Hope for Coliseum?

The Kansas Coliseum site badly needs a productive future, and the proposal by Johnny Stevens seems to offer one.

Still, the Sedgwick County Commission shouldn’t have agreed to sign a letter of intent Wednesday to sell the Britt Brown Arena and Kansas Pavilions without first letting the public see the letter — and better explaining why the county might accept

$1.5 million for a property valued at $22 million.

Signing the letter with Stevens, a Wichita commercial developer and oil company executive, allows both sides to spend the next two months working out details, including whether Stevens leases space to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research. If so, the deal could bolster Wichita’s efforts to be the Air Capital of the World for aerospace research and development as well as manufacturing.

As Commissioner Richard Ranzau noted in opposing the move, the preference would be for an open request-for-proposals process. But the county tried that two years ago, with disappointing results. And potential buyers haven’t been clamoring to make a deal since. As Commissioner Karl Peterjohn observed, the Stevens proposal also has the benefit of involving no public incentives (beyond the nice price, one could argue).

As the proposal advances, county officials should do everything they can to uphold their commitment to keep the Kansas Pavilions open through 2016, despite the facility’s need for public subsidy. To do otherwise would break the county’s trust with area organizers of horse, livestock and dog shows.

Overall, though, the Stevens proposal raises hopes for a strong second act for the Coliseum site and its Britt Brown Arena.