Left In Lowell

In yesterday’s Sun, Jenn Myers has the latest episode in the saga of The Chancellor wants/does not want/wants the Tsongas Arena. When we last left the Arena issue, the City Council told the City Manager to re-engage U. Mass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan and State Senator Steve Panagiatakos in discuss the future of the Tsongas Arena.

I am confused. I just watched parts of the November 3rd Sub-Committee (here is the link to the LTC streaming video) meeting when Chancellor Meehan addressed the full City Council. It is still not clear to me, what was the initial motivating factor that prompted the University to want to take over the Arena? Was it that they wanted to expand their hockey program and the Arena is not in a condition that would allow that to happen? Is that it?

Or maybe it had to do with the U. Mass Board of Trustees July 2007 decision to allow U. Mass Lowell Hockey to continue. Or maybe it has to do with manifest destiny (snark!).

In his appearance at the abovementioned CC meeting, the Chancellor mentioned that the State did not want to pour money to renovate the Arena but in his November 21st letter to U. Mass President Jack Wilson, Chancellor Meehan stated that the “Governor’s Office has indicated that it would support a transfer of ownership to the University.”

As Meyers points out the University will take over the Arena and pay the City $1 and $800,000 for the adjacent land and a parcel of land near the U. Mass Boathouse. Where is the University going to get $800,000?

And of course the City gets to keep the privilege of paying off the debt service on the Arena, around $2 million and let’s not forget the legal headache of breaking the lease with the Devils. That should cost us a few pennies. Yes, the City will not have to subsidize the operating costs of the Arena but in 2 years when the Devils leave we can do whatever we want with that place and try to begin to recoup our investment. Why don’t we think we can succeed? That’s what bothers me the most; we do not think we can do it so we want the Chancellor to come to our rescue.

And even if we wanted to get rid of the Arena, is the State in a financial position to allow one of its universities to embark on this type of a venture which has building a practice rink as one of its components?