$600 to $800 Million Bond Issue (New MLS stadium, Downtown Arena, AAA Baseball Stadium, Zoo Expansion) (El Paso: theater, distance)

[mistabinks]

You guys are awesome. Vote! Get your friends to vote! We need all three to pass.

Thankfully, all the crab committees and groups number only a couple of hundred people. Not a lot of voting power. Lets crush 'em!!!

[katzpaw]

$50 million for a baseball stadium with some return on the investment and some economic benefits
versus
$19 million to "beautify" the Spaghetti Bowl with added colors, landscaping and even decorative towers.

$19 million beautification proposed for Spaghetti Bowl - El Paso Times

[SA2EP?]

the bowl is pretty ugly...a little beautification would help. fwiw...the fields right of the interstate near the bowl are fantastic....drove by there and saw a few pop warner games being played and the fields were packed with families...those are the kinds of events that give el paso a positive image to people driving through our city.

[mistabinks]

I'm all for it. Especially if the DOT is going to foot the bill.

[Ms Kitty 98]

They are beautifying the whole freeway underpasses from Schuster Avenue, all the way to Hawkins, and the spaghetti bowl is getting extra special love make over that will also include the Reynolds overpass.
Yes TexDOT is paying for all this, TexDOT is also paying for the electric streetcar reintroduction project,this is all good for our city.

[Michael Di Meo]

Originally Posted by Ms Kitty 98

How will I benefit financially from all this? where am I pushing anything other than being one El Paso citizen that will be voting yes on the quality of life bond issue? I really don't have any idea where you came up with such over blown assertions that I am personally involved with contracts, construction business, you are barking up the wrong tree Wynwood. I really didn't like the idea of city hall being knocked down, but that is not my choice, but I do support the stadium being built. I even had thought that the city could built it in a better location, but nobody here on this message board seems to know what I am talking about, so I just let it go.What harm am I doing to the city? If I was a naysayer then I would be foolish and ignorant for wanting to keep El Paso looking like a dump. I want change and I want to support progress that this city has never seen since the arrival of railroads back in 1881.I want to attend baseball games in downtown not at Cohen stadium, I want to go see an El Paso triple AAA baseball team that has MLB affiliation not some independent
baseball team that only God knows where they come from and they have nothing going for them.
I want change I want El Paso to change, the little it has changed since I've been gone is not good enough.

I understand the desire to change, El Paso desperately needs it, but it seems they are basing the initiative on an overly optimistic projection of incoming revenues and an overly optimistic projection for controlling costs on the projects. We know in real life that many times revenue collection is under that which is projected, and many construction projects face cost overruns, especially when it's a public-private cooperation. And kickbacks eat into the budget as well.

I agree that if the growth rate in revenue collection continues, there would be a chance - but that is dependent upon many factors - wealthy Mexicans (drugs or no drugs) continuing to move there, international trade with Juarez continuing to grow, government commitment to the base, etc - if any of this dries out, ELP will have to refinance, and it would be better off downsizing the improvements.

But I agree that the time to do something is now, while the window is there. It's just that people need to realize that the good that they hope to come out of this could turn harmful if budgets are not managed properly.

Finally, tearing down both the Chavez theater and the city hall make me sick. Just for that reason alone, I would at least get involved in a protest to save the theater.

[Ms Kitty 98]

Originally Posted by Wynwood

I understand the desire to change, El Paso desperately needs it, but it seems they are basing the initiative on an overly optimistic projection of incoming revenues and an overly optimistic projection for controlling costs on the projects. We know in real life that many times revenue collection is under that which is projected, and many construction projects face cost overruns, especially when it's a public-private cooperation. And kickbacks eat into the budget as well.

I agree that if the growth rate in revenue collection continues, there would be a chance - but that is dependent upon many factors - wealthy Mexicans (drugs or no drugs) continuing to move there, international trade with Juarez continuing to grow, government commitment to the base, etc - if any of this dries out, ELP will have to refinance, and it would be better off downsizing the improvements.

But I agree that the time to do something is now, while the window is there. It's just that people need to realize that the good that they hope to come out of this could turn harmful if budgets are not managed properly.

Finally, tearing down both the Chavez theater and the city hall make me sick. Just for that reason alone, I would at least get involved in a protest to save the theater.

I am totally in agreement with you about not tearing down the Abraham Chavez Theater, I know that no arena will fit in that location what so ever, so I think that city council has blown this out of proportion.

That is a very nice looking building that was built exclusively for opera and has been used for beauty pageants,concerts and many other events and we just can't bank everything on the Plaza Theater.

As for the downtown stadium, I feel that El Paso has a large enough population to support this venue and I'm not being over confident either, it is just that we have to do better for downtown revitalization and we have waited to long to do nothing.

I will keep my fingers crossed on the quality of life bond issue,I really hope that it passes,it's a must,I'm not counting on the wealthy Mexicans to participate in our desires of prosperity of change for the future. They pretty much live in their own world and have their own things going on;However we do coexist as business partners,neighbors and share commerce with each other.

My point is they don't vote in our elections or participate in our political structure.

[SA2EP?]

the chavez theatre is not that great of a venue. Money could be spent to bring it back and renovate it but we will see.

[TexasCCW]

Wynwood, have you been to the Abe Chavez Theater? It's not much to be proud of. I take my children to the events that come through every year and it's very cramped and not to upscale/updated.

The Plaza Theater has been remodeled/updated and it seats larger crowds. I am all for a new venue.

[Michael Di Meo]

Originally Posted by TexasCCW

Wynwood, have you been to the Abe Chavez Theater? It's not much to be proud of. I take my children to the events that come through every year and it's very cramped and not to upscale/updated.

The Plaza Theater has been remodeled/updated and it seats larger crowds. I am all for a new venue.

Yes, I used to go as a child/teenager to recitals, chamber music, symphony, and that sort of thing with my parents.
It was a very happy time for me.
But the exterior is cool, and with some renovation it could also serve a worthwhile purpose.
Why does it have to be "upscale"?
It's acoustically sound, and offers very good sight lines, and can accomodate a broad range of entertainment.

The Plaza Theater is very nice - but I don't understand why one would want to tear down the Chavez, as both venues could coexist.