Our new ball park is scheduled to open today.
There will be difficulties. The contract to build the facility does not require completion before the end of August. Parts of the ball park are not finished but are not necessary to have a game.
Traffic and parking will be problems that hopefully the authorities can learn how to handle.
I agree with the mayor. Many of us do not agree with how we got here. However if the venture is not a success we will end up paying much more than we think we will pay now.
In a few months the city should be finished with most of the project. At that point in time the voters should be able to look at the bills to learn more about the costs incurred just because some people wanted to have a new city hall. I may be wrong but I don’t believe that the sports team owners had to have the facility where it is or that it had to be completed for playing this year. I still think that this was all about forcing the city hall issue.
The Times does not seem to be able to decide whether the ball park is a 72 million dollar project or if it is a 74 million dollar project.
It is neither. One of these days we will start to learn about all of the costs. The city has done much in the areas around the ball park that they are not talking about. My uneducated guess at this point is that those costs will exceed 25 million dollars.
From all that I can see we now have a first class facility.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say the same about our local government?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
‘WE” have a first class facility? It belongs to the citizens of El Paso? Awesome!
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It is a financial coup d’etat forced on us with the help of people we pay to protect us from scams but who saw a future for themselves aligned with the scammers.
Don’t forget this. Oh, make sure to waive at your city leaders in the bribery suites up there with Woody & Co.
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Meanwhile, even the commissioner of the Pacific Coast League is laughing at El Paso and commenting on the absurdity how we got to this day:
http://grantland.com/features/el-paso-chihuahuas-triple-a-minor-league-baseball-mlb-san-diego-padres-stadium-public-funding/
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Thank you for posting this link, what a wonderful article. Those of us who are actually baseball fans and can remember the final score when we attend a game will cringe…but it may be that just selling “fun” is what this stadium is all about.
I absolutely agree that we have to hope now that this stadium does successfully promote fun and does not have to be demolished in a few years. But the way in which it was forced down our throats, and the continuing disdain of its supporters for those who objected, the “Crazies” as Mr. Muench likes to call us, makes it very difficult for me to want to attend a game. I can only hope that events that I really do want to attend don’t occur at the same time as a “C-dog” game, forcing me to head downtown at least four hours early in search of parking.
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Some of us knew instinctively that the Chihuahuas name was chosen by the owners to appeal to Juarez residents. Ms. de la Vega Foster actually confirmed it in her interview with the writer of the Grantland article.
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I actually thought she came up with that name because it might be her pet name for Paul’s wanker. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr ! Hopefully for him its not.
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So, if you are corrrect, where exactly is this new city hall that’s been forced on us? In my opinion, it was about a playground for the elite but one of the selling points is that it would make some money for the city which remains to be seen. We will all be waiting anxiously for those numbers to be revealed.
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The only part of the stadium the taxpayer owns is the part that can lose money. The profitable part was sold for 400k per year plus some change on a per ticket surcharge.
Privatize the profit and externalize (shift to the taxpayer) any possible losses. That is how business is done today and part of the reason we see growing income inequality. Don’t you all just love how anti-government, anti-regulation types only love government spending when it personally benefits them?
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You’re absolutely 100% correct. The hypocrisy is unbelievable, especially given the politics of the Mountainstar principals. We have a new $64 million ballpark that built in record time and with no expense spared, but the bus stop shelters along Mesa have still do not have roof coverings.
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$10 for a beer
$4 for a soda or bottle of water
$8 for Bratwurst
Parking $$$$$
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Now, there’s some el paso prices that we pay over and over. It’s called: “Perceived Value”. You know, where you “Preceive” something other than reality or honesty.
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I wonder of the citizens of Juarez will get refunded any sales tax they pay when purchasing De La Vega Foster burgers.
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So, the first game is over and they lost !
How embarrassing.
Wonder what the crime sheet/ police reports were like last night?
How many missing cars, cars broken into, drunks, stick ups, pick pockets, etc.?
(I know, I know. . . “Stick ups” ! Ha!. . . been watching too many old black & white movies)
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Did any of you see Bob Moore twitter on the Times site all the “first foul ball”, first this”, “first that”, at the stadium while the game was going on ? It became so ridiculous for a minute there I thought he was gonna tell you who took the first shit and piss in the bathrooms at the new stadium.
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Well, the El Paso Team lost again !
First 3 games. . . . . Lost.
Saw game on “Construction Cam” today (Wed.) and looks like a few hundred people there.
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