Didn’t you think that the proposed downtown arena was for professional sports?
Wasn’t there a lot of talk about an anchor tenant, like a G- (nee D- ) League Basketball team?
Or maybe even hockey?
Seems to me I remember talk like that.
And didn’t MountainStar Sports Group even commission an online poll to gauge El Pasoans support for the arena? That disappeared pretty fast when the support wasn’t there. But what was MountainStar doing getting their fingers in that mess?
What was their interest in the arena, if the arena wasn’t going to host a professional sports team?
And why deck out the dressing rooms in the arena with lockers and loads of showers if our City Government wasn’t expecting a regular sports team as an anchor tenant?
I thought for sure that MountainStar wanted to expand their second-rate sports empire by inviting their wholly-owned subsidiary The City of El Paso to build an arena for them.
Au contraire, you silly taxpayer.
I don’t know why we’re not messaging this a little differently because the language for that bond project was approved by the Texas attorney general. When we took the language there, we had to certify to them that that [arena] facility did not have a professional sports tenant.
And nobody’s talking about that. I mean, they’re saying we lied. We didn’t lie to anybody. Events included amateur sports. If we wanted to get the NCAA, that was OK.
But we had to certify it for one reason and one reason only because you can’t use GO (government obligation) bonds supported by property tax for a professional sports arena.
What?!?!!
The City’s been fighting that lawsuit, spending millions of taxpayer dollars, for an NCAA tournament game? Once every three or four years, maybe, if they can get it?
The City’s trying to spend $250 million for a Lady Gaga concert, if her management company decides to let her play here, once, or, at most, once every once in a while?
(By the way, did you see that Rage Against the Machine is playing at the Don Haskins Center?)
There’s this new technique that people in the private sector use to weigh the benefits of any costs a company might incur before they undertake a project. I’m sure the City of El Paso is unfamiliar with this cutting edge decision-making process, because, you know, they never really incur any expense. They just squeeze the taxpayer for an increase in their allowance.
This new cutting edge technique is called Cost/Benefit Analysis. I’m sure that if the City sharpens up their slide rules and consults the latest B School textbooks, they can figure it out in no time.
And I’m sure, that once they focus their B and C and D player minds on it, they’ll make the right decision, for all El Pasoans.
I saw this in this week’s Inc and had to read it twice because I couldn’t believe it. I’m glad you caught it too. The thing is, between the lies and the stupidity down at City Hall, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the current council members and City execs have no idea that this is the case. And if they do, they almost certainly don’t understand the implications. I thought this was a bad idea back when it was going to have D League basketball. Now it just got even worse. Thanks for calling this out. If only our local media were also this astute, maybe we’d be in a different place as a city.
Excellent post and excellent comment by Joel. The entire problem is the press Joel. The slimes and tv reporters and the inc. intentionally ignore stories or the crux of the stories bc one way or another their bread is being buttered by hunt and foster. Their job is to protect hunt and foster and promote their agendas.
Sick and tired of the fight for Durangito. You have a group of white saviors who have decided it’s historical and we must all pay the price for their bs. Tear it down the buildings are in awful disrepair put up a monument of Cesar Chavez and move on! Max Gross Man is wasting our tax dollars on his fight enough is enough! Ya basta!
Without those “white saviors” the taxpayers would already be paying for a $250 million arena that we don’t need. You’re delusional if you think the people colonizing downtown are going to put up a monument to Cesar Chavez.
I don’t agree, maybe you like how the fosters,sanders,and hunts use our tax dollars to build stadiums or areas, my taxes went up 500.00 because of this overpriced stadium. I appreciate Max brings all this corruption to the light
Carmen that is exactly what is going on. It appears an white outsider feels we are too stupid and need saving. There is no “Durangito”. Get rid of those city blocks and let us enjoy another great venue. I love seeing how many families come downtown when there are events at the ballpark, can’t wait to see thousands more ounce the arena is done.
ELP Guy, you obviously don’t know the baseball stadium is losing about $500,000 each year and our city is $4 BILLION in debt with the second highest property taxes in the nation. You and I are paying for the stadium , which was supposed to be funded by HOT taxes. But since El Paso is not a major tourist destination, we don’t get millions of visitors like San Antonio (which promotes its historic river walk and The Pearl, a entertainment district built reusing an old brewery), or Savannah, a city that attracts millions of tourists who flock their to see that city’s historic districts, or Santa Fe, known as a world class destination because it promotes its history, art and architecture.