![]() In a historic decision, members of the El Paso City Council have voted against building a big arena in a downtown neighborhood, in favor of it being put up somewhere else. In a close 4 to 3 vote, the council decided to scrap the project, which was set to become reality in the more than 100 year-old Duranguito neighborhood, noting the community opposition and legal expenses the proposal has sparked since first being aired in the fall of 2016. The Multi-Purpose Cultural and Performing Arts Center, with an original price tag of $180 million, was one of many projects to be funded out of a $473 million Quality of Life bond passed by voters in 2012. But protests were lodged when city officials announced that the project would go up in Duranguito, which is located on the south side of downtown El Paso and contains a series of houses and buildings dating to the 1870s. Challenges to the project were subsequently heard in both state and district courts, costing the City of El Paso an estimated $3.3 million in legal fees. The council vote came after members learned of the results of an online survey indicating that 89% of respondents said they were fine with the area being built in Duranguito if the historic structures in the area were preserved. A new feasibility study conducted by the M. Arthur Gensler & Associates of San Francisco, suggested that a dozen Duranguito structures would be saved as part of an updated and amended plan to build an arena that would include both indoor and outdoor seating. But opponents maintained that the arena should simply be built elsewhere in the city. “Who defines quality of life?” Rafael Garcia, pastor of the Sacred Heart Church, asked the council members, before adding: “Who’s included and who’s excluded? It’s usually a small minority that ends up gaining and the people who end up losing.” Leonard Goodman III, chairman of the 2012 Quality of Life bond issue effort, suggested that abandoning the project would have a negative impact when it comes to future bond proposals to be decided by city voters. Council members may soon take up the question of finding a new downtown site for the arena. By Garry Boulard
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