COEUR d'ALENE - Planning for a sports arena and event center in Coeur d'Alene is continuing, but at a snail's pace, said Ken Howard, chair of the North Idaho College Board of Trustees.

It has been nearly a year since the NIC board unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the college to pursue and support efforts to build a combined athletic facility and event center within the River District of the Lake City Development Corp.

Last summer, LCDC officials granted approval of a preliminary $10 million funding request the urban renewal agency received from NIC for the project, with some strings attached. Before being able to spend any LCDC financing, the college would have to raise $5 million on its own.

"I think most of those conditions are off the table. They had to do with the Stone property," Howard said.

Initial sports complex planning discussions focused on a site within the Riverstone development - 10 acres promoted by Riverstone developer John Stone.

"The studies have shown that wouldn't be an appropriate piece of property. That's kind of dropped off the radar," Howard said.

Plans to move forward now hinge on whether a 25-acre site - part of the vacant, old Atlas Mill property along the Spokane River - can be acquired by a private donor, Doug Parker, owner of Parker Toyota.

Parker came forward in August and told The Press he was in negotiations to buy the land now owned by Washington Trust Bank, so he could donate it to the project.

Last fall, event center management and construction experts hired by the college recommended the site be used to construct a 3,000-seat facility at a cost of $18-$28 million, depending on the construction style. They said the Riverstone site was not suitable.

Howard said the Parker purchase is being hampered by the presence of an abandoned rail line that runs through the property. Until that is resolved with Burlington Northern Railroad, it's unlikely project planning can continue in any specific way, Howard said.

"If this property is available and all the pieces come together, we'd go back to LCDC and re-evaluate," Howard said.

Evidence of LCDC's continued interest in the project emerged last week when the agency's board approved a plan to enter into a financial consulting contract of up to $20,000 with Piper/Jaffray to analyze the NIC event center project and the River District as a whole.

The trustees remain committed, Howard said, to seeing the event center/sports complex built without significant use of NIC money.

The college's No. 1 capital need remains expansion of its professional-technical education facilities, Howard said.