Study: Cool Insuring Arena’s economic impact growing
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. >> A recent study shows that Cool Insuring Arena’s economic impact has grown significantly since a group of private business and community leaders took control of its operations in January 2015.
The building, formerly known as Glens Falls Civic Center, had been hemorrhaging more than $600,000 per year, making its former owner – the City of Glens Falls — “susceptible to fiscal stress,” a 2014 state comptroller’s report said
But a new study by Saratoga Springs-based Camoin Associates, “Update: Economic Impact of the Cool Insuring Arena,” says direct and indirect spending from events rose roughly $2.6 million from $10.6 million to $13.2 million the past three years.
Also, the number of direct and indirect jobs supported by the arena increased from 131 to 155, with combined salaries of more than $4.3 million.
“The better we do, the better it is for our community and region,” General Manager Jeff Mead said.
The Camoin study says the arena benefits the economies of Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties because of its central location, at a crossroads of all three counties.
The arena’s main tenant is the Adirondack Thunder professional hockey team, which plays 36 regular-season home games. Total attendance for all arena events was up nearly 32,000 during the past year from 176,114 to 208,332.
Most of this resulted from significant growth in hockey numbers – from 103,152 to 149,187 — as the Thunder won their second straight divisional championship last season.
But management has found it somewhat difficult to attract people from Saratoga Springs, the closest big market to Glens Falls, about 20 miles away.
“We’ve made a little bit of progress in that area,” Mead said. “We’re getting more business support from Saratoga and farther south. There’s no magic wand.
“We continue to pound the pavement. For big events, the Albany-and-north crowd will come. For example, the Brantley Gilbert concert was very successful last year.”
“We have struggled a bit to get concerts this year,” he said. “We are working to confirm a few for 2019. We have booked three gun shows and some other trade show types of events lately.
“The hockey team has a great home schedule with 14 Saturdays and 12 Fridays, so we are limited a bit with weekend shows.”
The Thunder have eight home dates in December alone including five Saturday nights plus New Year’s Eve.
In February, the arena will host Section II wrestling and boys basketball tourneys followed by the Federation Basketball tournament from March 22-24, featuring top teams from New York City. Glens Falls officials are working hard at winning back the state public high school boys hoop tournament, which had been held in Glens Falls for more than 35 years before going to Binghamton.
In addition to the fiscal impact of arena events, “there have been significant one-time impacts on the regional economy through spending to upgrade and enhance the facility,” the Camoin study says.
Specifically, the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition, which runs the building, obtained nearly $2.8 million in grant funding, of which nearly $1.7 was spent on contractors and laborers to make physical improvements.
This has included a giant new video screen/scoreboard, a new exterior marquee sign, locker room upgrades and aesthetics such as repainting girders over the arena playing surface.
“Those things make the place look nicer so it’s more inviting,” said Dina DeCarlo, Camoin Associates senior analyst and study project manager.
“In the future, as often as possible, the coalition intends to continue investing funds into upgrading the arena and keeping those dollars in the local economy by hiring local workers and utilizing local materials,” the study says.
Mead said, “The plan is a new entrance into the arena that will get guests directly into Heritage Hall, which would get a full renovation – flooring, walls, ceilings, kitchen, bar, audio-video – so we can compete to bring in events to this space.
“We believe this would be a new way to generate revenues and bring people into our region.”
Such improvements would cost an estimated $3 million, and are dependent on the coalition’s ability to obtain state funding.
“The timeline is fluid, as we would have to receive a grant similar to the one the City of Glens Falls received for the arena a few years back,” Mead said.