Iowa State students and the Ames community may soon hit the ice in a new $3 million arena.

Kathleen MacKay, dean of students, said the current facility, located near the Towers Residence Association, is in need of replacement.

MacKay said the university has committed to spending $1.5 million towards the new ice arena project if the City of Ames will pledge a matching amount.

Nancy Carroll, director of Ames Parks and Recreation, said the city is still in preliminary stages for the decision.

“We’re in the stage of considering if the city council will support a special election [to approve the arena], which would occur in February or March,” Carroll said.

The city would raise the money through a bond issue.

The Ames City Council will decide in the next few weeks whether to hold a special election for the bond.

“Right now we’re trying to see exactly how much the arena is going to cost,” Carroll said. “We need to get a more up-to-date estimate.”

Estimates for the facility ranged from $3-3.75 million, Carroll said.

The new ice arena would be built near the site of the existing facility. “We’ll save a lot of costs by using the same site,” MacKay said. “You would not believe how much parking lots cost.”

The current ice arena is financially self-supporting, and MacKay said the new facility would be the same.

“This is not a revenue-making opportunity, and it is not a draining expense,” she said.

The current ice arena is used by both the university and the city. Events include ISU mens’ and womens’ hockey club meets and practices, more than 400 ISU intramural broomball teams and various Ames junior high and high school teams.

Ice skating lessons and young childrens’ activities are also available at the arena through a program sponsored by the city.

MacKay said the arena is widely used for the area. “The ice is programmed from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily,” she said.

There are currently no plans for the existing ice arena if a new facility is built, MacKay said.

“We hope to use the old arena until the new one is finished, if it holds out,” she said.

MacKay said the committee had discussed removing the ice and using the old facility for in-line skating, but no plans have been made.

Plans for the new facility do not include a large increase in seating. “The current facility has 800 seats, and the new one will have about 1,000,” Carroll said.

If the city passes the bond issue to fund the arena, they will be part-owners.

“The arena will be half-owned by the university and half-owned by the city, and on university land,” MacKay said.