From ktbb.com:

http://www.ktbb.com/news/Printable.php?ArticleID=11686

Longview And Gregg County Team For Big Arena

LONGVIEW -- The City of Longview and Gregg County are working together to build the largest activity arena between Shreveport and Dallas. The unofficial name is 'The Gregg County Multi-purpose Arena'. It will hold over 7500 seats. There will be no tax increase to pay for it and an ice hockey team has been mentioned. Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt says that they have a great chance of building the arena and he is "cautiously optimistic of getting it done." Stoudt says they are looking at 2 years if everything goes right and it would be built near the Maude Cobb Activity Center in Longview.

Of course. Watch they'll get a team the second after I leave.

I guess the obvious question is: "you're leaving ??"


I can't believe Smith Co. is going to allow Gregg Co. to be the symbol of East Texas sports entertainment progression ...

Got accepted to an awesome journalism school up in St.Louis.

^ Just don't turn into a Blues fan



I've pondered re-locating to St. Louis before . . . their reputation as a great Sports city and as a great Rock And Roll city is very appealing.

BACK TO TOPIC : 'wonder if this will light a proverbial fire under Tyler officials to build a "counter" arena !!

... NO!

Been over a year...any update?

I have not been to Longview in over two years ... has construction begun?

Interestingly enough that you revive this thread today....

On the news broadcast from KSLA 12 out of Shreveport from Saturday
night's newscast they were interviewing Gregg County Judge Bill
Stoudt and an architect's rendering of the new facility was shown
as well.

Stoudt stated that they have hopes of breaking ground on the facility as earlier
as this coming November.

Also checked the Longview News Journal website and found the story with
the same architect rendering dated 3/28/2008 Friday.

Go to longviewnewsjournal.com and click the "news" link and follow along to
the story located under Local headlines.

I'd say it's pretty telling that Gregg County is years ahead of Smith County
not only in this area but also in the county jail fiasco that is haunting it's neighbor
to the west.


RJ

And to think that I've thought of Tyler being the more progressive city.

Wow. This is actually going to be a very very nice place. Drawing from the article...



I'm surprised after looking at the comments on the article. People actually think this is great and many of them mention hockey as a good thing coming to the city. Hope it can happen.

Here's the article...
Longview News-Journal

Jimmy Isaac - Plans are being finalized for a proposed coliseum that could be next to the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center in Longview.

The Longview News-Journal obtained preliminary design plans for what Gregg County and Longview officials describe as a coliseum.

Neither county commissioners nor City Council members had seen the preliminary drawings when they were released to the newspaper Wednesday, according to Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt and Longview Mayor Jay Dean.

In 2007, Dean presented the Gregg County Commissioners Court with a resolution signed by mayors from almost all the county municipalities. The resolution asked that the county work with the city to build a multipurpose center. Longview then hired design firms to begin work on the project.

City Manager David Willard said mid-April is the earliest that commissioners can expect a formal presentation on the design plans from city staff.

Gregg County has $29.4 million set aside that could be spent on the coliseum and other projects. The coliseum brings the possibility of professional sports, concerts and tour stops to the region, but Stoudt and Dean say no plans are final, including the estimated $25 million to $28 million construction cost, who pays what and the facility designs.

Preliminary plans call for the coliseum to be built on the south adjacent lot next to Maude Cobb, on Grand Boulevard off Cotton Street. Grand Boulevard would be extended to Jaycee Drive for better traffic flow through the fairgrounds, Stoudt says . A covered walkway might one day be added between the coliseum and Maude Cobb. Recreational vehicle parking and a livestock holding area adjacent to the coliseum also are future possibilities. Neither those ideas, nor the coliseum's expected capacity of at least 7,000 seats, is final, officials say.

The Maude Cobb Activity Complex sits in the center of Gregg County, and that would provide equal, easy access for all county residents if the coliseum is built there, Stoudt said. Its proximity to Lear Park on Loop 281, with its multiple sports facilities, could bolster more retail and commercial expansion in southwest Longview, Dean said.

"This will be a county coliseum that will be located in the city of Longview, and the city is going to operate it," Dean said Thursday. "We may use an outside contractor to minimize expenses, but everything is preliminary and conceptual. We're just exploring right now those particular operational issues."

————————————

Entertainment venues and concert halls rake in tourism money for surrounding businesses, officials in Shreveport/Bossier City and Midland/Odessa say.

