That's very true. That's why I think it would be a waste to spend the money.
I think Coldplay just decided to tour in different places. They chose Stanford Stadium and Camp Randall Stadium.
I do think Jim Ward helped get Coldplay here.
100% OT: Coldplay Concert
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That's very true. That's why I think it would be a waste to spend the money.
I think Coldplay just decided to tour in different places. They chose Stanford Stadium and Camp Randall Stadium.
I do think Jim Ward helped get Coldplay here.
It’s sad how El Paso wasted away a great opportunity to build a downtown arena. This would have been a great venue for sporting events, concerts, etc. and an economic driver for downtown redevelopment. Not too long ago, San Antonio built a basketball arena for the Spurs because the Spurs did not like playing in the Alamodome, which is understandable. Now San Antonio is spending big money to build a new downtown state of the art arena for the Spurs and entertainment district. El Paso local politicians lack the vision to make the city better. No wonder El Paso continues to suffer from brain drain.
The arena was only going to be like 10,000 seats. I don’t know how great you thought it was going to be. It just shows you the ineptitude of the city to try and complete a smaller arena.
What does San Antonio have to do with this? They already have a NBA team. El Paso would have had to get a minor league hockey or arena football team as tenants. Moving downtown is what’s popular now and the Spurs’ current arena is not downtown. If they don’t build a new arena, the NBA will move them to Vegas or Seattle.
How big do you think it should be? I could see 13-14k being a sweet spot. And then you still have room for floor seating for concerts etc. In a perfect world you make make it double as the rodeo arena like many modern arenas do and you trash the dump that is the Coliseum. That thing has a 5k capacity and I don’t care how much money the city puts into it. It’s an absolute dump. But it’s like you said, the city is full of ineptitude. Dipsh*ts couldn’t write a proper arena proposal. But they can scam the gas card system.,
I don’t think the Coliseum is a total dump. It’s not nice and it doesn’t have amenities, but it currently still has a purpose. Should the city put tons of money into? No, but I think it’s a fine venue for smaller events.
As far as the new arena goes, that is the problem. If you make it bigger, it’s going to cost more and it needs some kind of anchor tenant. We’re already getting the outdoor venue in the NE, we would have the coliseum, and have the DHC for concerts already. Not even considering the Abraham Chavez, which held concerts in the past.
I don’t believe there is a good anchor tenant option available. I am not sure if there is enough demand for a big arena until we see what happens in the NE either.
The best option is still the city and UTEP working together to either rebuild the DHC or building a new arena somewhere downtown or UTEP area. That way you have an anchor tenant and you don’t have to worry about it being empty too much. Then you can do a 13-14k seater. I don’t think it’s realistic to have one built without UTEPs help.
If I recall correctly, the original plan for the downtown arena was for approximately 15,000 seats and larger capacity for concerts. The proposed arena was going to be designed to accommodate modern concerts/stages and other entertainment events. This would have been great for a city the size of El Paso. The Haskins Center was built in the 70s when the city was smaller. I think we all agree on the ineptitude of city and county officials. There was talk about getting professional teams like hockey and football arena to be permanent tenants. As everyone knows the Haskins Center is old and cannot be used to accommodate modern concerts. The reason I brought up San Antonio was because they are about to build a second arena in under 25 years. I understand San Antonio has an NBA team, but the city will have two similar size arenas with the new one being in downtown. Other cities like Albuquerque, Lubbock and Las Cruces have larger and modern arenas. Don’t tell me El Paso can’t support a new 15,000+ seat arena when we had 80,000 people attend a Coldplay concert.
Those places definitely don’t have modern arenas. The Pit was recently renovated, but I am not sure how many concerts and boxing/mma/wrestling events are held there.
Lubbock has a good arena. However, it’s owned by Texas Tech and that’s their main tenant. It’s also 25 years old now.
Las Cruces? The PanAm Center is basically the same age as the Haskins Center and barely has a bigger capacity. What events is Las Cruces getting that we don’t?
