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UTEP asks county for $99 million bond issue for Sun Bowl Stadium upgrades [1]

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Date: 2024-05-23  

The University of Texas at El Paso is asking its supporters to lobby county officials to include $99 million for Sun Bowl Stadium improvements in a possible bond issue this fall.

President Heather Wilson outlined the idea to an invitation-only list of UTEP donors and supporters at two events on campus Thursday.

Wilson talked about the proposed “Sun Bowl Uplift” that would include the kind of enhancements that would attract “A-list” acts to the stadium that opened in September 1963, several people present at the events told El Paso Matters.

A UTEP handout from the event obtained by El Paso Matters stated that the upgrades could generate $82 million in local tax revenue for El Paso County and have a $2.06 billion economic impact from tourism, retention and new retail spending during the next 30 years, according to an analysis from UTEP’s Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness.

UTEP officials also have shared more extensive plans for the Sun Bowl in recent weeks with community leaders. Those plans call for almost $200 million in renovations, but don’t identify how UTEP would pay for the full project, according to documents obtained by El Paso Matters.

But the emphasis at the presentations Thursday was on infrastructure changes to the Sun Bowl that officials said would make the stadium more competitive for high-end entertainment events. UTEP officials will have a news conference on Friday to introduce the plan to the community.

County officials have said that they want to cap the planned bond issue at $350 million, but no specific projects or dollar amount have been approved. The El Paso County Commissioners Court has until August to call for a bond proposal to appear on the ballot as part of the November general election. County officials have identified more than $1 billion in capital improvement needs in its facilities – not including what UTEP is seeking for the Sun Bowl.

Two county commissioners on Thursday said they’re willing to listen to the proposal but believe more pressing needs should be addressed first, adding that public interest in the project would need to be gauged.

The proposal comes at a time when UTEP and the county have a strained relationship tied to the National Science Foundation’s decision to suspend a grant that could have meant up to $160 million to the region over the next 10 years. The NSF said that it found some “incorrect statements” in a proposal that earned UTEP one of 10 “Regional Innovation Engines programs.

Around the same time, UTEP removed Ahsan Choudhuri, the program’s principal investigator, as head of the Aerospace Center. This angered several elected officials enough to send a strongly worded letter to Wilson. County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, Mayor Oscar Leeser, and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar said that her actions would impact the region’s economic future.

An artist’s rendering of the aerial view of what the Sun Bowl would look like under proposed renovations. (University of Texas at El Paso)

Reaction from Thursday briefings

El Paso Matters interviewed several people who attended the morning event Thursday in UTEP’s Larry K. Durham Sports Center. They spoke positively about the presentation that included a request from Wilson to advocate for the proposal at upcoming county Bond Advisory Committee meetings that run from May 29 through June 18.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our market,” said Bob Wingo, chairman of Sanders/Wingo Advertising. “It’s a very important next step in our growth.”

Wingo called this proposal a great investment for the region that could benefit the tax base, generate more tourism and boost the economy. He said these upgrades are in sync with other recent projects such as the planned Northeast amphitheater and the Downtown El Paso redevelopment.

UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

He considered the Sun Bowl Uplift another opportunity to enhance the community, and said it will depend on county residents to turn that dream into a reality.

“When you look at what’s going on nationally and regionally in terms of economic development, this is a chance for us to really make a statement about how we can improve and continue to improve what we’re doing in our marketplace,” Wingo said.

While UTEP is requesting $99 million for improvements, the university’s construction cost estimate – which includes new facilities at the south end zone, restroom and concession upgrades, soft costs and UTEP managed work – is approximately $196 million. A UTEP spokesperson did not answer an email question about where the university plans to get the rest of the money for the listed upgrades.

What the proposed upgrades include

Much of the proposed work for the stadium appears to be aimed at improving the venue for concerts and other entertainment outside of sports, according to documents UTEP shared with community leaders and obtained by El Paso Matters.

The project calls for an expanded tunnel for 18 wheelers, an all-drivable field cover system, an enhanced power infrastructure to handle A-list acts, a new convention center for events up to 1,000 people, renovations of restrooms and concession areas, improved pedestrian access, better dressing rooms, and attention to deferred maintenance issues. Renderings show Bhutanese-inspired architecture for the proposed convention center on the south side of the stadium.

An artist’s rendering of what the Sun Bowl would look like from the south under renovations proposed by UTEP. (University of Texas at El Paso) An artist’s rendering of whatt the north end zone of the Sun Bowl might look like after proposed renovations. (University of Texas at El Paso)

Over 20 years, the Hunt Institute estimates an economic impact of $515.6 million, according to the 12-page study obtained by El Paso Matters. However, it’s unclear what construction cost that figure is based on.

The economic impact is driven by an assumption that the stadium would attract three additional “A-level” events per year. It’s unclear what constitutes an “A-level” event. The documents state that the revenues from the events in the improved facility would cover the county’s bond repayment.

