Taxpayers to continue paying ballpark debt until 2021, per City projection

It is year five for the El Paso Chihuahuas, and we are a long way removed from the contentious fights of 2012 before the ballpark was approved.

But the ballpark is still a long way from being paid for, and the numbers are constantly evolving.

To this day, taxpayer money is still being used to pay off the debt incurred building the ballpark. So far, the City of El Paso has had to dip into its general fund and use about $2.2 million in taxpayer money over the course of four seasons of Chihuahuas baseball.

The City also recently approved $1.2 million in capital improvements to Southwest University Park. The City will have to foot that bill. Part of that will be paid for in rent MountainStar Sports Group, which owns the Chihuahuas, pays to the City each year. The City did not respond to an inquiry into exactly how much of the $1.2 million would be covered by rent payments.

MountainStar maintains this was expected from the beginning.

“The economic model created for this facility always envisioned that over the course of the 30 years that there would be initially a period of five or six years where there would be a deficit,” said Alan Ledford, MountainStar Sports Group President.

The City tweeted in February it would see an $18 million surplus once the debt is paid off – money that can be used to replenish the general fund. The City expects to stop using taxpayer money to pay off the debt in the year 2021. But the projections have already changed multiple times in the past half-decade, which leads some to question the current estimates.

“I look at history when I try to prognosticate the future,” said attorney Stephanie Townsend Allala. “I try to look at history, and the history of the baseball stadium is that the numbers have all been shaky from the start.”

Allala questioned the procedure the City used in approving the ballpark more than a half-decade ago. Her efforts led to changes in the Texas Public Information Act, which details how records can be requested by the public. She says she is a fan of professional baseball and still wants the ballpark to be a long term boon to the region.

“I hope for full success,” she said. “And I hope it’s a financial success for my community, for my children, and for my grandchildren.”

Susie Byrd was one of four city council members to vote “yes” on the ballpark deal in 2012. Byrd stands by that vote today. “You know, I think we did really well by the taxpayers on that,” she said. “They put a lot in to make that work.”

Byrd told ABC-7 the ballpark has exceeded her initial expectations, and she praised MountainStar, which pays for ballpark maintenance, for their efforts to keep Southwest University Park a first-rate venue.

“You know, I think they’ve continued to invest in it a way that really honors the public investment and takes very seriously the public’s investment,” said Byrd.

She added that the ballpark isn’t just about dollars and cents, but about pride in the community.

“I have a really good friend of mine who’s about my age who said, ‘You know what, I feel like this is the first generation of El Pasoans who are really proud to be from here.'”

Ledford echoed that sentiment. “We take, obviously, a lot of pride in Southwest University Park,” he said. “We take pride in it based upon our involvement. But we also take pride in this facility based upon or for the City of El Paso, for the fans, for the team.