The CenturyTel Center brings the nation's top acts and concerts to Northwest Louisiana, said Mike Cera, the venue's general manager.

The Midland County Horseshoe Arena opened a year ago. The facility pumped $3.9 million of added sales tax revenue into the Permian Basin economy in its first nine months, said Tim Harris, general manager of the Midland County facility.

"These things are not built or designed to be cash cows," said Midland County Judge Mike Bradford, referring to how the Horseshoe Arena doesn't make money directly for the county.

"They are built and designed ... to be that catalyst to ring those cash registers in your community."

The CenturyTel Center ranked 70th in the world in 2006 ticket sales, according to PollStar Magazine, a music industry periodical. The center outpaced sales at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, the AT&T Center in San Antonio and the Target Center in Minneapolis.

The CenturyTel Center serves the Shreveport-Bossier City area that includes 387,583 residents in Caddo and Bossier parishes.

It cost $56.5 million to build in 1999, but Bossier City received $5 million toward that cost from CenturyTel for sponsorship rights for 10 years. CenturyTel is a Monroe, La.-based communications services company.

"I guess there really isn't anything we couldn't host," Cera said.

"I think it's helped Bossier City and Shreveport stay on the map. We have top-name entertainment acts coming through here, and with that come audiences from all over the area."

CenturyTel Center has hosted Elton John, Hannah Montana and the San Antonio Spurs since 2000. Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd and Alan Jackson also are set to play there in the coming weeks, according to its Web site. In 2005, a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event was canceled to allow the Bossier City venue to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas.

Longview resident Jeff Hoover joined 11 friends for a March 1 rock concert of Seether, Breaking Benjamins and Three Days Grace. It was his first visit to the CenturyTel Center, and he liked it.

"Every seat is a good seat," Hoover said.

Midland County residents wanted an entertainment/conference venue for nearly three decades, Bradford said. County officials made it happen in 2007 using an "unusual financing" plan to build and operate the arena without increasing the tax rate, he said.

The county took $1.25 million in federal grants, $688,000 in Texas Parks and Wildlife grants and about $8 million in county-issued bonds to pay the $11.8 million construction bill for the arena, Bradford said.

Parking lot and asphalt work valued at $1 million was handled by the Texas Department of Transportation in exchange for county services on other projects, and a local foundation donated land along Interstate 20 for the site, the county judge said.

The land donation, valued at more than $1 million, was the most important piece, Bradford said.

"This puts the facility directly on the interstate," Bradford said. "It was a large tract of land that was in the county but surprisingly had water and sewer already on it."

The arena hosted rock band Hinder, barrel racing and former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee this past year.

Bradford says planners wanted to make sure the Horseshoe didn't compete with the 54-year-old Ector County Coliseum in Odessa, which holds local professional hockey and football.

Tyler is served by the city-owned, 2,100-seat Harvey Convention Center and the privately owned 60,000-square-foot Oil Palace concert and exhibition venue.

Both facilities are at least 25 years old.

The Tyler City Council agreed Wednesday to give $2 million to a partnership with private investors for a 175-room resort hotel and adjacent 30,000-square-foot conference center at Lake Bellwood, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Hello? KNOCK! KNOCK! Hello? Tyler? Wake up ........... your move.

Not a word of this in the Tyler 21 dog and pony show

I would've liked to have a Longview vs Tyler rivalry.......but I'll settle for a Longview vs Bossier-Shreveport rivalry.

This would be great! Is the building and construction of the arena still "prospective," or is it a go for sure?

I believe there's still a couple things to finalize. But they're serious enough to make a big whole drawing of it so....

Any updates on the proposed arena or hockey team?
There are several hockey fans over here in Gilmer that would love to see Longview get team.
It's kinda hard sometimes to get to Shreveport or Dallas to catch a hockey game, especially during the weekdays.

Longview has apparently shelved the building of a multi-purpose arena for the time being, probably because of the state of the economy. Tyler is looking to build one, but I don't know the status.

I live in Longview, but I think the best place for a CHL hockey team would be Tyler. Smith County has a population of over 190,000. If you add the population of the 8 counties that border Smith County, that number grows to over 650,000.

The Central Hockey League is owned by Global Entertainment Corporation, which is also in the business of building arenas for cities the size of Tyler/Longview. They also guarantee a CHL franchise.

