Greeley reviews revised 40-year lease terms proposed for Colorado Eagles at new arena

The Greeley City Council received a detailed briefing on proposed principal and primary lease terms that would make the Colorado Eagles the anchor tenant for the new arena and related development.

Blair Snow, project presenter for the city, told the council the team is proposing a 40‑year base lease term for the Eagles and that the lease is intended to align with the life of the bonds. Snow said other clarified items include the rent structure with attendance triggers, a facility fee and defined parking revenue shares.

The briefing placed the lease in the context of the larger arena and development project, with the presenter noting that arena revenue is only a portion of total project revenue and that the Eagles function as an anchor that brings crowds, retail sales and hotel stays that support debt service and other returns to the city.

Council members pressed staff and outside counsel on negotiation outcomes and tradeoffs. Councilor Debuti asked how assertively the city negotiated revenue splits and whether the rent compares favorably to the team’s current lease at Blue Arena. Councilors raised a series of detailed economic questions about the deal’s pro forma, including food and beverage sharing, suite values, ticket convenience fees, playoff rebates, and the degree to which the city’s consultants had pushed for better terms.

Brian Wildstein, outside counsel with Butler Snow, said the final venue use agreement will include protections for the city, including assignment and successor provisions and restrictions on termination rights that could expose the city to risk. Wildstein described typical negotiation focus areas as termination triggers and preserving the city’s exposure limits if a team or operator seeks to terminate for economic reasons or league changes.

Key terms discussed by staff during the briefing included: - Lease term: extended from 30 years in earlier documents to 40 years in the principal terms presented to council. The longer term was described as matching the bond term. - Rent and escalation: the attendance‑triggered rent rates presented in earlier materials remain; staff said a 10% escalation every five years would apply under the new draft rather than a previously discussed 5% escalation. - Parking and fees: staff said parking revenue was clarified as 70% to the city and 30% to the team; season ticket parking increased from $1.00 to $1.50 per ticket sold. - Naming rights and sponsorships: staff said the naming‑rights sharing formula was clarified to be 30% of gross naming rights plus 10% of the increment over $1,400,000, replacing a prior phrasing that read differently. - Suites and complimentary tickets: the draft reduced non‑Eagles comp ticket allotments from 40 to 20 for non‑Eagles events; staff said the team retains one or two suites for events and that suite pricing examples in the pro forma show ranges from about $21,000 for certain loge boxes to about $80,000 for a large suite on an annual basis. - Youth and college hockey revenue: staff said a 10% share of net event revenue applies to youth/college events held in the main arena (not in a separate youth complex).

Councilors also discussed structure and ownership: staff clarified the city owns the land, a GID (Geographic Improvement District) or similar public financing structure would carry moral obligations, and a separate 501(c)(3) and an owner/operator would take ownership of the vertical building once bonds are issued. Councilor Olson asked for clarity that the city would not own the building until debt issuance, and staff confirmed ownership and bond/lease relationships would be structured to protect the city’s interests.

Council members sought additional materials and time to review the underlying lease draft and comparable documents. Council asked to receive the team’s Larimer County lease template and the full venue use agreement or lease once it is finalized; staff said the venue use agreement will be fleshed out in a definitive agreement and brought back for review well before bonds are issued. Several councilors said they want additional detail on revenue splits in the pro forma (food and beverage, concessions, ticket revenue) and on suite valuations before formal approval.

Staff said consultants and arena operators (including OVG and an owner’s representative) reviewed the terms and advised the city these were within industry practice; council members requested the negotiation history and supporting financial exhibits for review. Staff also said they plan to deliver the full lease/use agreement to city leaders and to Provident and Water Valley (the owner entity) in coming months and expect the fully executed venue use agreement before the city takes any moral‑obligation bond action.

Where it stands now: council was asked to approve the principal terms presented as the basis for finalizing the lease; staff and outside counsel said they will return with the definitive venue use agreement and additional exhibits for council consideration and formal action prior to debt issuance.

Councilors repeatedly emphasized they want clearer numerical breakdowns in advance of any vote, including a side‑by‑side of pro forma assumptions and the final lease terms and a clearer explanation of what was negotiated versus what was industry standard. Staff agreed to provide the Larimer County lease and to furnish additional supporting calculations and clarifications in the coming weeks.

Ending: Staff closed the session by thanking the city’s consultants and outside counsel for their work on the lease terms and reaffirmed that the final lease/use agreement will be presented to council for review prior to bond issuance. No final vote occurred during the work session; council’s action timeline will follow review of the definitive venue use agreement and associated bond documents.