Proposed plans to remove El Paso County Coliseum conjure warm viewer memories
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — The El Paso County Coliseum and the Event Center, which houses the ice rink, are in danger of being torn down to make way for the expansion project attached to the International Bridge of the Americas.
While no final decisions have been made yet, on Tuesday I asked viewers about their memories at the County Coliseum and the first event they ever attended there.
From concerts, to wrestling, and the rodeo, the Coliseum has brought in events for people of all ages.
See the memories viewers shared with KFOX14 below:
Louie Martinez said, "I think it was the circus but for sure the Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot concert."
Jay Dea Brownfield said, "Three Dog Night at the coliseum in the early 70s. Then Glen Campbell, Neil Diamond, Rod Stewart."
Michael Scott said, "I graduated high school there and it was miserable hot. But a good memory is the tractor pull when the exhausts were so loud and powerful that they were blowing the tiles out of the ceiling."
Dennis Joiner said, "The rodeo. My mom would take me for my birthday every February."
Elsa Montoya-Mariscal said, "My dad would take my brothers and me to the wrestling matches there..such wonderful memories!"
Frankie Franklin Estala said, "First event was seeing Def Leppard in 1983. Favorite events... all the concerts."
Debi Alvidrez said, "Fond memories of going to the circus as a kid and then taking my own child to circus too."
Richard Martinez said, "I still have the ticket stub from when I went with my grandma and aunt to see the Muppet Show."
There is no denying the coliseum has been around for a long time, since 1942 to be exact, which is why the following comments came in too.
Enrique Gonzalez said, "The seating is outdated especially for accessible wheelchair seats. They park you in the very back of the arena with your companion. There's no assigned seating. They just fill that open space with wheelchairs and scooters.
Di Cob said, "If anything they need to rebuild and create greater capacity. We should be able to attract concerts.... not expand the bridge there."
Alex Lucero said, "The time has come to move on and build some new facilities. I have been here in the El Paso area for 31 years and the coliseum was already outdated then. Time to invest in more productive infrastructure."
Cesar Hernandez said, "El Paso is due for a major upgrade maybe an arena would be great for the city."
The county is working on a plan to possibly save the two entertainment venues.
Maybe the county could pull off what the city could not when it comes to an arena. After voters approved the arena and the money to build it, the project was eventually abandoned from being built in the Duranguito neighborhood.
RECOMMENDED: County explores options to save coliseum, ice rink by redirecting BOTA expansion
Read more about the coliseum's history, here.
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