The new baseball stadium in downtown El Paso, Texas will cost $10 million more than expected under a revised construction contract proposed by city officials last week.
The city council meets Tuesday to consider changes to the construction contract for the minor league baseball stadium being built on the former site of El Paso City Hall, which was demolished April 14.
A groundbreaking ceremony is set for Thursday at the downtown site.
The stadium was expected to total $50 million, with $40 million of construction expenses and $10 million of engineering, architectural, and site preparation costs.
The proposed new contract puts the construction portion at $50.2 million. The original construction contract was signed in January.
The additional funding will include $3 million of certificates of obligation authorized by the council in 2010 for downtown street projects, and $2 million from $473.25 million of general obligation bonds approved by voters in November 2012.
The revised construction contract also includes a $5 million contingency fund from city bonds authorized for the stadium project. The bonds are supported by an increase in El Paso’s hotel occupancy rate approved at the November 2012 election.
The ballpark will be the home beginning in 2014 of the minor league Tucson Padres, the Class AAA affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
The team was purchased last year by a group of El Paso investors and will be moved and renamed after the 2013 season.
El Paso’s credit is rated AA by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, and Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service. The city’s outstanding debt includes approximately $600 million of GO debt and $217 million of certificates of obligation.
