Allentown hockey arena delayed until 2013

The $80 million hockey arena proposed for Allentown's Lehigh riverfront will not be open until at least 2013, according to Mayor Ed Pawlowski.

While that means hockey fans will have to wait an extra year for the Philadelphia Flyers' minor league affiliate to drop the puck in Allentown, it also means they'll be less likely to be stuck on Seventh Street on the way to the games.

That's because the latest transportation plan, released last week by the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, calls for the $65 million American Parkway bridge over the Lehigh River to be open by the end of 2013.

Seeing his waterfront development plans delayed a year wasn't exactly in Pawlowski's plans, but he likes the upside to waiting.

"It's worth waiting an extra year to do this right," Pawlowski said. "This is too important to rush. We could muddle through for a year without the bridge, but we'd rather not."

Pawlowski initially hoped the project would be done in time for the arena to open in October 2012, but said lining up the financing in a difficult economy and dealing with groundbreaking legislation that creates a 130-acre state taxing district in Allentown are taking longer than expected.

The mayor has pinned much of downtown Allentown's future on an arena project he hopes will transform the waterfront into a sports, entertainment, restaurant and recreation district capable of drawing hundreds of thousands of people into the city.

But the prospect of all those people sitting in gridlock on the way to their first game could have put a damper on the arena's inaugural season. Once the American Parkway bridge is in place, fans of hockey, concerts or other events at the 10,000-seat arena would have better access from Route 22 and Airport Road.

According to the state Department of Transportation plan that is expected to be endorsed by the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study next month, the bridge is scheduled to be under construction late next year and completed by the end of 2013.

With money short and the project list long, no PennDOT project is a sure thing, but the long-awaited bridge appears to have cleared its most formidable hurdles. It's already through the often-precarious planning and environmental review processes, and perhaps most importantly, all of the federal and state transportation money to build it has been set aside in the new four-year plan.

"It's completely funded and it is on an aggressive schedule for construction," said Joseph Gurinko, chief transportation planner of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. "This project is a top priority in the next [Transportation Improvement Plan]."

Currently, American Parkway begins at Airport Road in east Allentown just south of Route 22 and runs past Coca-Cola Park before ending near the Lehigh River. It picks up again at N. Front Street, near the eastern entrance to Sumner Avenue.

The bridge would connect the parkway's two segments, giving motorists access from Airport Road and helping them avoid already congested neighborhoods in center city Allentown.

Developers fear that without the bridge, which would probably be near the arena, getting 8,000 to 10,000 people to the waterfront 250 nights a year could be difficult. Even if the arena opens in October 2013, the bridge might not be ready for three more months.

"That bridge is indispensable to the success of the project,' said Tom Rooney, whose Pittsburgh-based consulting firm, Rooney Sports & Entertainment Group, helped lay the groundwork for the arena deal. "The old adage that you only get one chance to make a first impression applies here. No one wants the commute to the arena to be a frustrating experience."

Rob Brooks, co-owner of the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh, which owns the Phantoms, did not return calls seeking comment.

The Brooks Group chose Allentown as the new location for the team after its previous home, the Spectrum in Philadelphia, was marked for demolition. Though Allentown's effort to prepare the Lehigh riverfront for the arena has gone slowly, a 130-acre special state taxing district has been created to fund much of the $80 million needed to build the arena, according to state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh.

Browne said the taxing district will divert all state tax money generated in the district for the next 30 years into paying off the arena debt.

The Phantoms have been playing in Glens Falls, N.Y., while the owners prepare a permanent home. For the team to play the 2013-14 season in Allentown, work on the 18-month arena project would have to begin by late next year or early 2012.

matthew.assad@mcall.com

610-820-6691

A BRIDGE TO HOCKEY

Allentown's hockey arena won't open before 2013, but that gives PennDOT time to build the American Parkway bridge.

Allentown Riverfront Arena: $80 million, 18 months' construction time, work must begin by early 2012

American Parkway Bridge: $65 million, two years' construction time, work must begin by late 2011

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