Wind gusts damage canopy at Cohen Stadium for second time this month
For the second time this month, powerful wind gusts caused major damage to the canopies covering part of Cohen Stadium.
ABC 7 reported earlier in January that one of the five pillar canopies was ripped apart by winds.
Cindy Harmon, who lives Northeast El Paso, told ABC 7 that “the wind has just destroyed the canopy yet again over the past week.”
She said the heydays of Cohen Stadium have long passed.
“It’s an eyesore right now,” said Harmon. “We used to want to come to Cohen Stadium, and now people just drive by it and they don’t even realize it’s here.”
Earlier this month, just of one the canopies was damaged. Now, most of the five covered pillars are in shreds, and littered around the outside of the stadium.
Bryan Crowe is the general manager of Destination El Paso. They manage Cohen Stadium. He said repair work is underway.
“We’re exploring warranty options, we’re exploring property insurance scenarios, there’s kind of a lot that goes into it,” said Crowe.
This isn’t the first time extensive damage has occurred at Cohen Stadium. Harmon said it wold be the perfect spot for the new arena.
She told ABC 7 that the city could “use our own resources that we already have.”
“Fix this up — like I said: a million dollars could go a long way,” Harmon said.
Designating an area in Northeast El Paso may be at odds with what is required of the bonds. Crowe said city council may explore “extreme legal maneuvers” to present all options to the public. Crowe said he thinks turning Cohen Stadium into an amphitheater would be an excellent option.
“So we get into this conversation about making the investment to repair canopies, we’ll also be talking about that as well with the city to see if they’re interested in making a furthetr investment,” said Crowe.
