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| Comparing Apples and Oranges |
The project recently breaking ground in San Benito for an event center, hotel and water feature and the 10,500 convention center now on the ballot in Cameron County are not close to similar projects.
The San Benito event center is only slightly larger than the Brownsville Event Center, evidently has no fixed seating, but more closely resembles several event centers already existing in Brownsville.
It is not a venue that would serve Brownsville or even draw its citizens for events.
On the other hand, a 10,500 seat convention center is large enough to hold a Luis Miguel concert, a preseason NBA game or even become a permanent venue for a minor league sports team; hockey, basketball or even indoor football, that is, if aggressively marketed.
Corpus Christi's American Bank Center has 10,500 seats, the exact size of the project proposed for Highway 100. While the population of Corpus Christi almost doubles that of Brownsville, 348,420 to 183,677, Cameron County's population exceeds that of Nueces County, 425,211 to 362,830.
The proposed convention center is appropriately sized and actually fills a need for our county.
If it's not free admission, Brownsville's people will not attend. How many go to Camille Playhouse?
ReplyDeleteThis is a loser proposition.
Look into the San Benito deal. Do a quick dive into Western Spherical Developers, and the history they have (Arizona, Fort Worth, League City)
ReplyDeleteConstruction for San Benito project should have already started last week...