The National Trail Parks and Recreation District’s long-planned downtown ice arena could begin construction early next year.

The bids for the project, now planned for the former Haucke complex on West Main Street near Lowry Avenue, were opened earlier this month with construction costs coming in at an estimated $6.4 million to $6.5 million. The total cost of the project will be about $8.4 million and the district hopes to select a bid in January.

“It’s been a long process,” said longtime NTPRD board member Terry Groeber. “It’s going to be a blessing when it’s finally started and finished and open to the public.”

City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill also stressed that the project must be self-sustaining.

“The city of Springfield is not in a financial position to bail a mistake out,” O’Neill said. “We just can’t.”

The plan is to open the ice arena next fall, although National Trail Chief Executive Officer Leann Castillo acknowledged the district is somewhat behind with the current re-bidding process.

“We’re still shooting for that,” Castillo said.

All the bids came in under the engineer’s estimates, one of the requirements to move the project forward. However, the organization re-bid the site-work portion of the project after two bids came in under the estimates and three were more than the estimate. Castillo said the overall projected estimates could change based on which bid is accepted for the site work.

The final bids will be opened on Wednesday.

The Columbus-based OhioHealth Chiller Group, a regional ice rink group with ties to the Columbus Blue Jackets, is interested in operating the ice rink.

“We would love to work with them because of the knowledge and expertise they would bring to us,” Castillo said. “It would put us so far ahead of where we would be if we tried to do this on our own. They already operate so many successfully that they would be able to hit the ground running and start selling ice and marketing and offering things within the schools.”

The ice rink is part of the park district’s 10-year, $17 million capital campaign that also built Carleton Davidson Stadium, Splash Zone Family Aquatic Center and several other smaller projects. The campaign was paid for through a combination of private donations and public dollars, including a one-year, half-percent sales tax.

The ice rink was initially planned for where the Ohio Valley Medical Center surgical hospital is now located, and was later moved to the former Memorial Hall site.

The rink moved to the former Haucke site, a brownfield project which was cleaned up by the city in 2009, to save money on construction costs.

“Trying to find a place downtown was very difficult, but it’s worked out,” Groeber said.

Earlier this year, the project was estimated at $7.5 million, but costs increased due to engineer’s estimates being too low as well as the redesign to move it from the old Memorial Hall site to the Haucke location.

“We were making sure we were correct in where we were needed to be,” Castillo said.

The district also had a nearly $1.5 million funding gap on the project earlier this year. Castillo said the district is still waiting on some funding to be confirmed, while additional fundraising will also be done over the next year.

It also has the Memorial Hall site listed for sale with Midland Properties for more than $1 million.

“We feel confident we’ll be there,” Castillo said.

A business plan for the project compiled by the Canlan Group in 2007 estimated the ice rink could make a profit by its fifth year of operation.

O’Neill, the city commission’s liaison to NTPRD, said he’s not opposed to the ice arena, but is afraid of the financial strain it may put on the district and the city. The city commission has recently subsidized golf operations for the district, and has made clear it wants both the golf courses and Splash Zone to break even.

O’Neill said the city commission believes money needs to be set aside to sustain the ice arena during its first five years.

“National Trail needs to think it through because the city can’t be a part of something else that’s going to cost the taxpayers money that so few people are probably going to use,” O’Neill said.

Castillo said the ice rink will provide more recreational opportunities for Springfield residents. It will also allow those who drive to other communities for ice time, whether for ice skating, hockey or other family trips, to stay in the community.

“I don’t think people understand how many people leave our community to go to these types of facilities,” Castillo said.

Groeber believes the ice rink will be a destination for all ages.

“It’s just another great thing in our community for kids to enjoy,” Groeber said. “In time, we’ll have hockey, we’ll have open skating. They’ll be so many thing going on there.”