Supporters Press Onward With Rink Plans

By Bill Carey
Berkshire Eagle Staff

PITTSFIELD -- Advocates of the proposed Quinn Connally Memorial Sports Facility, disappointed that the city will not apply for a state grant in their behalf, gathered at the wooded building site yesterday and declared their determination to forge ahead with the project.

Directors of the nonprofit organization formed to advance the 3,000-seat arena with twin ice skating rinks met in February and March with Mayor Sara Hathaway to enlist her support in seeking a state grant to run sewer and water service to the site.

But the mayor, while supportive of the arena concept, has said she has other priorities for the limited state grant money, which is intended for economic development.

Last week, Hathaway identified downtown parking as her first such priority. She has scheduled a "parking summit" May 3 to generate ideas for a new parking structure.

"This isn't [a meeting] to bash the mayor," said Stephen Connally, who with his wife, Ann, is leading the effort to build the arena in memory of their late son, Quinn. "There is some frustration, but we're moving forward." The Connallys live in Cheshire.

Quinn Connally, who was 12, died in December 2000 after being struck by a puck during hockey practice.

The arena at the moment is a wooded lip of land on the south side of Dan Fox Drive, roughly halfway between the Super Stop & Shop plaza and Bousquet Ski Area. The major piece of the 26-acre parcel was donated by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce; abutting acreage was donated by Del Alba Realty.

Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot building with two skating rinks and 1,000 or more parking spaces, said Eric Milberger, a principal of M2 Architects Inc. of Huntsville, Ala. The cost is pegged at about $9 million, which is still a rough estimate.

The Connallys, who were wearing different-colored versions of a T-shirt with the Quinn's Legacy Foundation logo -- a skate with a flair of lacing -- said they have raised between $200,000 and $250,000 thus far.
Recently incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the foundation is focusing on a handful of potential major donors and is holding smaller fund-raisers; the next is a May 20 dinner at Mazzeo's Ristorante in Pittsfield.

The foundation is applying to MassDevelopment, the quasi-public economic development organization, for a "predevelopment assistance" matching grant of $25,000 for survey and design work at the building site. It also has received a favorable reception from MassDevelopment and Fleet Bank on the possibility of issuing a $3 million tax-exempt bond to finance the construction.

Based on "preliminary talks, they're very comfortable with it," Ann Connally said.

The project requires curb-cut approval from the state Highway Department to build an access road from Dan Fox Drive. District 1 Highway Engineer Ross B. Dindio has said the curb cut shouldn't be a problem, according to Gary Grunin, a member of the foundation board and former city councilor.
A missing puzzle piece is some form of assistance from cash-strapped Pittsfield, which would help convince potential corporate donors of the city's support for the project, foundation members say.

"We're searching all avenues [of assistance], but we just felt that this is a community project," said Grunin, expressing disappointment with Hathaway's stance on the grant application.

Economic development

Backed by Milberger, the board members were intent on making the economic development case for the skating arena, offering letters of reference for a consultant, Wes Tuttle, who was behind a successful sports center in Marlboro. Tuttle, a principal of Top Gun New Hampshire Inc. of Salem, N.H., has been unable to gain an audience with the mayor, they said.

The Quinn Connally Memorial Sports Facility will follow the Marlboro example by providing an estimated 15 to 20 jobs, public skating, mentoring activities and spillover benefits for area restaurants and hotels, the contingent argued.

"Once this facility is built, and it will be built, it will be self-sustaining," Stephen Connally said. " This is an awful lot more than a skating rink."