Austin Morris, co‑founder and co‑CEO of Enclave, presented a proposal to site the convention center in the Urban Plains neighborhood adjacent to Shields Arena and the Farmers Union Insurance Center, arguing the campus would multiply sellable event space by combining arena, ice practice and new exhibit/ballroom areas. "We selected our team with Brandt, and TVS this location for a variety of reasons," Morris said, noting strong interstate access, existing entertainment investments and a planned lifestyle / entertainment district dubbed the "Quarter Pie."

Design and site: Rob Swedberg of TVS said the proposal treats the combined campus as a contiguous, flexible footprint that can operate as a larger combined inventory of sellable space — TVS modeled the site to function like a 150,000‑square‑foot campus when combined with existing arena and Farmers Union spaces. Swedberg also said designers tested parking capacity on the site and concluded the surface parking layout can meet event demands for the drive market the team expects to serve.

Operations and logistics: John Kram (referred to as John Crum in introductions), general manager of Shields Arena, said his team would propose to manage the combined campus. "We propose that we'd be the managers of this," he said, adding that the arena is privately financed and currently operates without public subsidy. Kram explained the team already operates more than 100 events per year and believes the joint campus would allow them to capture events the market now turns away because of limited space.

Ice sheet / multipurpose use: The team emphasized that the Farmers Union Insurance Center’s ice surfaces can be covered and repurposed for exhibit space on a timetable the team regularly executes; presenters said the venue can reconfigure from ice to event surface in roughly an eight‑hour window and that concurrent uses (for example a convention and a game or concert in the arena) are operationally feasible.

Finance and land: The presenters said much of the land relevant to the proposed campus is controlled by the park district and Urban Plains stakeholders; they described utilities and site infrastructure as in place and characterized the site as shovel ready. The team said the core convention build could be pursued within a notional $40 million capital envelope with attention to a one‑level simple layout to control cost, while acknowledging the hotel element (a full‑service 150‑room property proposed on the east side of the site) may require additional assistance or incentive.

Energy and operating cost considerations: presenters described plans to pursue operational efficiencies including possible reuse of excess heat from the arena ice plant to heat the convention facility as an energy‑savings measure. They also emphasized surface parking initially and said a parking structure was not necessary for the first phase.

What was not decided: presenters outlined program, operational approach and preliminary financing thoughts but did not present a final funding package or a formal agreement with the park district; committee members asked about land control, availability of ice sheets and timing for conversion, and the presenters said they had existing agreements and operational experience to manage overlapping events.

Ending: the Enclave team offered to supply more detailed pro formas and design material if shortlisted; no formal action or vote occurred at the meeting.