Downtown residents concerned over the recently proposed arena

Residents of downtown and Chihuahuita have growing concerns after hearing Thursdays announcement of an arena going up in their neighborhood.

City officials announced it’s proposed site to build a $180 million multi-purpose arena there.

Efforts are already underway to purchase the land where the arena will be located.

The proposed site is a two block area just south of the convention center. Plans call for 12,700 seats to be built there.

Saturday afternoon residents held a meeting opposing the selected site. It was the first meeting residents held opposing the arena in their neighborhood. They say they worry about eminent domain and the arena causing other issues like traffic and parking.

Saturday evening as the sun set on the Chihuahuita neighborhood and residents stepped outside their homes for some fresh air but the landscape they see around them could soon change and it has them worried.

“This gets me really upset because there’s a lot of older people that have been here for so long,” said resident Soledad Muniz.

Muniz grew up in the Chihuahuita neighborhood and her mother has lived there for more than 40 years.

“I am really concerned about what’s going to happen,” Muniz said.

Muniz heard the announcement about the proposed site for a $180 million arena in the middle of the neighborhood.

Muniz and other residents in the area say they feel blindsided by the proposal from the city.

“I don’t believe they were transparent enough to let the residents know and be aware of what was going to happen and for them to prepare for this so this is a big slap in the face,” Muniz said.

“There’s some issues that I like about the development, it bring business to us,” said Black Pearl Nightclub manager Rigo Torres.

But Torres adds this is one proposal he’s not sure about, “It’s bad enough for our businesses here at Union Plaza. With the baseball field and the civic center..it’s the parking, it’s crazy,” Torres said.

ABC-7 video of the area shows all parking spots are taken. Saturday thousands of people visited downtown for chalk the block, a graduation at the ballpark and an event at the civic center.

Residents say an added arena would create historic consequences.

“The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the most prestigious organization in the United States committed to save historic buildings, they declared Chihuahuita and Segundo Barrio endangered architecturally,” said Max Grossman of the El Paso County Historical Commission.

Grossman says the demolition of the area would wipe out five percent of downtown’s historic area from future generations.

“We’ll lose our culture which is bad. We need to maintain our culture so other generations can see what we’re about ,” said young Chihuahuita resident Miguel Rivera.

The arena was approved by voters in the 2012 quality of life bond project –the site was not.

City officials are expected to vote on the arena’s construction next week.