There were some questions last week about the contract between the city and the group that owns the Chihuahuas.
This post from some time back will provide some details
We deserve better
Brutus
Ball park debt
March 7, 2019Several of the local media outlets told us the other day “ballpark debt to be paid by 2021”.
Horse feathers!
What they should have told us is that the city thinks that the taxpayer funded subsidy currently necessary to pay the debt service might not be necessary in order to pay the debt service costs after 2021.
The city says that they believe that the combination of hotel occupancy taxes dedicated to the project and sales tax revenues generated from within the ball park will be adequate to cover the debt service costs after 2021.
The latest projection that we have been able to find from the city indicates that they will use hotel occupancy taxes and sales tax revenues to pay the mortgage until 2043.
We deserve better
Brutus
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Ball park, City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
When will the kids play?
October 2, 2018As part of the deal with MountainStar where they will be hosting USL soccer at the ball park, it appears that the new team needs a practice facility.
Item 31.1 on the Tuesday, October 2, 2018 city council agenda contemplates giving the team the right to use two soccer fields at the Westside Sports Complex for five years. In return the team (aka COMPANY) will bring the fields up to USL standards and then maintain them.
“COMPANY’s occupancy and use of the Facilities shall take precedence over any other use of the Facilities during the Team’s pre-season training camp, regular season, and post-season … as shall be deemed included in Exhibit B …”
In other words during the period described in Exhibit B the team will have control over the fields.
Exhibit B is shown below:
For the 2018 USL season pre-season ran from the February 3 to March 16. Regular season was from March 16 to October 14. The post-season will start October 20 and end November 10.
Kids, we will let you know when you can use the field.
We deserve better
Brutus
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USL soccer coming to the ball park
October 1, 2018Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 2, 2018) city council will consider changing the ball park lease.
The sports group already has control over the ball park every day of the year because of their current lease.
The group wants to bring a USL soccer team to El Paso and play at the ball park. They plan to spend $3.5 million to make the facility appropriate for both baseball and soccer.
This makes sense if for no other reason than they already control what can happen at the park.
From the proposed changes to the lease:
“… all revenues generated
from the Soccer Team and/or the Ballpark on the date of a Soccer Team home game or
USL events including, without limitation, all revenues from Soccer Team or USL ticket
sales (except Ticket Fees), parking (except for City’s share of parking revenue, discussed
in Article V of this Agreement), Soccer Team or USL Concessions, Soccer Team or USL
Merchandise, Soccer Team or USL suite, and club seat sales, interior and exterior Soccer
Team or USL-related Ballpark advertising and signage, sponsorships, any and all Soccer
Team or USL naming rights and other advertising, sales of broadcast and telecast rights,
internet rights, league expansion fees and team fundraising, and any other sources of
Soccer Team or USL related revenue, shall be retained by MountainStar Soccer or the
USL, as appropriate.”
The city does not get much.
However the city does get to provide free police services:
City, in its reasonable discretion, shall provide at
its sole cost and expense (using City employees or contract services, as determined by
City) all customary police, traffic control, fire prevention, emergency medical, street
cleaning, trash removal and other similar City-provided services, outside and in the
general vicinity of the Ballpark, at a level of service consistent with the Ballpark
Standard;
We deserve better
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
What’s this about?
September 16, 2018It seems that one of our city representatives wants at least one of our city facilities to pay for itself.
From the Tuesday, September 18, 2018 city council agenda:
It would be nice if we could get him to pay attention to the situation over at Sun Metro and maybe while he’s at it he could require that the proposed arena pay for itself.
We deserve better.
Brutus
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elpasospeak 
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