El Paso County Coliseum bond project will not return to ballot
UPDATE: In an El Paso County Commissioner's meeting Monday, commissioners voted against reintroducing the bond proposal.
CORRECTION: The original update published above referred to to the meeting as a city council meeting. We have adjusted the update to reflect the proper organization.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- More than $105 million to upgrade the El Paso County Coliseum and nearby facilities could be on the ballot this May, just six months after voters denied the proposition in November's election.
111,908 voters (50.15%) voted against the proposition, while 111,240 (49.85%) voted in support.
The $105.5 million bond proposal for renovations to the coliseum and its adjacent buildings on the November ballot failed by fewer than 700 votes, with 50.2% of voters opposing the project.
The bond proposition includes plans to upgrade the coliseum's HVAC, sound system, seating and ADA accessibility.
The plans also propose repurposing the adjacent Sherman Barn into an event and music venue as well as replacing the current roller rink with an open-air pavilion.
Shortly after the November election, county officials shared their reaction with ABC-7.
"I had raised a concern that, we were requesting authority from the voters to issue too much debt," Iliana Holguin, El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 3 said in November. "We could bring them back to the voters in the future."
David Stout, County Commissioner for Precinct 2, stressed the importance of maintaining facilities.
"We want to make sure that the Coliseum continues to be a viable, safe, accessible place. It's an amazing community asset. It's a historic asset. We need to invest in that property," Stout said at the time.
"It seems to me that (vote) was just so close that just a little more work maybe would have gotten it across--a little better information, would have gotten it across the finish line."
