Topping off Dobson: $55.4 million renovation on track for next winter

Vail officials Thursday celebrated the workers who are on track to complete the $55.4 million Dobson Arena renovation by next winter, serving lunch and honoring a construction tradition “topping off ceremony” that marks a building’s highest point or placement of its final beam.

“When you talk about the things that go into your portfolio to really making your town unique and special … it is an infrastructure of amazing things,” Vail Mayor Barry Davis said. “When we’re done with this, it is going to be so special and modern yet it’s really cool and important how we’ve preserved the integrity of what the historical structure was.”

Funded by $48.8 million from the Vail Reinvestment Authority (Lionshead TIF District), $3.4 million from the Vail Recreation District, $800,000 from the town of Vail Real Estate Transfer Tax Fund and ongoing sponsorship and fundraising opportunities, the revived arena will boast two new entries from the south and west, and additional bathrooms and locker rooms.

For hockey games, the expanded seating capacity, including all-new, south-side bleachers, will be 1,400, while its capacity for concerts and other events goes up to 3,500 with floor seating. Plus, new concert rigging infrastructure on the ceiling, with design input from event promoter AEG, will vastly improve on the old Dobson’s infamously muddy acoustics.

“We were really limited in terms of acoustics and lighting that could be hanging from the ceiling,” Vail Town Manager Russ Forrest said. “And now, with the way the ceiling’s been re-engineered, we’ll have 45 different points where we can hang lights and acoustics from the ceiling to accommodate all sorts of events.”

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But Forrest emphasizes the renovated arena will be first and foremost an ice arena.

“What we’re doing will make this an incredible ice-skating facility, hockey facility for our youth, our adults, for our community, for another 50 years,” Forrest said. “We’re going to preserve the beautiful wood timbers that this place is iconic for, but we’re also going to turn this into a great event venue as well.”

There will be a new lounge and improved food and beverage service in the facility, and Forrest said big national ski groups, such as the National Brotherhood of Snowsports, are already looking into returning to Vail next winter, in part because of the new-look Dobson Arena.

For sporting events, Mike Ortiz, executive director of the Vail Recreation District, said the newly renovated Dobson Arena will be a regional draw.

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“You’ve got a special building here and something that this community can be very, very proud of,” Ortiz said. “I do believe with all my heart that this will be the nicest arena anywhere on the Western Slope (of Colorado) and maybe the western United States as far as ski resorts are concerned. When you think about it, it’s only eight months away, so that’s going to go by in a blink of an eye. So thank you guys all very much.”

Dozens of workers from Hyder/McHugh Construction and Populous Design were on hand for a town of Vail lunch and plenty of praise from elected officials and town staff.

“So now we have a real home that while it can serve our community on a daily level with ice, we’re also going to be able to bring in some concerts that are going to help us as a destination,” Davis said. “I love to go to rock and roll shows, and … it’s not going to be Carnegie Hall, but the sound is now going to be something that you’re happy to go listen to.”

Asked if the renovated Dobson Arena — which in the past, even with its muddled acoustics, saw big-time acts from Dave Matthews to Roger Daltrey — will provide Vail with too much indoor, winter concert capacity in light of the proposed Red Lion venue, Davis said not at all.

“So the great thing about the Red Lion is you want to have a portfolio of places, right?” Davis said. “So the Red Lion, they’re proposing X amount of people (350 to 400). This could be something that’s tenfold. It allows you to bring in … regional bands or a smaller touring band to now bring in something that’s like a signature travel-to show.”