An arena in downtown Kalamazoo has been talked about for more than a decade. When Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids opened it took most of the large concert and convention traffic that used to hit Kalamazoo.

In 1999, then-Western Michigan University President Elson Floyd said a downtown arena was in the early discussion stages and talked about it as a possible venue for Bronco basketball and a future women's hockey program.

One of the chief stumbling blocks in such a large development is property acquisition. That shouldn't be an issue in this case as most of the land proposed for an arena is owned by the WMU Foundation or a subsidiary of the DKI.

The property in question includes the former site of the Redmond Funeral home along N. Westnedge Ave., as well as the former Goodyear dealership. The largest parcel of land is the seven acres that once housed a Cole-Gilmore car dealership. That land was donated to WMU in 2001 for public development by Kalamazoo-area businessmen Joseph Gesmundo and Tom Cole. Both stipulated that they favored an arena for the property, although they did not mandate it in the donation.

A 2008 preliminary feasibility draft, called for developing a 7,000-to- 8,000-seat, multipurpose arena with a estimated construction cost of about $40 million. The proposed location is a 9-acre site at the west end of the Arcadia Creek development, bounded by Westnedge Avenue on the west, Michigan Avenue on the south, Rose Street on the east and Kalamazoo Avenue on the north.

Speculation increased in the last few years when Kalamazoo-based Greenleaf Holdings purchased Wings Stadium and the Kalamazoo Wings. Greenleaf also owns the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo, and an arena seemed like a natural tie in for conventions and the like.

Arena traffic might benefit the downtown Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, and it would free up the current Wings Stadium land for other types of development.

Funding could be generated with a county wide sales tax on car rentals and food and drinks sold at restaurants and bars. Currently there is no local food and beverage tax for restaurants and bars.

Also, the county's current 5 percent tax on hotel rooms, used to promote tourism, could be increased to generate revenue for an arena.

Western Michigan University officials are again transporting the campus — or at least several hundred students and employees — to Lansing. The Michigan Capitol will be ground central for all things Western from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday as officials conduct the second annual WMU Day at the Capitol.

The intention is to show lawmakers what makes the university special, said Greg Rosine, senior vice president for advancement and legislative affairs. The event will be bigger and better this year, Rosine said. In addition to 30 exhibits and artistic performances, Robo Bronco— "a walking, talking, high-tech robotic version

of Buster Bronco" — will make an appearance.

During a February basketball game, with Western Michigan University men's basketball coach Steve Hawkins in attendance, 6-foot-8 Gobles senior Nick Stapert held his own against 6-10 Lawrence senior and Broncos signee Shayne Whittington. Apparently Stapert impressed Steve Hawkins enough to invite him to join the Broncos as a preferred walk-on.

The 6'8" 230-pound Stapert, averaged 14.7 points and 10 rebounds per game in the 2008-09 campaign, when he tied the school record for blocks in a season (70). He shot 53 percent from the field and 55 percent from the free-throw line. He also had a career high 35 points against Hartford.

As a junior, Stapert averaged 14.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per contest.

Stapert will likely redshirt in order to learn the system and to add some muscle.