(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . County leaders leery as UTEP promotes Sun Bowl Stadium bond [1] ['Daniel Perez', 'More Daniel Perez', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-05-24 The University of Texas at El Paso formally asked Thursday for El Paso County to consider a $99 million bond project to improve aspects of the Sun Bowl Stadium, while three more County Commissioners Court members expressed their hesitancy to include items that are not viewed as necessary. UTEP President Heather Wilson shared the proposal with the media Friday morning. Most of the improvements are meant to encourage “A-List” entertainment acts to book the stadium. The university defined an “A-List” act as one that could bring in more than 25,000 people. Wilson said the ripple effect of the Sun Bowl Uplift could equal more than $2 billion to the local economy over 30 years, or the life of the bond, if the stadium hosts an additional eight big concerts annually. That money would be generated through additional retail sales, tourism and tourism retention. County Commissioner Carlos Leon issued a statement during Wilson’s news conference Friday that said county leaders need to maintain their focus on the critical infrastructure needs of the residents in underserved areas such as parks, roads, internet access, as well as water, wastewater and stormwater services. “We need to stick to the basics and provide our residents with the improvements they’ve asked us for and still be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” said Leon, who added that he respected Wilson’s vision for the stadium. The proposed improvements would be to the stadium’s south side. They would include structural fixes, upgrades to the electrical system, an all-drivable field cover system to protect the artificial turf, wider access for 18-wheelers, and additional infrastructure to support the acts and their entourages. UTEP officials told El Paso Matters on Friday that they’re still working on a specific breakdown of the components and costs of the proposed $99 million renovation to the Sun Bowl. The county has been considering making a bond issue part of the November general election ballot. County officials have hoped to cap the bond programs at $350 million, but bond advisers have said the county could go up to $500 million without affecting its bond rating, which is like a person’s credit score. During Friday’s news conference, Wilson said that she was aware of the importance of the other bond projects being considered, but countered that the university’s project will generate revenue back to the county and the city. She said all the projects make sense. She said that what she got from Leon’s statement was that he would listen to the County Bond Advisory Committee, which will listen to the people. “This is the first opportunity that people of El Paso will have an opportunity to say, ‘yeah, we think this makes sense, or it doesn’t,’” Wilson said. County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and County Commissioner Sergio Coronado echoed earlier comments from commissioners Iliana Holguin and David Stout, who said there may be merit to this project, but they have to use their limited resources judiciously. They want to see if there is public support for this project. “There’s a lot of competing interests,” Coronado said. “Obviously we have a lot of other needs in the county.” Samaniego said that he wants the public’s input because as projects get added, others will need to be cut. “I can’t be supportive until I really understand what we are trading,” Samaniego said. The university initially proposed a bigger concept to the County Commissioners Court that included convention space on the stadium’s south side, but the commissioners said they could not afford a project that cost close to $200 million. UTEP officials reviewed the proposal and cut it back to the work that would have the most value. “Would that have been ideal to do all of those things?” Wilson asked. “Of course, but sometimes you just have to figure out what is reasonable and would really have a positive impact, and that’s what we’re going to try to do. ” UTEP’s Sun Bowl Stadium first opened in 1963. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) The UTEP leader organized two meetings with donors and supporters Thursday, May 23, at the Larry K. Durham Sports Center. El Paso Matters spoke to several participants after the event, and they supported the idea. The UTEP leader encouraged them to spread their approval of the bond proposal at upcoming county community meetings. John Balliew, president and CEO of El Paso Water, said that he agreed with Wilson’s assessment that the stadium is underutilized and the reasons why it cannot draw more big shows. “Anytime you can increase that utilization, that’s more efficient for the public revenue that’s required to operate it,” Balliew said. Armando Aguirre, executive director of the Education Service Center Region 19, said that Wilson’s presentation was uplifting. He believes the community will support this idea because it could improve the region’s economy and its quality of life. “It’s an exciting venture,” Aguirre said. “I think it will be very beneficial to us as a community.” Wilson said she was pleased with the positive response from her presentations. She thinks the university’s proposal makes sense. Wilson said without the bond funds, the university would continue to put money into the stadium, and efforts to promote the use of the stadium would continue as normal. She went on to say that a project of this size and scope could not be done by a single donor and that help from the University of Texas System, which owns the stadium, would need a fee-based revenue bond that would be cost prohibitive. “We still have the same mission to positively impact the health, culture, education, (and) economy of the community we serve,” she said. “We will continue to try to upgrade facilities and accomplish our mission.” El Paso Matters reporter Elida S. Perez contributed to this report. [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/05/24/utep-sun-bowl-stadium-repairs-el-paso-county-bond-election/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/