Construction on Utica’s Nexus Center begins

UTICA, N.Y. — Officials on Wednesday broke ground on the $44 million, 169,440-square-foot Nexus Center in downtown Utica.

The recreation and sporting complex will be used primarily for ice hockey, box lacrosse, soccer, and other field sports. It’s expected to draw competitive youth teams from across the U.S. and Canada, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release.

The Nexus Center is projected to host 24 hockey and 24 lacrosse tournaments each year. It is also estimated to attract more than 320,000 annual visitors who will spend more than $26 million a year during their stay in the Mohawk Valley region, Cuomo’s office contends.

Crews are expected to complete the project by December, the office added.

A $22 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant was awarded last year to the Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority, which Oneida County matched, to help fund this project.

The Nexus Center will include more than 25 locker rooms, commercial office space, college classroom space, retail space, food and beverage services and other multi-purpose training space.

Its ice surfaces can “easily” change to field-based surfaces to attract sports that can be performed on a turf playing surface.

The Nexus Center will be part of the U-District, the region’s arts and entertainment district, will have three sheets of ice, and will be located adjacent to the Adirondack Bank Center. That venue is home of the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets, Utica College men’s and women’s hockey programs and the Utica Jr. Comets youth hockey organization.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com