Fort Wayne Shelves New Event Center
After three years of study and planning, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry says the city will not pursue the construction of a downtown event center in the near future. Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Zach Bernard reports.
In a statement, Henry says when compared to other development projects in Fort Wayne, a downtown event center would not be the most responsible investment at this time.
The idea gained momentum in March of 2016, when a 19-member Downtown Arena Committee expressed unanimous support for the project.
The proposed arena would have occupied the lot north of Parkview Field downtown, and house events like concerts and Mad Ants games. It came with a price tag of $65 million.
The desired location never changed, but the price tag did. The Capital Improvement Board unveiled designs in February, which included a new cost estimate of $105 million.
Henry says that for the event center to become a reality, the city would need to ask the state for funding. He says that the city may revisit the proposal in the future.
