Downtown Management District calls on city to “take no action” on arena project

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Downtown Management District is urging the El Paso City Council not to make a decision at its meeting scheduled for next week regarding the Downtown Arena project, which was approved by voters in the 2012 Quality of Life Bond election.

“The path to getting to the big arena is not clear. I haven’t seen any plans yet on how we get there. So I think it’s premature to take any action, to hold any votes, to repeal any bonds or support any bonds when we don’t know where we ultimately want to go and how those actions will help get us where we need to go,” said DMD Executive Director Joe Gudenrath.

The DMD continues to support and advocate for the construction of a large, modern arena in downtown El Paso, and Gudenrath said he would like to see a clear plan from the city on how that can still be accomplished before any decisions are made.

On the agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 16, is the question of whether the project should be put back to voters in the November general election so they can decide whether or not to kill the project entirely.

The point was pushed by city councilors Chris Canales, Brian Kennedy and Art Fierro, who argue it is only right that voters have a say in the project since it has been in limbo for so many years.

“I think after so long it’s a good idea to put this back before the voters to see if they want to continue. I think the city put together the best possible option with the money that was left for the proposal next to Union Depot, and I think the response to that was kind of lukewarm. A lot of people didn’t like that proposal,” Canales said.

The project, approved by voters in 2012, called for the construction of a modern mega-arena in downtown El Paso, but faced opposition and legal challenges as the Duranguito neighborhood was considered as a possible construction site.

Fast forward to today, the latest proposal called for a scaled-down hybrid facility with indoor and outdoor seating around the historic Union Depot site that would have half the capacity of the full-size arena.

“We have to make a decision, so it’s good to put that decision out to the public and see if they still want this project, if they want the proposal that the city put forward earlier this year, or if the project is maybe over for now,” Canales said. “You know, I find it interesting that there are people eligible to vote today who were 6 years old in 2012, and I think they deserve a say too. It’s their money too.”

Canales said he thought it was best to start from scratch and welcome future investment in an entirely new project with a clear plan, location and cost that would have a better chance of being realized than “cobbling together” something from the remnants of the 2012 vision.

“Arbitrarily changing long-term plans jeopardizes a person’s faith in the future of the community. We’ve seen a significant amount of private investment in Downtown El Paso based on a vision that talked about things coming to fruition but also included a large, modern arena,” Gudenrath said.

He added that further decisions that change this vision could jeopardize the investments made so far and called on the city to continue to stick to what has been approved.

“Stick to your plans, move forward, overcome obstacles, keep citizens engaged and informed, and then fulfill the promises our city government made to voters,” Gudenrath said.