EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Over a decade after the Multipurpose Performing Arts and Entertainment Facility — more commonly referred to as the Downtown Arena — was approved by voters in the 2012 Quality of Life bond, the measure appears to be going back to El Paso voters in the November general election.
City Council voted 5-3 on Tuesday, July 16, to direct staff to take the initial steps to put a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot, asking voters if they want to continue to press forward or ditch the project altogether. If voters choose the latter, the measure would revoke $128 million in unsold bonds from the original $180 million bond to build what was originally proposed as a large arena in Downtown El Paso.
“We’re going back to the voters who said in 2012, ‘You (the City) can’t build it, you still can’t build it.’ We want you (voters) to vote on whether to move forward, or if you want to look at something different,” said El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser.
In February, City Council proposed a new site for the Downtown Arena around the historic Union Depot. That proposal, which has since stalled, comes after halting the process in January 2023, when initial project plans were to build the arena in the Duranguito neighborhood. City officials estimate building a large arena would now cost well over $400 million.
City Rep. Chris Canales, who posted the item, feels that the time is right to give voters a new say on how and if they want the project to proceed after years of failing to break ground.
“Voters have been waiting 12 long years since the passage of the 2012 Quality of Life Bond election for some resolution on the MPC project, and after so much time they should have their voices heard again at the ballot box,” Canales said. “In the more than a decade since the MPC project was first approved, the project has, through a series of high-profile headwinds and hang-ups, morphed into something that no longer resembles the initial concept. The reality now, in 2024, is that there is nowhere near the amount of funding required to deliver an ‘arena.’ A project of that scale would cost something in the range of $400-$500 million, not the $128 million remaining in unsold bonds.”
Canales, along with City Reps. Art Fierro, Brian Kennedy, Henry Rivera and Joe Molinar voted to send the issue back to voters. Reps. Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido and Josh Acevedo voted against the measure.
“I have consistently opposed spending more money on the Multi-Purpose Center (MPC) than what voters approved in the 2012 election,” Fierro said. “While I originally supported and voted for the MPC, numerous constituents, along with community and business leaders, have raised concerns about its location and size. Most importantly, this project has been underfunded from the start. Given these ongoing issues, I believe the fairest approach is to let the community decide the next steps for the MPC.”
The City of El Paso has also entered into a public-private partnership with Notes Live, Inc., for a 12,500-seat outdoor amphitheater on 17 acres at the Cohen Stadium site in Northeast El Paso.
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