County chooses temporary concessionaire for Sportspark

It may be done, but the El Paso County Sportspark may still have some empty spaces for the grand reopening in just a few weeks. The Sportspark reopening is scheduled for May 21, but as county commissioners heard Monday, there may not be anyone in the clubhouse restaurant or pro shop.

The county has been going through the bid process for both slots in the completed renovations since the beginning of March when it became clearer when it would finally be done. But for the restaurant and general concessionaire, only two companies responded and no one submitted a bid to run the pro shop, to sell baseball and softball supplies.

The winning bid for the restaurant was Lumar Enterprises, which also currently runs the cafeteria in the courthouse basement under the name Primos. With the contract awarded Monday, they’ll run concessions throughout the Sportspark for a six-month span to start. There may not be time to get restaurant permits in place for the opening, however.

Beyond that, the lack of response from businesses, local or otherwise could present a larger problem for the county’s overall vision.

“This is one of those big-picture discussions,” County Judge Veronica Escobar said. “And so we’re buying ourselves some time, customers will have access to food. And the time that we buy could either demonstrate that the vendor is incredibly adaptable and can rise to the challenge. At the same time we can be seeing what our other options are.”

Commissioners have promised there will be plenty of food at the Sportspark. Concessions and food trucks will be available on opening day, and staff have been directed to loosen the specific requirements on things like hours of operation, to get a pro-shop contract in place as soon as possible.

Any business interested in running the restaurant or pro shop should contact the county’s purchasing department at 915-546-2048 or email kdowning@epcounty.com.