community. With over 250,000 visits each year over the past few years, Edwards believes the arena will continue to provide opportunities for economic growth and development in Jamestown.

“I think it’s a number that would be stunning to virtually anyone in the region,” he said. “That includes nationally recognized events and entertainment and education and arts and technology.”

Over the years, Edwards said the project has “evolved” from an ice arena to an arena that is used for a wide range of events, including world-class comedians, concerts and other events.

Recently, the Northwest Arena hosted Retool Western New York’s Climate Technology Conference. Edwards said the recent conference demonstrated the capability of the Northwest Arena to serve as a host facility for future large-scale conferences.

“I think that the arena will continue to be that hub around which much more development takes place,” he said. “That is clearly an opportunity for the region going forward. I think that’s going to lead to more hotel development, it’s going to lead to more retail developments and lead to more quality-of-life residences. Having a facility like that significantly increases the quality of life.”

Turning to the next 20 years of Northwest Arena, Edwards believes the recent $3.3 million investment by the Gebbie Foundation and the $1.5 million investment by the Ralph Wilson Foundation for the expansion of the building will have an even greater impact on the community heading into the future.

The recent expansion of the Northwest Arena added a third-floor office space, a boardroom gathering space, the space needed on the second floor for the future Zone location, and a space on the first floor for the Stand-up Hall of Fame.

“That is going to add significant draw and access to people to the arena,” Edwards said. “Just the zone alone is identified by professional analysis to potentially add another 40,000 visits to the arena itself.”

With the renovation of the facility, Edwards said the arena is becoming one of the “premier places” for events and offers potential growth for business opportunities, retail opportunities, and social opportunities in Jamestown.

“I think it’s done what it was intended to do and now it’s exceeding what it was envisioned to become,” he said. “I think it’s a real bright spot for the city of Jamestown.”