Proposed Downtown Deck Plaza gets $10 million for sports venue

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Monday, the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation announced the proposed park over the I-10 will get a $10 million gift from the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation.

The gift comes less than a week after the Loya family committed $20 million to the proposed project.

The Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation said the proposed project will honor the two families' names as the Fred Loya Family Deck Plaza and Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Fieldhouse.

According to the foundation, the fieldhouse would offer a space for basketball, volleyball, soccer and pickleball activity.

The Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation estimates it will cost a total of $239 million to build the proposed deck plaza. Previous reporting by ABC-7 found that building out all the amenities and adjacent buildings could cost $412 million in total.

The Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation said it committed to raising $35 million in private philanthropy. CASA Auto Group, the Loya Family and the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation have already made their marks. Additionally, the Downtown Deck Plaza said it will take over the park's long-term operations and maintenance.

"With the gift from the Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation, El Paso is another step closer to Elevating the 10 and creating a new destination in the heart of our city," the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation said in a news release.

The Hunt family's company started in 1947 as a retail lumber store in Lower Valley El Paso. The family established the foundation in 1987.

“We are deeply grateful for the Hunt family’s generosity and longstanding commitment to our Borderplex region,” said Tracy Yellen, President of the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation and CEO of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation.