After repairs and upgrades, Cohen Stadium is ready for business

After nearly two years of repairs, Cohen Stadium is ready to host major events and concerts.

Last year, the city told us the previous tenants left a big mess behind at Cohen Stadium after the El Paso Diablos moved to Missouri.

A report compiled by a private consultant said more than $1-million was needed to bring stadium back up to code.

Last September, Cohen Stadium hosted a monster truck show, but Friday’s concert featuring bands “Yes” and “Toto” will be its first major event,showcasing just what Cohen stadium is capable of and how far its come.

“You’re looking at a year, a year and a half, 16 months since the City of El Paso took control,” Bryan Crowe with Destination El Paso, said.

The city retook occupancy of the stadium in Spring, 2014–from the parking lot, to the canopies, to the seats–Cohen has undergone a facelift.

According to city reports obtained by Abc-7, Cohen Stadium was left a mess by the baseball management group that had been leasing it–leaving the city with a hefty bill.

“Some of the improvements we’ve done are exterior painting of the entire stadium, improving our image, improvements to restrooms, plumbing systems, electrical systems, we’ve dealt with vandalizing issues, a number of things that come along with having a site that’s not being occupied,” Crowe said.

In 2013, a private company completed a condition facilities assessment. They found Cohen would need $860,000 dollars in repairs. Crowe says based on their vision for Cohen, they only needed to spend $200,000.

“We’ve been very frugal in terms of investments. There are still a lot of needs here, but we wanted to focus on investments that would drive revenue,” Crowe said.

That plan has heped offset repair costs, by generating at least $150-$160,000 in revenue.

All the work will be celebrated with the stadium’s opening event.

“We spent the off-season and this summer getting ready for our first concert tomorrow, August the 28th, we’re bringing Yes and Toto.”

It’s also just a preview of Destination El Paso’s vision for the Diablos’ old stadium

“We feel that Cohen Stadium can have a future as a home for a number of concert actitivites that are crossing through our area of the U.S.”

A home that will also attract El Pasoans eagerly waiting to come back to Cohen.

“If they have concerts, that would be awesome, why not?” Judy Pinon said.

Cohen Stadium will also host a motocross show this fall. You can expect another major event in October, though Crowe couldn’t say what. The city tells us cohen will host at least 3-4 major concerts a year.