Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino has what he described as an unfinished version of a study conducted by a private firm the city hired last year to examine the feasibility of his proposed $165 million arena and events campus known as Centennial Park.
During a discussion with reporters at a press event called by the mayor on Tuesday at the Cambria Hotel, Restaino said the draft feasibility study is in the process of being finalized in preparation for it to be shared with project stakeholders.
Restaino said part of the work that still needs to be done involves the target market of the city, which he said includes 15 million people that live within 120 minutes away from Niagara Falls, and how that fits in with the economics and finances of the project.
Restaino would not say whether the draft version of the study endorses moving forward with the concept, which he first publicly announced back in November 2021.
“I wouldn’t say anything at this point because, again, it’s not final,” Restaino said.
A majority of Niagara Falls City Council members agreed in April of 2024 to support Restaino’s recommendation to hire the Florida-based consulting firm Sports Facilities Advisory LLC to perform the project analysis at a cost of up to $140,000, plus $5,000 to $6,000 in projected expenses. The state’s lead economic development agency, Empire State Development Corp., and National Grid paid for the cost of the study. The results are expected to shed light on whether the project, as proposed, would be viable in the Falls. A previous arena study, commissioned by Niagara County in 2017, concluded that the city lacked a sufficient number of hotel rooms needed to support such a project at that time.
Restaino’s administration has said Centennial Park would be more than an arena and be more of a “multi-faceted, year-round event campus” that would house a 6,000- to 7,000-seat arena for sporting and entertainment events, a smaller arena for sporting and entertainment events and a splash pad that could be converted into an ice-skating rink during winter months. The project, as proposed, also calls for the construction of a parking ramp with exterior walls that could be used for rock climbing and a roof that could be used as a location for concerts or movie screenings.
The city, at Restaino’s direction, identified 10 acres of privately held land near the intersection of Falls and 10th streets as the preferred site for the project and has engaged in an ongoing legal effort to acquire the property from its owner, Niagara Falls Redevelopment, using its power of eminent domain.
Restaino and the city’s private attorneys from the law firm Hodgson Russ have now claimed in court that the city actually owns 5 of the 10 acres because NFR failed to properly acquire them as parkland from the state years ago. NFR is contesting that claim in court.
While Restaino has said Centennial Park would cost about $150 million, project documents submitted in 2022 by his administration to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that the total cost would be $165 million.
Those documents, acquired by the Gazette through a Freedom of Information Law request, also show the city needing $122 million in state funding to construct the facility, with the estimated cost for land acquisition listed at $10 million.
When the council agreed to hire Sports Facilities last year, Restaino said the company’s analysis would help determine what the facility should be, what type of venues the market needs and the size of elements like the events center, among other key project components. In essence, Restaino said the study would help “crystallize the idea of what Centennial Park should be.”
The proposed arena does not have a firm tenant in place, however, Restaino met in January with officials from the Ontario Hockey League to discuss the possibility of bringing an expansion franchise to Niagara Falls, New York. League officials announced last year an “aggressive” plan for expansion that would include the addition of three teams.
On Tuesday, Restaino said he considered his positive talks with OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford as a commitment to become a tenant for the Centennial Park if the arena gets built. He said Crawford and other league officials are interested in expanding into the United States, either through a franchise that would be created as part of the league expansion or through the relocation of an existing franchise that may be on the move at some point in the future.
“He has told me that he is waiting for the opportunity to come here to provide their letter of interest from the Ontario Hockey League,” Restaino said.
Following Restaino’s meeting with Crawford earlier this year, the league issued a statement in response to questions from the newspaper that the OHL continues to explore opportunities for expansion, including “avenues to broaden the league’s footprint in the United States.”
“With the appropriate facility in place, Niagara Falls, New York, would offer an intriguing center for the OHL both in terms of community support and geographical proximity,” Crawford said. “We look forward to better understanding what kind of opportunities there might be for the OHL in the region.”