Spokane Public Facilities District officials say they are shifting their focus, which in recent years has been on projects at the Spokane Convention Center, to Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

“We’ve always got an ongoing list of projects requiring repairs, replacements, and capital upgrades,” says Larry Soehren, PFD chairman. “It’s time for us to now address the arena.”

The facilities district completed a $50 million, 92,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center at the end of 2014. The arena, Spokane Convention Center, and the INB Performing Arts Center all fall under the purview of the facilities district.

PFD representatives say they’re now early in the planning stages of a proposal that calls for installing metal detectors and a new luxury suite at the arena, located at 720 W. Mallon.

Scheduled improvements and upgrades to the arena still need to be approved by the PFD’s Project Review Committee. The facilities district expects to submit the request in July, says CEO Kevin Twohig.

Construction could start as early as the end of this year and conclude in 2017. The projects would cost an estimated $3 million to $3.5 million. Most of the cost would be related to security improvements, Twohig says.

The PFD wants to put metal detectors at the main entrance on the arena’s northeast side.

 Says Soehren of tightening security, “It’s merely in keeping with the times that we live in today.”

The arena opened to the public in September 1995 and cost just under $63 million to build. A $1.5 million project to remodel the arena’s ticket and administrative offices was completed in March of this year. 

In addition to installing metal detectors, Soehren says plans also call for expanding the arena’s main entrance to improve the flow of foot traffic. 

“When you first enter, immediately off to the right is that concession stand,” Soehren says. “We want to eliminate that traffic jam that occurs when you immediately walk in.”

Also being discussed is the addition of a luxury suite, which would give the arena a total of 17 private viewing suites. 

Brett Sports handles arena suite licensing at the arena. Brett Sports owns and operates the Spokane Indians baseball club and the Spokane Chiefs hockey team, which plays its home games at the arena.

Dave Pier, the chief marketing officer at Brett Sports, thinks a new luxury suite would generate at least $40,000 in additional annual revenue for the arena.

Twohig says annual arena revenues vary based on events. The arena generated $5.6 million in 2013, $5.9 million in 2014, and $6.9 million last year.

 “While we haven’t completed a formal study, what we do know is that there is a market for an additional suite,” Pier says.

The arena has four, 10-seat luxury suites that lease for $56,000 per year. The remaining suites, with seating for eight, lease for $37,000 a year, Pier says. Brett Sports leases the suites in five-year contracts. There’s never been a vacant luxury suite in the arena’s history, Pier says.

“Unlike a lot of markets, we price them so they’ll always be sold,” he says. “An empty suite isn’t going to generate revenue.”

“When the economy was booming, in 2005, 2006, you saw the prices of suites continually rising across the country,” Pier says. “But when the economy crashed, a lot of individuals and businesses got out of them and they still remain vacant. By keeping them reasonably priced we’ve been able to avoid that.”

Pier thinks the location of the proposed suite could generate between $40,000 and $45,000 per year. The suite would be located just to the right of the arena’s main entrance at the building’s northeast side. An existing concession stand at that location would be moved to an expanded and modernized food court, Soehren says.

Soehren says construction is expected to start later this year or early next year.

At the PFD’s May meeting, Twohig told the board of directors, “The goal would be to wrap each of these items into one overarching progressive design-build project.”

He says it’s important to use the progressive design-build process in a heavily-used facility such as the arena.

“Having a contractor on board will greatly assist in determining a schedule that works,” Twohig told the board of directors.