As part of the proposed agreement, the county would be able to use Sun Bowl Stadium 15 days a year – which documents state has a value of $6.75 million that could generate $4.1 million in tax revenue. Documents also propose an option for ticket fee revenue.

El Paso County bond in planning stages

County Commissioner Iliana Holguin said if UTEP formally asks the county to include the stadium project in the bond issue, it would add it as a topic in its community meetings to learn if it has public support.

“There’s still a lot of unanswered questions that we would need to figure out, but at this point, I think UTEP is just reaching out to try to see if it would be a possibility and to try to see if there would be public support for it,” said Holguin, who added that the suggestion is at an early stage.

County officials have said the bond proposal could be as high as $350 million, and that the county can only add $500 million in new debt over the next four years without risking its bond rating. The county has identified $1 billion in capital improvement needs, ranging from improving water and wastewater systems to modernizing the County Coliseum to improving Ascarate Park to adding space for county offices.

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout said he doesn’t want to completely shut the door on the UTEP proposal, but has reservations. He said the county has already cut its list of potential projects and is not sure taxpayers should foot the bill for a state facility.

“I understand the want to be able to utilize the Sun Bowl more and to be able to make it conducive to getting different types of shows in,” he said.“But it’s just difficult because we have such limited resources and so many needs at the county – I feel like we need to look at those things first.”

Neither Samaniego nor Commissioners Sergio Coronado and Carlos Leon returned calls for comment on the proposal Thursday.

In January, the county estimated a $350 million bond issue would increase the county’s tax rate by at least 3 cents. That would mean that the owner of a $200,000 home would pay between $46 to $56 more a year on the county’s portion of their property tax bill.

Ceci Miles Mulvihill, CEO and president of RMPersonnel, attended Thursday’s meeting. She was in favor of using bonds to pay for Sun Bowl Stadium upgrades if it did not increase El Paso’s tax burden.

“If it really doesn’t mean a tax increase, then I am all for it and definitely for UTEP to get it,” she said.

The county has been conducting listening sessions to gather voter input on priorities for the bond issue, and has more planned starting next week. The Sun Bowl expansion has not yet been part of those public discussions.

County commissioners have been considering a bond issue since late 2022, when the court considered $200 million in projects – half to be paid with general obligation bonds that require voter approval and half with certificates of obligation that do not have to go to voters.

Past bonds considered Sun Bowl upgrades

This is the latest effort by UTEP to float upgrades to Sun Bowl Stadium through a bond issue.

There was discussion to include a $50 million project in a $473 million quality of life bond issue from the city of El Paso in 2012. The project was dropped early in the process after the Public Finance Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office raised legal concerns about whether bonds should be used to fund upgrades to a building the city did not own, city leaders said at the time.

The attorney general must approve the bond referendum before it goes to voters.

According to the Texas Government Code, counties and municipalities can issue bonds or certificates of obligation to be repaid by taxpayers for higher education projects that advance education opportunities for residents and enhance public purposes for local governments. The code itself does not provide further guidance on what type of projects could be funded by a county or municipal bond.

In 2012, city leaders also expressed concern about how much access and control it would have over the stadium and events it could hold there.

That concern came to a head in April 2012, when the University of Texas System canceled a major boxing match featuring Julio César Chávez Jr. that was to be held in Sun Bowl Stadium that summer over safety issues. After community protests, the system’s chancellor allowed the fight to be held but demanded increased security and prohibited the sale of alcohol.

At the time, the incident became a rallying cry for the community to support a stand-alone venue not tied to the university – leading to a big push for the $180 million arena on the city’s bond proposal.

UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium, with a current seating capacity of 45,971, first opened in 1963. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

History of Sun Bowl Stadium

Sun Bowl Stadium opened in 1963 and was built with a $1.5 million bond issue approved by El Paso County voters in 1959. The stadium originally had 30,000 seats, but another 22,000 seats were added in 1982, paid for by the University of Texas System after county voters balked at another bond issue.

The county government owned the stadium until 2001, when it transferred ownership to the UTSystem in exchange for $1,600, a guarantee of 10 UTEP scholarships a year for county students, and assurances the annual Sun Bowl game would continue and local schools could have access to the stadium.

The stadium’s last significant upgrades were completed in 2021. The Sun Bowl Renovation Project included indoor (104) and outdoor (502) club seats, 26 loge boxes, an outdoor pavilion with a 40-foot bar, four suites, renovated restrooms and concessions at the club level, and new HVAC and audio/visual capabilities in the press box.

The key donors who helped fund the upgrades were GECU, the Hunt Family Foundation, and Paul Foster and his wife, Alejandra De la Vega Foster.

El Paso Matters reporter Elida S. Perez, editor Cindy Ramirez and CEO Robert Moore contributed to this report.

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[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/05/23/utep-sun-bowl-el-paso-county-bond-election/

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