El Paso implodes City Hall, builds baseball park

Your heritage is baseball

There is definitely something to be said for getting your priorities right. In El Paso, Texas the community agreed to implode the 34-year-old City Hall and build a stadium.The 10-story former City Hall came rolling down upon its foundation in a blinding cloud of dust and debris. The site of the former City Hall will become a new baseball park. Crews are now racing to build a $50 million baseball stadium for El Paso’s new Triple-A minor league baseball team, which is scheduled to begin playing games there next season. The stadium project has become the focal point of an urban revitalization effort, centered on the central business district but extending to other parts of the city. In November, El Pasoans voted nearly three to one to authorize $473 million in bond issues that will finance more than 85 public improvement projects. Those range from parks, pools and recreation projects to a children’s museum, Hispanic cultural center and multipurpose performing arts center. The baseball stadium isn’t part of the bond program, but voters approved a 2 percent increase in the city’s hotel occupancy tax to help pay for its construction. Your heritage is baseball. Any questions?