Before the Downtown El Paso arena ever comes to fruition, there are several steps the city needs to take, including resolving pending litigation, completing an archeological study and evaluating how much more funding is needed. We’re seeing places like El Paso where there isn’t really a true venue, and markets that have grown in population from 300,000 to a million and can be served by an arena.

When you’re booking a show and you see there’s a new facility in the market that hasn’t had entertainment and is starving for it, it becomes very attractive. The city is still in litigation over a lawsuit filed in relation to the long-delayed Multipurpose Performing Arts and Entertainment Center, commonly referred to as the arena.

There are still injunctions in place that prevent city officials from moving onto design, financing and construction aspects of the project. El Paso Mayor Dee Margo has said that the multipurpose center, originally budgeted at $180 million, could cost as much as $250 million today — or more.

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