Bronx Ice Center Will Have Billion Dollar Impact, Supporters Say

A converted armory in the Bronx will soon be home to the largest ice center of its kind in the world. The planned Kingsbridge National Ice Center will contain nine indoor ice rinks and a 50,000-square-foot community center.

skating-center-nyc.jpgRendering of the completed Kingsbridge National Ice Center.

While the facility isn't set to open until 2017, KNIC Partners, the group planning to turn the vacant Kingsbridge Armory into a 750,000-square-foot ice center, just released its study on the economic benefits of the facility.

"For lack of a better word, it's a game changer," Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevlopment Alliance said in an interview with the New York Daily News.

From the article:"KNIC says the $320-million center will generate more than $1.7 billion in economic benefits to the community across the 99 years of the lease.

The community benefits agreement requires that at least 51% of employees be Bronx residents and be paid at least $10 per hour with benefits or $11.50 without.

The community will receive 1.5% of the ice center's annual revenues, or $276 million over the 99-year lease. And the community will enjoy free ice time, worth nearly $589 million."

"It's a combination of a performance venue and a community facility," Jonathan Richter, president of KNIC Partners said. "Coupling those two together made it a robust economic engine for the city."

Will this facility be the game changer officials hope it will be? Or is the economic impact being overstated? Tell us what you think in the comments.