The intended 50-50 split between public and private funding for the City of Janesville’s proposed indoor sports complex may not be realistic.
During Wednesday night’s city council study session, Janesville Jets President Bill McCoshen said the original discussions for the even split came in 2016, when the city was projecting an $8-to-12 million project.
“Now that you’re talking about a 30 [million dollar project], there’s no chance we can raise 15 million,” McCoshen said. “I’m going to tell you that straight out.”
The city hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for the project, which found that a smaller indoor sports complex would not be economically sustainable.
Finance Director Max Gagin said the city would likely need to take out a 20-year, debt service bond to fund their portion of the $30 million project, if approved.
The Janesville City Council will vote on November 11 to select a location for the proposal, so city staff can move forward with final designs.
The plan commission recently voted to recommend the Janesville Mall location, which the council is expected to follow next month.
Rockstep Capital President Andy Weiner said the former J.C. Penny’s site would be ready to go with few obstacles, and they would sell the site to the city for $1.
Weiner said they would potentially change the name of the Janesville Mall to “Uptown Janesville: Home of the Janesville Jets” if the city put the sports complex on their property.