I’m not saying El Paso can’t support a new arena, I’m concerned about the quality and quantity of events that would be held there.
Coldplay is a once in a decade type event. They’re not coming back next year and they didn’t tour anywhere else in Texas. From what I have seen, a good number of people came from elsewhere to attend.
The Pit is a modern arena. So is the arena in Lubbock.
Why are you always "concerned"? Be positive for once. You are negative about every single thing.
I haven’t been to the Pit since the 90s. Is it modern or has it just been updated? These new arenas have retractable bleachers so they can expand footprint to allow for things like concerts and what not. Does The Pit have that?
The arena in Lubbock is so modern and popular it has no events scheduled until August and has 2 concerts the rest of the year. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/unitedsupermarketsarena/events/
I couldn’t find any events scheduled at the Pit
The Pan Am has 3 events scheduled the rest of the year.
El Paso is missing out!!
I couldn’t find any events scheduled at the Pit
The Pan Am has 3 events scheduled the rest of the year.
El Paso is missing out!!
Very modern. Outside it looks like an NBA arena. The suites inside are nice.
The PIT was open in 1966, the Pan American Center in 1968.
The Pit (arena) - Wikipedia
Pan American Center - Wikipedia
Although they’re both old facilities they have both undergone renovations. The Pit underwent a major renovation in 2010, costing $60 million and bringing the facilities up to state-of-the-art standards. The renovation added 60,000 square feet of new space, with new amenities such as forty luxury suites and 365 club seats, digital signage and video boards, expanded concourses, additional restrooms and new locker rooms. The Pan Am Center also underwent two renovations in 2007 and 2022, respectively. The latest renovation added added suites and premium club seating. Although these renovations were not as impressive as the Pit’s, they have invested in their facilities.The PIT was open in 1966, the Pan American Center in 1968.
The Pit (arena) - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Pan American Center - Wikipedia
And yet, neither facility is hosting anything worthwhile. There’s some 3rd rate MMA event being held on Saturday at the Pan Am. You can go to Ticketmaster and count all the floor tickets sold to the event.
To be fair Albuquerque has the Isleta Amplatheatre:
Isleta Amphitheater Tickets & Schedule | Albuquerque Concert Venue
Isleta Amphitheater information and upcoming 2025 events. Find details on the official Isleta Amphitheater website including tickets, seating chart, and concert calendar.
www.isletaamp.com
That place has a great variety of concerts that El Paso and Cruces can’t touch. Does the new venue in the NE help attract those shows to the Sun City? It’s planned to seat 12,500 which is smaller than the Isleta Amphitheater’s 15,000.
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Don’t let this talk distract you from the fact that George Strait never came back to El Paso after his G.S. Country Music Festival was cut short due to wind. He played in Cruces, but never back to El Paso.
Kenny Chesney and the Dixie Chicks played, but the troubadour and Tim McGraw said deuces!
Kenny Chesney and the Dixie Chicks played, but the troubadour and Tim McGraw said deuces!
Do you think Coldplay will come again, even though there was people sitting on the mountain and got a free show?? By the way why hasn't Utep done anything to stop that?? That's so embarrassing I think. I don't Coldplay thought it was funny. Why not put seats up there on the mountain and charge people to sit up there??
Rot brought up those other cities and their arenas. They’re not prime examples of why El Paso needs a big arena.To be fair Albuquerque has the Isleta Amplatheatre:
Isleta Amphitheater Tickets & Schedule | Albuquerque Concert Venue
Isleta Amphitheater information and upcoming 2025 events. Find details on the official Isleta Amphitheater website including tickets, seating chart, and concert calendar.
That place has a great variety of concerts that El Paso and Cruces can’t touch. Does the new venue in the NE help attract those shows to the Sun City? It’s planned to seat 12,500 which is smaller than the Isleta Amphitheater’s 15,000.
This amphitheater is a great example of what could happen in the NE. This is a fine concert venue and gets many great shows. Hopefully the same artists visit both places. We’ll see