For a franchise to be successful, it would have to be marketed as East Texas' team. Below are my suggestions for a name and mascot:

NAME: The East Texas Oil Boom, in honor of the oil industry in East Texas.

COLORS: Purple, Gold, Black and Gray

LOGO: A WildCatter sitting on top of a pumpjack, riding it like it was a horse.

Hey, it's just my imagination running a little wild!!

One way we, the fans, can perhaps help this become a reality is to send correspondence to the CHL office. To do this, go to:

www.centralhockeyleague.com

Click on 'The CHL' link in the toolbar at the top.

Click 'Survey', then fill out the required fields and enter your text stating your desire for a team in East Texas, and the reasons you think one can be successful.

NOTE: Please use intelligent wording and try to refrain from some of the 'slang' used in much of the forums. We don't want to sound like hicks, even if we are one...

You will find no more intelligent, insightful, well-spoken people than the members of the SDC Hockey forum . . . don’t worry.

Another reason the CHL would have a better chance of success based in Tyler is the media outlets. There are three network tv stations in Tyler, to just one in Longview. However, another option might be that if both Tyler and Longview build multipurpose arenas, then maybe the teams could split their home schedule between the two cities. That way you build a fan base in both areas, and the fans from one area are more likely to go watch the team when it's in the other location.

But no beer.

Without beer, I couldn't stomach a hockey game.

Gregg County rules.

ONLY if it is a TISD-owned arena. I would do everything in my power to stop that...

I received the following reply from the commissioner of the CHL. We need more people to contact the CHL from their web-site to show support and interest for a team in this area.



Dear Randy,

Thank you for taking the time to inquire about this opportunity for a CHL team in East Texas.

We believe that this could be a successful area for a Central Hockey League franchise in the near future. I agree, that with a new arena, it would make much sense for them and the surrounding teams to create a rivalry and reduce travel. Our company that builds arenas has spoken to that area, and hopefully something can happen in the near future. Hopefully if it comes to the next step in the process, the community would support such an endeavor.

Thank you again, and we hope we can be in that area eventually.

Sincerely,

Duane Lewis

Commissioner

Central Hockey League

Longview Mayor Jay Dean and Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt both appear committed to making this project work. County commissioners want to be prudent since the economy is slow-sledding, but it's the county that has the war chest.
And I don't know why so many people have this idea that Tyler is the most progressive city. As far as media outlets, I've yet to see the four East Texas television stations put out as much news on a daily basis as the Longview News-Journal. But the point - that television coverage would most likely happen in Tyler rather than Longview — is very valid. I see evidence of that every evening and night.
And as far as 190,000 people in Smith County, there are 215,000 in the Longview metro area. Actually, Longview MSA is larger than Tyler MSA, and Longview covers more square miles and its county government has prepared for storms i.e. jail space, savings, no debt.
I guess that's not progressive enough.

I'd be for whichever city has the best chance to make it a success. I know Tyler has failed twice when it comes to minor league baseball, so who's to say they could succeed with minor league hockey. However, minor league hockey tends to outdraw minor league baseball. One of the problems I see for Longview is it being closer to Bossier City, and the league may think it would take fandom away from the Mudbugs, especially with people that live in the Marshall area.

Am I correct that Longview has put the development of an arena on hold for now? I also think they need to build it at a different location. There's very little in the way of retail and restaurants anywhere close to the fairgrounds. A location in the area of Cheddars and the new Target would probably be a better location.

"Failed" is a strong word, YES -- neither team is here anymore, but they were improperly run franchises.

Assuming failure to an ownership group that would bring either a Baseball or Hockey franchise to Tyler -- AND RUN IT CORRECTLY -- is completely unfair, IMHO.

This is getting me really excited thanks for the new info, longview has a TON of new progress over the past couple of years, Tyler is expanding really well also, but Longview has some catching up to do, great job getting this new article in. Btw, was the St. Louis job the only one you could find? i have some good hook-ups with the longview news journal team

^ what new info is there ????

(last post: Feb 10 2009, 06:03 PM)


If there is new information, please post!

Well, the first time ive seen it... If i havent seen it, its new to me.

Update on the Entertainment Center in Longview:
http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/n...ti_purpose.html

From today's Longview News-Journal.

The image they have looks completely different from the one I posted a while back.