One of Anchorage’s largest entertainment venues will soon reopen to the public after being used as a homeless shelter since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Sullivan Arena will again be used to showcase entertainment events and sporting functions the people of Anchorage and Alaska need,” Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson said during a news conference Monday morning.
Bronson said O’Malley Ice and Sports will operate the Sullivan. It currently also operates the Ben Boeke and Dempsey ice arenas. O’ Malley general manager John Stenehjem said he aims to get the Sullivan up and running by the beginning of November.
“We’ve been inside the building doing some preliminary groundwork,” he said. “Things are looking really good, and we’re very excited to bring that iconic building back to the community.“
Officials say the city’s share of the cost to reopen the Sullivan will come from the capital improvements budget. It’s unclear how much it will cost, as the city begins contracting to get the parking lot, glass and other parts of the facility repaired.
The Sullivan has served as the city’s primary winter shelter since 2020. The shelter shut down in May. With nowhere else to go, hundreds of homeless residents started camping.
Meanwhile, outdoor deaths among people believed to be homeless in Anchorage are surging, with a record 29 deaths so far this year. Bronson said most of the deaths haven’t been from exposure to the cold weather.
“A lot of it’s drug-related — alcohol abuse, fentanyl. The indicators are it looks like fentanyl, you know,” Bronson said. “It’s a sad state of affairs and winter is going to add to that unless, quite frankly, the Assembly comes up with a shelter.”
Bronson wants to build a new large homeless shelter in East Anchorage. The Assembly is scheduled to vote in late August on whether to allocate millions of dollars to the project. The city’s health department is also set to announce its cold weather shelter plan next week.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
