At least one of three lawsuits designed to prevent the construction of a $180 million multi-purpose arena in El Paso may be discarded.
Attorneys for arena critic Max Grossman say they are withdrawing a lawsuit contending that the City of El Paso willfully violated a court order preventing the demolition of structures in the Duranguito neighborhood, the same neighborhood where the arena is slated to be built.
The motion on behalf of Grossman, a former member of the El Paso Historical Commission, says “evidence produced during discovery will likely not show that officials with decision-making authority” violated that 8th Texas Court of Appeals order.
Issued last September, the appeals court order instructed the City of El Paso to hold off on the demolition of several properties in the neighborhood.
Two other related lawsuits remain to be resolved. One contends that El Paso was in violation of the Texas Antiquities Act for failing to notify the Texas Historical Commission of plans to demolish historic structures in Duranguito.
The remaining lawsuit is centered on whether El Paso can use Quality of Life bond funds to build the arena, which city officials have said will be used for sporting events.
That lawsuit contends that because the ballot language for the arena never specifically mentioned that sporting events would be housed at the facility, the bond funds cannot be used in its construction.
El Paso city officials have vowed to pursue both the demolition of the Duranguito neighborhood, as well as the construction of the new arena, once and if the legal questions regarding the project are cleared up.
By Garry Boulard
