In a saga that sometimes seems without end, a move that could finally see the construction of a multipurpose arena in El Paso appears to be taking a new turn.
Members of the El Paso City Council have now voted in favor of instructing city staff to put on this coming November’s ballot a question that simply asks voters whether efforts should continue to build the arena, or to just give up on it altogether.
Whatever uncertainty may be suggested by that question stems from the fact that the project has encountered an inordinate number of obstacles and has taken much more time to become reality that anyone initially imagined.
Originally packaged as part of the big $473 million Quality of Life Bonds approved by city voters in 2012, the multipurpose project wasn’t officially unveiled until the fall of 2016 when El Paso officials said it was going to be built in an older residential section of the city.
Because that section was a historic neighborhood known as Duranguito, the site decision sparked a series of oppositional lawsuits that ultimately ended up costing the city more than $3 million in legal fees.
Early last year, the City announced that it was giving up on the Duranguito site, launching a new search for another location.
Because the estimated cost for building what has officially been called the Multipurpose Performing Arts and Entertainment Center has now increased to well over $400 million, city council members have determined that the time has arrived for additional voter input.
The question, Mayor Oscar Leeser said in council proceedings, is “whether to move forward, or if you want to look at something different.”
By law, the city council must approve the language for a November ballot proposal by July 30, with that body making an official decision to put the question before voters by no later than August 17.
By Garry Boulard
