ST PETER — The Legislature and governor would secure a high rate of return should they decide to invest in Mankato’s plan for expansion and remodeling of the downtown civic center and All Seasons Arena.

The Mankato region has requested $14 million in bonding from the Legislature and governor to cover half of the proposed expansion that would upgrade the Verizon Wireless Center arena, add a 1,000-seat performing arts center downtown and remodel All Seasons Arena for use by both men’s and women’s Minnesota State University hockey programs.

The facilities would help Mankato secure some $4 million annually in convention business it loses because it does not have facilities in demand. City leaders estimate the project would bring in $28 million annually in economic impact to the Mankato region. Officials say it will result in spinoff impact of $6.5 million through nearby redevelopment of an office/residential building. The project would also result in 450 construction jobs, and $84 million in construction-related economic impact.

In all the state and taxpayers get a $125 million return for their $14 million investment. Taxpayers will be served by a centrally located convention and entertainment complex that serves surrounding cites, counties and MSU.

This project should clearly meet the governor’s standard as one of regional and statewide importance. Mankato has recently become the state’s newest metropolitan statistical area, putting it on a par with regional centers in Rochester, St. Cloud and Duluth. These centers have increasingly been attractive to companies wanting to locate in Minnesota, and institutions wanting to expand. The Mayo health organization has invested millions in its Mankato facilities because doctors and other professionals find the small city has a lot of significant amenities. This would be another such amenity that would draw employers and workers.

And, as a hockey fan, the governor knows statewide teams at universities in St. Cloud, Duluth, Bemidji and Minneapolis will benefit by playing in a first-class hockey arena that actually doesn’t require state operating funds like others around the state do.

The governor should also be happy that local taxpayers and the region are paying half the project cost through the local sales and hospitality tax. As Mankato grows with these kind of projects, it will likely be less in need of local government aid, a program the governor frowns upon.

The remodeling of arena facilities will also help MSU meet gender equity goals in men’s and women’s division one hockey programs. Gender equity standards are a federal requirement for schools to maintain their NCAA standing — again, something that benefits the state as a whole.

The project also goes one or two steps further than similar projects around the state that have been funded by bonding in the past. The establishment of the civic center was done completely with local taxpayer funds, and with no state bonding money. Arenas in Duluth and St. Cloud have received bonding money in the past. The partnership between MSU and the city also fits well with the governor’s emphasis time and time again of getting governments to work together to provide taxpayers with efficient services.

The multi-use regional facility will serve a wide community, from conventions to MSU regional events. It will also create a venue for regional arts programs, concerts and allow conventions right-sized auditoriums and meeting breakout rooms.

Leaders of the Minnesota House and Senate have included the project in their bonding proposals. Gov. Pawlenty, so far, has not. The governor argues bonding projects don’t really create wealth. But this kind of philosophical argument we believe will be lost on construction workers who’ve been laid off for the last 18 months.

In other respects, the project appears to meet many of the governor’s previously stated standards, however mobile they may be.

The project has been well planned. It has statewide and regional value. It strengthens regional partnerships. It provides value to the taxpayer. And its provides a significant economic return for the state’s investment.