New event center delayed but spacious

Jan. 25—A wait time of 30 to 35 weeks on a heating and air conditioning system will delay the surprise that Parks and Recreation Director Jason Lake believes awaits the community when a new event center opens.

Lake said he got the same surprise the first time he went into the main arena of the former Point Mallard Park Ice Complex after the removal of the ice rink and its interior walls this fall. The city closed the Point Mallard Ice Complex in 2019 because of maintenance issues and lack of use.

"I knew the square footage, but I thought, 'Gosh, I didn't know it would be this big,'" Lake said. "I've measured it several times because I didn't believe that it's this big."

Lake said the building is more than 50,000 square feet with a roughly 25,000-square-foot main arena plus meeting rooms and a lobby. Frameworks Architecture designed the conversion plan.

"My favorite part of the arena is it's such a blank canvas right now," Lake said.

Councilman Carlton McMasters is the liaison to Parks and Recreation. He toured the facility in November with the Parks and Rec board.

"It's a really big space that's going to fill a need in the city," McMasters said.

Councilman Kyle Pike said it will be nice to have a large event space for the city. He also said he doesn't think it will compete with the smaller, privately-owned event centers because of the size difference.

Lake said he took some people who are promoters or hold current events on tours of the gutted building and they were impressed.

"I don't know if every person looked at it the same way," Lake said.

He said the size of the facility provides options for the hosting of events such as the annual Decatur Morgan Hospital Foundation Gala, usually held at Ingalls Harbor Pavilion.

"It would just be so cool with how we could re-imagine that event," Lake said. "We could use the length of the main arena and put a stage on one end, or there's a natural stage on the (north) side of the arena that's not as wide."

The new event center is bigger than Ingalls Harbor Pavilion, which the city lists as 27,000 square feet. Only Ingalls' offices and kitchen are air conditioned, and the City Council recently approved purchasing two new units for those portions of the building for $30,090 from Carrier Commercial Service, of Pelham.

However, Pike and McMasters said common complaints about Ingalls are the main arena space isn't heated or cooled and it doesn't have a commercial-grade kitchen.

"I'm real excited we're going to have an additional place for events within the city," McMasters said. "Not only that, it's going to be heated and cooled, which is something Ingalls doesn't offer."

The council approved the purchase of two 23-ton HVAC units with gas heat for the event center from Carrier for $320,786.

Lake said the approval of the new units puts the city on the list for delivery in eight to nine months. Once delivered, they will have to hire a contractor to install it.

Meanwhile, a contractor will install floors, ceilings and lighting. The plan is to change the old locker rooms to public restrooms. He said this will require demolition so the plumber can route the pipes properly.

"We're hoping to have the event center done by mid-summer and then all we'll have to do is wait on the HVAC for it to be ready and operational," Lake said.

Lake said they're receiving inquiries about possible booking dates almost every day.

"We feel like we're going to be very busy when we open even if we do it in the off-season," he said.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.