Council authorizes $388,855 for Hockey Hall of Fame schematic and engineering work; vote 3–1

The Inver Grove Heights City Council voted 3–1 on March 23 to authorize a $388,855 work order for schematic civil and engineering plans and a traffic assessment related to the proposed Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame project, contingent on final approval of a DEED (state) grant and execution of contract documents.

Director Zemer told the council the scope would cover initial traffic assessment and civil/engineering design to roughly 30% design and that the cost would be funded entirely by the maximum available DEED host-community grant if awarded. He described the overall proposal as a roughly $148 million, 140,000-square-foot facility that would include a hall of fame, museum, ice arena, performance space, meeting rooms and a restaurant and taproom in the city's northwest development area near I‑494 and the Minnesota Vikings complex.

“Pending DEED approval and execution of the grant agreement, staff recommends authorizing Bolton Mank to proceed with the work,” Zemer said. He added that no work would begin until the grant and contract were in place and that staff would return to council if circumstances changed.

A councilor who opposed the motion said the timeline felt premature and urged caution given outstanding fundraising and legislative questions. Staff said the Hall of Fame group planned a fundraising and legislative update in mid-April and that state funding bills had been introduced (a combination of general obligation bonds and cash appropriations were noted on the screen during the presentation).

The motion to authorize the work order passed by roll call. The roll recorded: Murphy — aye; Dukatch/Dukach — no; Gleiva — aye; Scales — aye (motion carries 3–1). The staff presentation noted the city’s request for legislative funding included a mix of state general obligation bond requests and cash appropriations, and listed a proposed breakdown that included developer private financing and city contributions.

What’s next: Staff said it hopes to have a predevelopment contractor agreement before council for review in April or May; an earnest-money decision point (50% nonrefundable payment) was noted for July 1, 2026. The council’s authorization allows engineering work to proceed only after DEED grant approval and execution of contract documents; if the grant is not approved or there are material changes, staff pledged to return to the council before proceeding further.

The recorded vote and the contingency on DEED funding mean the project may pause or be revised at future meetings if the funding picture changes.