El Paso Sets GO Vote for Ballpark

The El Paso City Council last week officially put on the Nov. 6 ballot a plan to issue $468 million of general obligation bonds and to increase the city’s hotel tax by 2% to finance a downtown baseball stadium for an unidentified minor league team.

The two-part GO bond referendum allocates $245 million for parks and zoo projects and $228.3 million for museums, a multi-purpose performing center in downtown, and a new children’s museum.

If both proposals are approved, taxes on a residence valued at $100,000 would go up about $26 a year.

The increase in El Paso’s hotel tax to 17.5% would support $15 million of tax-exempt bonds and $35 million of taxable debt for the planned baseball stadium project.

The stadium will be built on the site of City Hall, which will be razed early next year if the proposal is approved.

The city plans to purchase two buildings in downtown to relocate operations now in City Hall.

El Paso’s general obligation credit is rated AA by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings, 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.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Texas
MORE FROM BOND BUYER