Outside attorney hired to examine legal ramifications of moving arena out of downtown

The City of El Paso is bringing in an outside attorney who specializes in bond financing to address city representatives at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The legal expert will present his conclusions on the possible impact of changing the location of the Multipurpose Performing Arts and Entertainment Facility – also known as the downtown arena.

Attorney Paul Braden is the head of public finance for Norton Rose Fulbright. He will present his interpretation of the city’s contract with voters who passed the 2012 Quality of Life bond.

The city’s original location would put the downtown arena where the Duranguito neighborhood now stands.

After push back from some residents and city preservationists, City Council voted to study alternate sites for the downtown arena, including the Downtown Convention Center complex. Later in a stunning reversal, reps approved a feasibility study that would again include the Duranguito Neighborhood. The study would later be tabled.

City Attorney Sylvia Borunda-Firth addressed staff, Mayor Oscar Leeser and reps at a special city council meeting Monday.

“At the council’s direction, the staff is continuing on all options. We are supposed to be bringing them all to you to make ultimate decisions. With regard to the proposal to move it out of the downtown area, there are significant legal barriers to doing it,” Borunda-Firth said.

Some members of the public and city representative Lily Limon have asked the question: Why not build the arena in another part of El Paso?

Borunda-Firth has repeatedly said during council meetings changing the location of the voter-approved downtown arena would have significant legal barriers.

“I have said it several times and it doesn’t seem to be accepted,” Borunda-Firth said.

The city hired attorney Braden to examine the city’s contract with voters. His presentation will be presented to city reps during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Borunda-Firth wanted to make sure the findings were shared during open session.

“So that the members of the public who continue to advocate for it to be moved out of the downtown area can hear that there are some very significant legal barriers to doing it. And that it comes from the public finance law and the bonds,” Borunda-Firth said.

City rep Peter Svazbein agreed.

“I think it is important to inform and educate the public even going to extra step of hiring an outside counsel who is the expert of bond financing. I think it would help to sway some of those concerns that seem to be being brought up again and again about what options and how easy or not easy it move it and also the legal ramifications of that,” Svarzbein said.

But rep. Limon is not giving up the fight to exclude the Duranguito neighborhood from a possible location for the downtown arena.

“We know already. We know for a fact that the Duranguito has a lot of questions. And as long as we have one holdout we will not be able to build on that area,” Limon said.
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