By Peter ZieglerAssociated PressPublished Dec 03, 2017 12:00AMUpdated Dec 03 and 12:02AMThe NHL has announced that it will spend $8.5 million over the next four years on public schools in the NHL-owned arena in St. Louis, including a new hockey facility in the new NHL Development League.
The new facility will include an NHL team, hockey equipment and other supplies.
“We’ve invested a lot of money into public schools and we’re continuing to invest in them,” said St. John Fisher Hockey Association President Mike Smith.
“It’s a huge investment.”
The announcement came after St. Paul, Minnesota, mayor Chuck Stempel announced he was canceling a planned $4.9 billion stadium for the Minnesota Wild, which was to be built by a private developer.
The mayor’s announcement sparked protests by Stemplers supporters.
The NHL announced Friday that the new $8 billion facility in St Louis will include a new rink, new equipment and a hockey facility, including the NHL team.
The new rink will be built at the former Arena B at the site of the former Metropolitan Athletic Club, which closed in the 1990s.
The rink will have a capacity of about 6,000 fans, the NHL said.
It will include two practice ice rinks, a hockey rink and a media tent, among other amenities.
The team will play at the facility for the first time since 1994.
The arena, which will be operated by St. Michael’s Catholic Church, will house the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The arena will be leased by the NHL, which is a partner with St. Thomas Health.
The St. Cloud Times, the city’s newspaper, said Friday that St. Joseph will pay $2 million a year for a year to the city for the rink.
It was not immediately clear how much the city would have to pay for the arena and other amenities, including public transportation.
St. Joseph Mayor Donnie Kivimaki said he has received $1.2 million for the project, and he said he had asked St. Joe to take a $1 million loan from the city.
Kivimak said the team will begin play in 2020, and the arena will open for the 2018-19 season.
Stempel has said he will not support a stadium for Minnesota’s Wild.
The mayor’s decision came after two years of negotiations between St. Mary’s and the NHL over a new stadium in the Twin Cities.
The Vikings stadium in St Paul, which opened in 2016, was funded in part by a $3.2 billion state and local tax credit.
The city’s arena financing deal is one of several deals announced by the St Louis Blueshirts organization.
The Blueshirt hockey team has not been active in the arena financing arena financing since it relocated to the Minnesota-St. Paul area in 2015.
The Minnesota Twins, which are owned by the city of Minneapolis, have said they are not interested in a team in the $6.2-billion arena financing.
The Devils announced Friday they have also not decided whether they will participate in the financing of a $6 billion arena in Newark, New Jersey.
The Blueshiders announced Friday plans to begin play at their new facility in 2020 and the team is expected to move to Newark by the end of the year.
The team will host the New Jersey Devils at a game on Nov. 29.
Staley said the NHL and the city are looking to bring the new arena into the market in the next few years.
He said the new facilities in the StLouis area will allow for more rapid development in the community and allow for a more sustainable long-term financial outlook.
