District 4 candidates weigh in on Cohen’s condition

Summertime in El Paso means various outdoor concerts and festivals that provide entertainment for the entire family will soon be taking place around town.

Last week, El Paso Live announced that Cohen Stadium and the Chamizal National Memorial Park will be the locations for this year’s Music Under the Stars.

Cohen will host the concerts in June, and the Chamizal will host the performances in July.

The candidates running for City Council District 4, which covers the Northeast, weighed in on the future of Cohen Stadium.

The Northeast El Paso venue has been the topic of conversation within city council in recent years.

The race for District 4 will go into a runoff election on Saturday, June 10. Current representative Carl Robinson is termed out of his seat.

Sam Morgan, the owner of El Paso Conceal and Carry, will face Shane Haggerty, former Ysleta Independent School Board trustee.

“I’d like to see us take a real good look at how to use this space and how to re-purpose this facility and re-energize the Northeast,” Morgan said.

He added he’d like to revisit the ideas of transforming Cohen in a larger concert venue or a waterpark.

“There hasn’t been a lot of action going on out here,” Morgan said.

Like Morgan, Haggerty welcomed the Music Under the Stars concert series, but had a problem with Cohen’s current condition.

Tattered canopies now hover over the stadium after a severe wind storm in January ripped them apart.

“I’m a little disappointed with the way Cohen is looking right now, it’s been left to deteriorate,” Haggerty said.

“Frankly, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing for the Northeast,” he added.

Haggerty, too, would like to see Cohen transformed into a larger concert venue that could be used for a variety of events.

El Paso Live’s general assistant manager, Ryan Lympus, told ABC-7 that work is being done to improve Cohen.

“We are excited to have it back,” Lympus said.

Lympus said new grass was added to the infield, making it the “greenest lawn in all of El Paso.”

The city is also working to repair the canopies and to ensure they don’t get destroyed again.

In early May, Cohen held the Tequila, Tacos and Cereveza Festival, and in July, the second annual Ice Cream Festival will take place there, too.

“We have a great space to service the Northeast and bring great programming,” Lympus said.