Cross Hollow covered arena: staff lists $1,022,062 in costs against $1,004,119 available

At a June 17, 2026 work meeting, Cedar City staff told the City Council that private donations would pay for a 150-by-225-foot covered outdoor arena at the Cross Hollow Event Center. "We got private donations that cover every cent of it," Ken Nielson said, according to the minutes. ^[1]

The staff memo for that meeting said private donations had been received to cover the cost of buying the building and its construction. ^[2]

On June 24, the council voted unanimously to award the purchase of the pre-engineered metal building to the low bidder, Falcon Buildings. Phillips moved and Schmidt seconded. The minutes say the second-lowest bidder, a local firm, was offered a chance to match and declined; they do not state either bid amount. ^[3]

The October cost table

The Oct. 7 work meeting packet describes the arena as 33,750 square feet, used mainly for barrel racing, and says the bid package covers the foundation and construction of a "previously purchased building." ^[4]

The city received seven bids. Doug Hunt Construction Inc. bid $396,762.23 and PRT Builders LLC bid $423,429.23; the other four ranged up to $480,000.23. Staff listed Grass Creek Construction as nonresponsive after its bid form and addendum arrived by email after the deadline. ^[4]

Staff asked the council to consider awarding the bid to Doug Hunt Construction, conditioned on bonding, insurance and immigration status verification. ^[4]

The memo's funding table lists $804,119 in Cross Hollow account 10-90-970 and a $200,000 private donation, for $1,004,119; the memo describes the funding as private donations. Listed costs are $521,258 for the pre-engineered metal building, $396,762 for construction, $3,800 for structural engineering, an estimated $5,000 for materials testing and $95,242 for building impact fees, for $1,022,062. The balance is negative $17,943. ^[4]

Staff wrote that the project is over budget once impact fees are included, that those fees must be paid to obtain the building permit, and that more funds will be needed. ^[4]

The impact fees

A permit fee estimate dated Sept. 9, 2026, in the same packet lists a fire impact fee of $6,716.25, a transportation impact fee of $84,915.00 and a police impact fee. The three total $95,242.50, the amount in the staff table. ^[4]

The council's Oct. 14 action agenda included two arena items: "Consider bids for the Covered Outdoor Arena Project at the Cross Hollow Event Center" and "Consider waiving a portion or all of the impact fees for the new Covered Outdoor Arena at the Cross Hollow Event Center." The packet contains no new figures for either item. ^[5]

The Ledger has not seen minutes of the Oct. 14 meeting, and the records reviewed do not show the council's decision on either item.