Council scraps feasibility study on Downtown arena locations

Tuesday’s city council meeting did not bring El Paso any closer to a Downtown arena after Council voted not to award a feasibility study on possible site locations.

Mayor Oscar Leeser, Rep. Emma Acosta and Rep. Michiel Noe argued the city has spent enough money on previous arena studies dating back more than 15 years.

“We have done study after study after study. So we do a study to study the study and do another study to study the study,” Northeast City Rep. Robinson said.

“Spending taxpayers money to do a study we have done numerous times and continue to re-do it is not even an option,” Mayor Leeser said, “And like I said, I will not support it. And if it passes, I will veto the item wasting taxpayers money. I will not, I am telling you upfront right now, it is not even acceptable.”

Council instead voted to move forward with community meetings to share all previous research on the potential arena site.

“For nearly 20 years, the studies conducted by the City have recommended a downtown multipurpose center, or arena, as a catalyst for economic development and attracting quality events and entertainment,” a city news release states.

For months, the City pushed for the new Downtown arena to be built just South of the Convention Center in the Duranguito neighborhood. The city spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars surveying and researching the original location for the arena.

Council took the Duranguito site off the table after public outcry, but later reverted its decision and put the Union Plaza neighborhood back on the short list of possible locations.

According to the City, “studies conducted in 2001 and 2006 identified the Union Plaza area as the preferred site for a multipurpose center. In 2012, Plan El Paso identified the Union Plaza area as a location that should be considered for a multipurpose center. A 2015 study reinforced finding by the 2001 and 2006 studies by identifying the Union Plaza area as the most favorable site for the MPC.”

At the last city council meeting, Rep. Jim Tolbert said the city does not have all the information on locations for the arena. Tolbert said he now believes it is time for the city to move forward.

Another possible location is just a few blocks north of the original plan where the Convention Center now stands.

City Rep. Cortney Niland was not present at Tuesday’s council meeting. Previously, Niland has said building the arena at that site would save tax payers at least $20 million. Others, like former Mayor John Cook, are against the move because any construction could force the city to cancel all scheduled Convention Center events for three years.

There was a lot of support and criticism of the potential Duranguito site that would displace some 50 residents during the meeting’s public comment.

Some speakers pointed out Rep. Niland’s continued absence from council meetings. Niland has said she is dealing with a family emergency.