Loebsack says federal government awards Cedar Rapids Event Center project $35 million; Chamber gets $3 million for commerce center

Congressman Dave Loebsack on Friday announced much-hoped-for news for Cedar Rapids:

The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, Loebsack said, has awarded the city of Cedar Rapids a $35-million grant, funds that will provide a hefty piece of a $67-million project to upgrade the 31-year-old U.S. Cellular Center arena and build a new Event Center convention facility next to it.

“This funding is a game-changer for Cedar Rapids,” the Congressman said Friday afternoon.

“By building a state-of-the-art convention center, Iowa's second largest city will be able to attract more businesses and tourists, further bolstering an economy that has been struggling in the wake of the economic downturn and the Floods of 2008,” Loebsack continued. “Today is a great day for jobs and economic development in the city of Cedar Rapids.”

Loebsack also on Friday announced that the EDA will award the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce a $3 million grant to help it build its $6-million Economic Commerce Center with a business accelerator component on the Chamber's existing downtown First Avenue NE site.

Mayor Ron Corbett on Friday afternoon called the Loebsack announcement a “huge boost” for the city's flood-recovery effort.

Corbett pointed to the recent 10-percent drop in property values in the city's flood-hit downtown, and he said the Event Center project will be “big shot in the arm” that will result in millions of dollars in investment in the downtown.

The city earlier secured $15 million in state I-JOBS funds for the Event Center project, and just last week, the City Council committed $17 million in local funds, a commitment required to receive the federal funds.

“Everybody knows that the U.S. Cellular Center facility is 30 years old and in dire need of an upgrade,” the mayor said. “And we also need a modern convention center if we are going to compete for business. Right now places like Dubuque are knocking our socks off with their newer facilities. And people see that.”

Corbett thanked Loebsack for his work to secure the funds, and he credited the local flood-recovery entity, the Economic Planning and Redevelopment Corp., for working with the federal agency on the city's application for the funding.

Doug Neumann, president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Downtown District who headed up the redevelopment corporation's work, said last evening that the federal agency actually invited the city in the weeks after the June 2008 flood to seek funds for flood-recovery projects with a regional economic impact.

Neumann called Friday's announcement from Loebsack “the culmination of more than a year and half of hard work and the successful completion of our number one goal.”

Neumann said the Event Center project will bring in $14 million in annual spending to Cedar Rapids once it is up and running. The center also will create “the market forces” to attract restaurants, entertainment venues, stores and a new hotel to the downtown, he said.

People mean a lot to a downtown, and the Event Center's arrival will be the start of bringing a lot of people downtown, Neumann said.