El Paso city administration pressed pause button on progress: Letter to the Editor
City administration pressed pause button on progress
The latest news regarding the status of the long awaited El Paso multipurpose center is underwhelming.
The mayor, who did nothing on the project during his first term (2013-2017) let the value of the original allocation continue to deteriorate after Max Grossman's benefactor, Houstonian JP Bryant, used the legal system to further delay the project. Last year, the current administration acquiesced to Grossman and Bryant who promised a BBQ joint in downtown as El Paso's consolation — a promise that has yet to come to fruition.
The latest news is that we are no longer talking about a modern arena for our community, rather an 8,000-person indoor/outdoor amphitheater to be shoved in the back of Union Depot, which presents significant environmental, logistical and safety concerns.
This saga is emblematic of the Leeser administrations in which the city has pressed the pause button on progress for eight years while the mayor cuts ribbons for projects approved by prior administrations — an exercise the next mayor will bereft of conducting.
Hopefully, El Pasoans will head to the polls this November to elect an administration of accomplishment as the current administration leaves a legacy of inaction in the quest for mediocrity.
Antonio Medina
Central El Paso
More: Union Depot amphitheater plan stinks: Joyce Wilson
Think big not small, move El Paso to another level
Dear mayor and council,
Please have the courage, pride, vision to move our city to another level. As we are all aware, many concerts and events bypass us because we don’t have the proper size facilities to host them.
I remember one thing that sparked the desire for a city-owned arena, was a boxing match that was supposed to occur in the Sun Bowl. The UT regents, first said it was too dangerous, then allowed the event with no alcohol (boxing with no beer, come on!). The citizens of El Paso while accustomed to being bullied by Austin, occasionally fights back, and the arena was an expression of the community’s desire to go its own way, and as usual at its own expense.
I know the city considers Joyce Wilson, persona non grata, but her article was informed and made sense.
Another question to ask yourself is what have Max Grossman and JP Bryan done with Duranguito? Have they approached the city with a development plan? If so, it is being kept secret. I am all for saving old buildings, that is practically all I own, the problem is and has been, nobody is interested in saving those buildings in Duranguito, which is why the arena was planned there, plus, it could work with the Civic Center to allow us to have larger conventions.
Can the new proposed site support a larger 12,000 people arena?
Think big not small, we can’t come back and make it bigger without a huge cost. When we were planning the Children’s Hospital, we had two floors that were left as shells for future expansion, they are now being built out. This arena will be here a long time, long after the bonds are paid. Many of you on council are around my age, 60+, are we going to build something just for us to use, or something that will work in to the future for the vast majority of this city who are much younger?
If we won’t invest in ourselves, who will?
Sam J. Legate
Downtown El Paso
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso city administration pressed pause button on progress: Letter to the Editor
