It’s over: City, historian settle 6-year fight over arena in Duranguito

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- On Friday, an El Paso judge ended a lawsuit filed by El Paso art historian Max Grossman against the City.

The lawsuit stemmed from a previous plan to turn the Duranguito neighborhood into a multipurpose arena.

Judge Patrick Garcia signed an order Friday officially ending Grossman's lawsuit. Grossman tells ABC-7 that he also agreed to the end of the suit.

This comes after City Council decided in January to change the arena's future location.

As part of the end of the lawsuit, the City agreed to withdraw its Texas Historical Commission archaeological permit, which would have allowed for the demolition of all buildings in the arena's formerly proposed footprint.

Litigation started in May of 2017 and, over the past six years, made it all the way up to the Texas Supreme Court.

El Paso voters approved the construction of the arena in 2012. Since then, several people on both sides of the lawsuit have raised concerns over the potential costs of the building. A recent report predicted the cost would exceed the City's budget.

Grossman wants the City to have Duranguito established as a National Register Historic District. That would make the buildings eligible for federal and state tax credits and encourage revitalization.

"The City agreed to reopen Chihuahua Street and push back the fencing to the adjacent sidewalks," Grossman stated in his news release announcing the end of his lawsuit. The fencing became a point of contention during the course of the litigation.

ABC-7 has reported on the lawsuit since the beginning. City leadership has not yet commented on the termination of the lawsuit.