SPOKANE VALLEY, WA – Spokane Valley officials are negotiating with a third party over a $44 million ice rink that an anonymous donor wants to build, with a promise to sell it to the city later on for $9.4 million.
The Spokane Valley City Council authorized City Manager John Hohman to begin the deliberations after hearing from parents on Tuesday. Some spend late nights watching their children at other facilities due to limited availability in town, often not returning home until close to midnight or later on week nights.
Innovia Foundation outlined the proposal for everyone in attendance. Councilmember Al Merkel asked about the donor, considering how much it would cost and the fact that they already have a contractor working on the designs. Hohman, who previously led the economic development department, refused.
“No,” Hohman said after Merkel asked who the donor was and how much they had already committed to the project. Mayor Pam Haley then asked if there were any other questions before Hohman quickly clarified, telling Merkel, “I had a conversation with him yesterday, and he prefers to be anonymous.”
Hohman will negotiate the terms of the 65,000-square-foot, two-sheet ice facility project directly with Innovia Foundation on behalf of the donor. City Services Administrator Gloria Mantz said that Innovia submitted a proposal weeks ago, requesting a 99-year lease on an 11-acre parcel owned by the city.
The Valley acquired the property in January and subsequently approved a $1.2 million project in April to install a waterline capable of supporting such a facility. Innovia initially presented the project to the council on August 19, during which Haley noted that she had already spoken to the donor months ago.
According to that meeting agenda, the benefactor first approached the city about the idea last spring.
“This property has significant economic development potential for the [city] but is not currently served by water,” according to the April 22 agenda. “The waterline project provides approx. 1,500 LF of new 12 and 16-inch water main, within private properties that are located on the west side of Sullivan Road.”
Mantz said Tuesday that the waterline would serve this parcel and could be finished by mid-November.
The donor wants the city to pay about $3 million to install access roads and sewer infrastructure, and in return, the Valley would hold a purchase option to acquire the ice rink for $9.4 million. The speakers didn’t say when the city could exercise that option, or if they intend to pay any leasehold excise taxes.
City-owned land is tax-exempt, so tenants typically pay a leasehold excise tax when renting it, rather than the standard property tax. Communications Manager Jill Smith told The Center Square that Hohman confirmed to her on Thursday that leasehold excise taxes would be a condition of this deal.
The Center Square also asked Smith when the benefactor first contacted the Valley about this, and who that employee was, or what office the donor reached out to. Smith said that Hohman was in a meeting, later adding that he had been invited to an architect’s office earlier this year, and the donor was also there.
Smith said Hohman couldn’t remember the exact date of that meeting. The Center Square asked her if he could at least recall the week or two period that it happened, but she said Hohman “couldn’t recall.”
The Center Square then asked Smith if Hohman could at least remember the month when he first met with the donor. Smith said Hohman is booked all afternoon and doubted whether he would have time to look back today, adding that she would follow up right away if they can “pinpoint that info.”
“In early 2025, a local benefactor contacted the City with an idea to build a duo ice sheet facility to serve youth sports and enhance regional tourism,” according to an Aug. 19 council meeting recap.
