Site of new Downtown arena was studied back in 2006
The debate over where to build the new Downtown arena continues, more than 10 years after a plan studied several potential Downtown sites and came up with the same recommended location as the latest study that cost $600,000 did. The El Paso Downtown 2015 Plan was put together back in 2006. It studied three sites for an arena and also recommended the Duranguito neighborhood as the best place for it. “I’ve never seen this plan,” City Rep. Jim Tolbert told ABC-7. “First time I’m looking at it.” ABC-7 asked Tolbert if is was studied once, should the money have been spent to study it again? “No,” Tolbert replied with a laugh. “We apparently like to spend money on studying things.” Among the three possible arena sites studied by the 2015 Downtown Plan, put together in 2006, is the old City Hall site, where the Ballpark now sits; the Duranguito site, which was on the table, taken off the table and is now back on the table for consideration once again; and finally, a triangular area, South of Paisano, near the rail yards, which is furthest from the current Convention Center. “I was always told that the site that we’re looking at now was the site that had been come up with before,” said City Rep. Dr. Michiel Noe, who indicated he knew about the earlier arena study and still believes Duranguito is the best place for the arena if it’s done right. “No matter what expert we ask, that’s the spot that works out, if not thee best, one of the best places.” Tolbert still has concerns about the Duranguito site. “That we didn’t know about this earlier study about Duranguito makes me wonder if there’s some kind of agenda and there has been some kind of agenda all along for putting it there,” Tolbert told ABC-7. “This has been thought through many times by many experts for many years and it always come down to that location,” Dr. Noe added. While tolbert would still like to consider the site South of Paisano, Noe is convinced if residents in Duranguito are taken care of by the City, that remains the best site for the arena.
