Yesterday the City voted 5-3 to let the voters decide in the November 5 General Election whether to kill the City’s ill-fated project to build an arena in downtown El Paso.
In the discussion on agenda item 30, Mayor Leeser affirmed the voters were “misled” in 2012 when they were told that a 15,000-seat structure could be built for only $180 million. According to him, his conversations with City staff in 2014, during his first term as Mayor, already convinced him the project was grossly underfunded.
Rep. Joe Molinar did not mince his words. “We, the voters, were deceived. […] Deception has been confirmed by a court of law in Travis County. We were lied to!”
Rep. Josh Acevedo added “We were set up for failure even with $180 million in 2012.[…] It was never enough money.”
When asked point blank how much a 15,000-seat arena would cost today, CFO Robert Cortinas replied “almost 513 million.”
That is $376 million in 2012 dollars, almost double the $180 million that was originally earmarked. From the very beginning, the arena was not only a bait-and-switch, but also a dangerous financial trap.
REP. CASSANDRA HERNANDEZ GOES APOPLECTIC
But that never bothered Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, who is the only one left on City Council who insists on building an arena in Duranguito, no matter what the cost, no matter how much of our architectural patrimony is sacrificed, and no matter how many vulnerable El Pasoans are displaced.
Yesterday, she again denied that the voters were misled and called the project’s opponents “bad actors.” She even stated that the City should never have withdrawn from its six-year legal battle against Max Grossman but should have pressed forward in the courts, for as long as necessary.
During the discussion she became apoplectic as she whined for more deficit spending, and at one point it seemed as if her eyeballs might shoot out of their sockets.
We ran out of popcorn!
No one believes Cassandra anymore, not even the big developers, who refuse to contribute to her campaign for Mayor in spite of her unflinching loyalty to them.
As things stand, the City has issued $52 million in bond debt, with $13 million spent acquiring Duranguito properties, $5 million spent on administrative costs, and $34 million sitting in a bank account since 2016. Another $128 million in bond debt has yet to be issued. (Please note that the City’s litigation costs came out of the budget of the City Attorney’s Office and not from bond funds).
If the voters cancel the project, the bondholders will get a refund, $128 million in general obligation bonds will not be issued, the Duranguito properties will be sold to the private sector and rehabilitated, and the taxpayers will be made whole.
We wish to congratulate Mayor Leeser on providing strong leadership yesterday as well as Reps. Kennedy, Fierro, and Canales for co-sponsoring item 30. We also thank Interim City Manager Cary Westin and CFO Robert Cortinas for answering the many financial questions with honesty and precision.