More music concerts from traveling performers. A “drastically improved” experience for Mardi Gras ball attendees. The return of the Mobile Mysticks hockey?

The ideas, while preliminary, are slowly starting to surface as momentum builds for a complete overhaul to the 59-year-old Mobile Civic Center.

But the looming question remains over a project that is its early stages of development: What could Mobile taxpayers get for a potential $202 million revitalization to the deteriorating Civic Center?

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That answer could come from the firm awarded with a facilities management contract. Two companies are vying for that contract including longtime Civic Center facilities manager ASM Global. The other is OVG. Both firms will be interviewed by city officials next month, and the contract carries the potential of unlocking the details of what a future renovated Civic Center looks like for Mobile.

The firm that wins that contract will also be charged with managing the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center and the Saenger Theatre.

“It’s important we do this now,” said James DeLapp, executive director of public works with the City of Mobile, who is administering the overall project. “We want to select the firm and the company that will have input into the design and finality of that. They will also put an investment into this project as well, so it’s important to get them involved early into that.”

At least one Mobile city council member believes it’s much too early to start planning for a future Civic Center or even alerting Mardi Gras groups about its potential closure in future years while construction is underway.

“I think we are premature,” said Councilman Joel Daves, who has long chaired the council’s finance committee. “I think we have to know a lot more about how much it will cost to build it, where the money comes from to build it and what it looks like on an operating basis.”

He added, “It’s very early in determining whether it’s a done deal or not.”

Current issue

The questions about the future of a renovated Civic Center surfaced Tuesday, while City Council members debated a $945,259 contract with Volkert Inc., to oversee the professional program management services during the duration of the construction project, expected to last until January 2027.

The council is expected to vote on that contract next week, though a dispute arose over whether there should be language added to the 47-page agreement with Volkert requiring the city to include opportunities for smaller firms labeled as disadvantage business enterprise (DBE). The city has a goal of 15% DBE involvement on larger contracts.

DeLapp said the city is committed at least $30 million in DBE contracts for the overall design and construction of the Civic Center, but Councilman William Carroll said the 15% rule should be followed with the Volkert contract.

“There is a way to do that, but it’s not placed in the proposal,” Carroll said.

DeLapp said there are no subcontractors within the Volkert contract, and that the DBE requirement should not apply to their work.

“That’s a professional services (contract) and is very specialized,” said DeLapp. “The large contracts with multiple (subcontractors), there will always be a DBE. If there is not an opportunity to do that, then we’ll have to go with what’s best for the city.”

Evolving project

Once the Volkert contract is secure, DeLapp said the following dominos could fall in the evolution of a project that represents the largest investment in a sports and entertainment venue in Mobile in recent memory.

The city has already earmarked approximately $29 million for the construction of a parking deck on the Civic Center site. The parking garage will be owned by the city and used for both Civic Center activities, and for an on-site office building that is under construction for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Daves said that only $4 million has been committed for the Civic Center project itself. Of that, approximately $1 million will go toward the Volkert contract for project management and $3 million toward design work. The council authorized a contract with Goodwyn Mills Cawood for the partial design of the Mobile Civic Center in early June.

“I’m committed to $4 million, but I don’t want us to get to the point where, all of a sudden, we’re $16 million in and we don’t know how much it will cost or look like on an operating basis going forward,” Daves said.

The city’s administration appears to be moving forward with putting together the overall project.

DeLapp provided the following notable timetables and details about the project to the media on Tuesday:

• The facilities management contract will be bid out after the September interviews conclude. The contract will be all-encompassing: The winner of the bid will be charged with managing not only a revitalized Civic Center, but also the existing Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center and the historic Sangar Theater in downtown Mobile. And the contract carries some “skin in the game,” DeLapp said. The firm will have a say-so in the venue’s overall design because “they will put an investment into this project as well,” DeLapp said.
• Bids on a parking deck went out on Friday and are expected to be awarded by mid-September. Construction on the parking garage will begin in October and is expected by completed by January 2025.
• Groundbreaking on the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers office building, which will be constructed on the southeast side of the venue’s parking lot, occurred in late June. Completion is expected in January 2025. The office building will be owned by its developer, FD Stonewater, and leased by the Corps of Engineers.
• Façade demolition on the actual Civic Center building is expected to take place on March 5, 2025. That would occur one day after the 2025 Mardi Gras Day.
• Mardi Gras balls would not take place inside the Civic Center Arena during the entire 2026 Carnival season. Mardi Gras balls will be inside the Civic Center Arena in 2024 and 2025. Parking will be restricted on-site during next year’s balls, and DeLapp said the city is in the process of searching for alternative parking arrangements. By 2025, the parking deck will be open and parking during the Mardi Gras balls will be allowed. By 2027, the new Civic Center will open for all Mardi Gras activities.
• A search for a corporate naming sponsor of the revitalize the Civic Center is underway. DeLapp compared it to the Caesars Superdome, which was previously the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. He said a naming strategy is “to get funding to help offset the costs of the renovation.”

• Will sports be part of a new Civic Center Arena? DeLapp said that there is interest from one of the firms competing for the facilities management contract in hosting ice hockey inside a new Civic Center. Mobile once hosted a professional minor league hockey team at the Civic Center from 1995-2002. That team, called the Mysticks – paid homage to the mystic societies that fill downtown with the parades and balls during the Carnival season. Said DeLapp, “Hockey seems to be the one of interest. The (existing Civic Center) has the capability, but it’s all outdated and needs replacing. If (ice hockey) were to happen, it would be a significant increase to the cost and one that we’re not planning on. If someone were to make that proposal, they would likely have to fund that.”
• What about concerts? DeLapp said that Mobile could capitalize on interest from bookers who covet midsize markets for shows. “Other than a Taylor Swift type of show, where they are selling out major stadiums, these midsize markets are where the biggest growth is at with 8,000 to 10,000 seating, and you don’t have to fill 40,000 to 50,000 seats. It’s a good, sweet spot. Those markets are growing and seeing a high demand for entertainment.”
• What about Biloxi? The Mississippi city, which is about a one-hour drive west of Mobile, is a draw for touring entertainers who perform at venues affixed to casinos. Alabama has long prohibited organized casino gambling. “There will always be communities around the city that we will have to compete with,” DeLapp said. “But these improvements will make Mobile competitive. The growth in Mobile as a whole, and around the (Mobile) Bay into Baldwin County is unprecedented now and we’ll definitely see an increase in attendance and the number of shows.”

• A renovated Civic Center will be the future home to large Mardi Gras balls, and DeLapp said the experience – starting with the 2027 Mardi Gras season – will be “much better overall” compared to the existing venue where the Civic Center’s concourse can be overcrowded with patrons after a ball’s tableau is completed. The concourse is filled with side rooms where food and beverages are served. Said DeLapp, “the rooms will be much different and it will be a much better experience.”