City Council OKs RoughRiders' lease extension

CEDAR RAPIDS - There will be at least six more seasons of Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved a lease extension that will keep the United States Hockey League club as the main tenant at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena through May 31, 2019.

“The city of Cedar Rapids and the RoughRiders have had a long-term relationship,” Mayor Ron Corbett said Tuesday night. “They have been the major tenant at the Ice Arena, and keeping them in the facility for another five years is good news for the city.”

The RoughRiders begin their 2013-14 season Friday night at Lincoln, with the first home game Saturday night. The current lease between the city and Newco Riders, LLC, the RoughRiders' ownership group, ran through May 31, 2014, but RoughRiders CEO Jeff Jauch instigated lease-extension talks with the city awhile ago, in order to avoid bumping up against that date.

Sources said Newco Riders, LLC, initially requested a longer-term lease extension, but the city balked. Newco Riders, LLC, has made over $500,000 worth of improvements to the Ice Arena since purchasing the club in 2009.

"We're excited that we are able to extend our lease," Jauch said. "We obviously look forward to, as we approach the end of this extension, on working with the city on another agreement that will keep us here a long time. There is no question about our commitment to this community, going on what is our fifth season. We are committed to this facility and committed to this city. We want to be here a long time, and this is just a step in that direction."

The RoughRiders came to town from Mason City in 1999. The Ice Arena opened in 2000.