Ramsey County’s $10 million bid for the financially-troubled Vadnais Heights ice arena (aka Vadnais Sports Center) was rejected last week by bond holders, but that may not be the end of the story.
“I think we still have a 50/50 chance of it coming back to us,” said Ramsey County Board Chair Rafael Ortega on Tuesday. “We did our homework, and I think we put in a good, solid, honest bid. It will mitigate us having to spend millions of dollars of repairs to the other arenas.”
Say what? Ortega said the county offered $10 million cash for the ice arena, while other bidders put together larger packages that rely on financing which has yet to be pinned down. (A Pioneer Press reporter on Tuesday reached out to an attorney for Northern Educate for the latest on their loan application, and is waiting to hear back.)
At the Ramsey County Government Building on Kellogg Boulevard, some county officials are quietly calling Northern Educate’s winning bid (which was $13 million) an unlikely sell. The deal doesn’t officially close until the financing is in place, and coming up with $13 million is no easy feat.
Still, Northern Educate is making waves. The hockey program offers instruction to hyper-competitive students in grades K-12, and hooks them up with online schooling, so there’s really no need to congregate face-to-face with anyone who isn’t a hockey buff. (The Scoop editorializes liberally here).
More on that intense and controversial model — and its “national expansion” — here.
On another note, what happens if Ramsey County does purchase the Vadnais Sports Center? There’s a strong possibility the county would start conversations with the community about selling or closing at least two of its aging ice rink facilities, which need millions of dollars in upkeep. The Scoop names no names.
