DALLAS -- A key Dallas City Council committee appears ready to recommend today that Reunion Arena be closed for good June 30 but remain intact while city officials decide whether to demolish the massive facility and whether to sell the land on which it stands.

A number of council members have previously expressed hope that the 28-year-old facility remain open to ever-dwindling event bookings. But Reunion Arena's bleak economic realities have become so overwhelming that even its most strident supporters appear resigned to its shuttering.

"We're probably going to make a decision Tuesday to bite the bullet and close Reunion Arena. We can save an immense amount of money doing this," said council member Ron Natinsky, chairman of the council's economic development committee.

Natinsky estimated that closing Reunion Arena and providing only the most basic resources to it, such as security, would save City Hall hundreds of thousands of dollars annually at a time when preliminary 2008-09 city budget estimates indicate a $50 million shortfall.

The decision about Reunion's future could be taken up by the full council June 25, the last meeting before its summer recess. The issue has not been scheduled, however.

Since 2003, the arena has lost more than $6 million, and professional city staffers say the facility will continue hemorrhaging cash.

In a memorandum to council members, Assistant City Manager Ramon Miguez also noted more than $2.5 million worth of facility improvements – parking lot resurfacing, heating and air-conditioning control system replacement, elevator repairs – that Reunion Arena would need.

"It's really hard to dispute the numbers. Once you put everything on the table and you do the math, the numbers lead you to one conclusion," said council member Pauline Medrano, whose District 2 includes Reunion Arena.

"The big picture shows we need to move forward," Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia said.

Council member Angela Hunt, who represents most of downtown Dallas, agreed that Reunion Arena's operational life is about to end.

But she cautioned against hastily selling the arena or its land.

"It's not a seller's market today," Hunt said. "I know one thing for sure: I don't want to sell it right now. We could see a better return on our investment down the line."

Hunt added that the Reunion Arena site, given its proximity to Dallas' Trinity River Corridor project, will only increase in value and desirability, no matter the land's future use.

Mayor Tom Leppert, for his part, has consistently supported closing the arena. He also wants it demolished as quickly as possible.

"You can throw good money after bad," Leppert said. "But there is a significant benefit to clearing the site. It will increase interest in the property."

City staff has estimated that Reunion Arena's demolition would cost as much as $5.5 million.

Reunion Arena is languishing in large part to a non-compete agreement City Hall signed years ago with Center Operating Co., which runs American Airlines Center. That deal stipulates that the larger, newer city-owned arena has first crack at arena-appropriate events attracting at least 5,000 people.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway last week called for Reunion Arena to remain open and angrily insisted meeting with Center Operating Co. officials in hope of renegotiating the contract. But such talks never materialized.

Caraway said Monday he's willing to back Reunion Arena's closure but wants to investigate renovating the Dallas Convention Center's aging 9,816-seat arena on Akard Street to accommodate the kind of events that Reunion Arena has been hosting. Caraway says he believes the American Airlines Center non-compete agreement does not affect this particular facility, and he'll discuss the matter today with the economic development committee's membership.

Meanwhile, Dallas taxpayers likely will continue to pay off debt incurred to construct the arena. In 1998, city staff rolled $69.5 million in Reunion Arena debt into a refinancing of the Dallas Convention Center's debt. But like mixing paint, it's not immediately clear how much of the convention center's debt comes from Reunion Arena's original debt.

If the city closes Reunion Arena, it could declare the facility surplus property. If it does, a contract City Hall signed with Dallas-based Woodbine Development Corp., a subsidiary of Hunt Consolidated, grants Woodbine 60 days to purchase the property. A price has not been determined.

If Woodbine decides not to purchase the property, the city could put it up for public bid.

While Leppert acknowledged Reunion Arena's nostalgia – the arena has hosted hundreds of sporting events, concerts, rallies and meetings – he asked Dallasites to look forward.

"It's served Dallas well. We should be happy about that," Leppert said. "But we need to go onto the future, which can be very bright for that parcel of land."