The money would be used to fix the ancient cooling system in the 38-year-old facility.Arena management firm SMG is offering $500,000 toward the renovation of the rink cooling system at the Dow Event Center in exchange for an extension of the firm’s management agreement.
The total cost of the project is $800,000. The Saginaw Spirit, the main tenant of the building, would pay $150,000 toward the job, with the rest coming from arena operating funds.
SMG has managed the building since 2001, and local elected officials say they’re happy with the job the firm has done managing the arena, despite annual deficits of more than $500,000.