[DetroitMan]

New renderings for $300M downtown arena cast spotlight on Western Michigan University

Leaders developing a $300 million arena in downtown Kalamazoo have unveiled new images for what it might look like.

Developers and others working on the project shed more light on the project on Thursday, Jan. 25, at an economic forum at the Radisson hotel. Bill Johnston, chairman of Greenleaf Companies and Catalyst Development — the company building the arena — spoke about the development Thursday, and said he’s excited to release new renderings for the public to see. “This has been going around conceptual stage for nearly 22 years,” Johnston said.

The project never seemed to get off the ground before, but it has now, Johnston said to the sold-out crowd at the forum.

He described the materials being used for the arena and said it will have an identity based on Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo. “Go Broncos!” Johnston said while talking about the work. Johnston graduated from WMU with a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a master’s degree in 1974. He is married to billionaire Stryker Corp. heir Ronda Stryker. One rendering shows a WMU bronco on display of the side of the building, which has an estimated 380,000-square-foot footprint.

Johnston acknowledged there can be fear about new developments, but said project organizers are committed to making the development benefit the Kalamazoo area. He estimated it would draw 700,000 to 800,000 people to downtown per year. “We are committed to making sure this center activates and amplifies everything about our community,” Johnston said.

The arena is slated to be built on four blocks of land at the corner of West Kalamazoo Avenue and North Westnedge Avenue on the west side of downtown.

The building will house some Western Michigan University sports including hockey, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. It will also house the Kalamazoo Wings hockey team, among other sporting events. The new arena will be the site of all current events that regularly take place at Wings Stadium now, Johnston said.

It will be a place for student athletes to develop more than just sports skills, and to help them in other areas of their lives, he said.

“We are not building just an arena. We are building an athletic performance center that is co-located with an arena and co-located with an event center,” Johnston said.

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo...niversity.html