City leaders remain confident Marshall’s facility will not suffer the same fate as the complex in Vadnais Heights did.

Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on the Red Baron Arena & Expo in Marshall – set to open in 2016 – following a recent interview with Marshall Community Services Director Harry Weilage and Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Darin Rahm.

MARSHALL – When the story came out in 2013 about the demise of the $26.5 million sports center in Vadnais Heights, it caught the eye of local officials, who at the time were knee deep in the planning and lobbying stages for the sports complex now known as the Red Baron Arena & Expo. However, city leaders have long maintained that Marshall’s new arena wouldn’t suffer the same fate, namely because of the strong support it has received from the city. The center in Vadnais Heights was eventually put on the market for $13 million – about half its construction cost.

“Vadnais Heights was based on the premise that they can charge and rent the space out privately and it pays for itself; there’s no hockey arena in this state that pays for itself,” Weilage said. “There’s no swimming pool in this state that pays for itself. The community makes a choice (if) this is an investment that helps our quality of life.”

The Marshall sports facility is being constructed and will be operated through assistance of a combination of local sales taxes in Marshall, including a .5 percent general sales tax and a 1.5 percent lodging and food/beverage sales tax that were both passed by a vote of Marshall residents in 2012. The .5 percent sales tax went into effect on April 1, 2013, the lodging tax went into effect on June 1, 2013, and the 1.5 percent food and beverage tax went into effect July 1, 2013. Aside from tax revenue and the bonding money from the state, sponsorships will also help pay for the complex.

The city will own the facility, and the marketing and operations will be provided through a combination of city staff, joint powers with community partners and contractual services.

“This community, with its sales tax, and how we passed it on what we wanted to get done and what the community said we’re interested in, gives us that cushion to pay for the operating and allows us, over the next three to five years, to bring that into a very manageable piece,” Weilage said.

Weilage said Vadnais Heights went right into debt because it did not benefit from the sales tax piece attached to it for financial support.

“You go into debt, you panic, you rent out to everybody, and pretty soon it’s a tail that goes down. We live in a community that voted on itself – that’s a community I want to live in. That’s the special part of Marshall.”

Weilage went back to the “wow” factor the city has made sure the arena and expo will have that will keep it viable for years to come. He said the city will make sure there are enough tournaments to support the facility.”

And sports isn’t the only thing that will be attracting large crowds and revenue to the city, official say.

As everyone knows, the facility is more than sports. The city is excited about the expo side of the equation, although the work that has to be done on that front is night and day compared to sports.

“We gotta make sure we have the right electrical,” he said. “If you put a food show on, you’re taking about three-phase, 100-amp stuff, fans, electrical boards. There’s a difference between a boat show and a food show. We’re gonna have both of those.”

Weilage said, ideally, the city would rent equipment like tables for each event to avoid having to store everything at the facility. In the beginning, though, there will be some trial and error phases the city will go through. It’s a learning curve everyone is excited to take on.

“It’s about getting comfortable with that space – where do you put a boat, where do you put a combine,” he said.

“We have to learn what our limitations are yet,” Rahm said. “I’ve had a call from an auctioneer who wants to have an auction in there. Weddings.”

“But,” Weilage chimed in, “we don’t want the wedding to look like it’s in a hockey rink. When we talked about our mission, it’s about sports and entertainment.”