The Central Hockey League promised to put an as-yet-unidentified team in Rio Rancho's new bond-financed multi-purpose event center, after the owner of the New Mexico Scorpions said he would sell the team to a Phoenix developer seeking to build a new arena in downtown Albuquerque.
Scorpions owner Doug Frank said in November 2004 he would move the team to the planned 6,500-seat center. However, in February Frank agreed instead to sell the team to William Dutton, who is heading a bid to build a competing arena in Albuquerque.
Rio Rancho, which is about 15 miles north of Albuquerque, is using $33 million of excise tax bonds to finance the new facility. Sandoval County is also contributing $8 million to the project from money it received in lieu of taxes from Intel Corp. for authorizing the company to issue up to $16 billion in taxable industrial revenue bonds.
Rick Kozuback, president and chief executive officer of Global Entertainment, which owns the 17-team Central Hockey League, said last week the league is committed to providing a hockey team as the main tenant for the Rio Rancho project. International Coliseums, a subsidiary of Global Entertainment, will operate the Rio Rancho facility.
Rio Rancho is scheduled to break ground on its $42 million event center on June 14. The city will put the project out to bid April 20
