By David A. Daz
Legislativemedia@aol.com
When then-Mayor Richard Garcia in February 2015 hosted the groundbreaking for Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg he used a state economic development law known as a Tax Reinvestment Zone to help fund the state-of-the-art indoor entertainment and sports complex.
The Bert Ogden Arena has been designed to host a variety of entertainment events including sporting events such as basketball concerts family shows and trade shows.
Three-and-a-half years later a new mayor Richard Molina is singing the praises of the city-owned $88.3 million Bert Ogden Arena which launched its inaugural festivities including an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday August 26 and Monday August 27 2018 respectively.
The TIRZ also includes the area of the Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley which is catty-corner from the (Bert Ogden Arena Molina said. Theres also the Walmart which is down the street on Canton Road. So we can use a portion of the taxes from (within the TIRZ boundaries) without increasing any taxes to pay for our portion of the arena.
The landmark entertainment venue is named after the Bert Ogden of Edinburg who established his first dealership in Edinburg in 1970. He and his wife Dorothy both passed away in 1992 the result of a car accident. But his daughter Janet and son-in-law Robert Vacker continued with the family business which has evolved into one of the most successful vehicle dealerships in the nation.
On Thursday February 26 2015 Vipers Arena LLC announced that the Bert Ogden Auto Group had purchased the naming rights for the complex in honor of the visionary Edinburg man.
Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs) are special zones created by a governmental entity to attract new investment in an area. TIRZs help finance costs of redevelopment and encourage development in areas that would otherwise not attract sufficient market development in a timely manner. Taxes attributable to new improvements (tax increments) are set-aside in a fund to finance public improvements within the boundaries of the zone. (
http://www.houstontx.gov/ecodev/tirz.html)
The creation a TIRZ which is not a new tax but is used throughout the state was made possible statewide by the Texas Legislature effective September 1 1987.
Molina also said he recognized other neighboring cities were competing to land the Bert Ogden Arena.
We knew other cities were lobbying for the arena Molina recalled. So it was an opportunity that we wanted to jump on. Any type of sporting events or concerts of the magnitude offered by this venue was something we wanted to go after. Were excited.
Molinas statements were featured in a 28-page insert sponsored by the Bert Ogden Arena (
www.bertogdenarea.com) that was distributed in the Sunday August 26 2018 edition of the McAllen-based Monitor newspaper.
The publication titled A Game Changer contains seven articles highlighting the projected socioeconomic impact and benefits of the 190000 square foot indoor entertainment behemoth which is located at the corner of Interstate Highway 69-Central and Alberta Road in east Edinburg.
Benjamin Trevio who wrote several of the articles featured A Game Changer said the funding for the complex came as part of the state-authorized Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone which resulted in a public/private sponsorship between Cant Construction the builder of the arena and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation.
Vipers Arena LLC of McAllen whose principal agent is Cant is serving as the private investor in the Public-Private Partnership. Vipers Arena LLC is oversaw all aspects of the construction of the facility.
Vipers Arena LLC will also serve as the major tenant of the Bert Ogden Arena and will be responsible for the operations maintenance scheduling of events and marketing of the facility which will feature 8500 fixed seats which includes 1200 club seats 12 luxury suites a restaurant/club area locker rooms offices for sports team personnel and marquee signs by the expressway.
The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and his four colleagues on the Edinburg City Council.
Of the total $88 million price tag Edinburgs total investment in the project was only $46 million and under the terms of the agreement the city retains full ownership of the property in perpetuity Trevio said. Still city leaders wanted to ensure the project would not bring an additional burden to taxpayers. The challenge was met by leverage the advantages of an existing TIRZ which straddles Edinburgs I-69 corridor and includes the Bert Ogden Arena site and other developments in the area.
Development along Edinburgs I-69 corridor had been only incrementally increasing since the freeway bypass was built in the late 1970s. However the stretch of highway has seen a boom in recent years with investment by big economic players such as Simon Properties (The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley) Walmart Bert Ogden Auto Group and Cant Construction which also built H-E-B Park just off the freeway at Freddy Gonzlez Drive Trevio pointed out.
H-E-B Park which is privately owned and is located at 1616 Ral Longoria Road boasts a $16.8 million 9735-seat professional soccer stadium as part of the 37-acre site with all amenities an amphitheater with a capacity of 2000 people well-lighted parking and security and medical personnel for major gatherings.
We have something like 18 miles of frontage road on that corridor that are inside of the city limits Molina said. Our ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction) is projected to grow another seven to eight miles north of the city. I can tell you that where the area sits its an attraction in the sense that its right off the freeway as compared to another arena that was built (in the Valley) that was not off a major highway. I think its going to super development for years to come.
Among the background provided about the Bert Ogden Arena in the publication are the following articles by respective headline:
- Welcome to Bert Ogden Arena At Bert Ogden Arena the fan experience comes first;
- Bert Ogden Arena promises new era in sports and entertainment;
- Bert Ogden Arena will challenge Vipers team to excel;
- Bert Ogden Arena name right transcend marketing;
- City of Edinburg takes pride in Bert Ogden Arena; and
- Bert Ogden Arena economic rifle effect already.
The publication also uses full-page advertisements to remind residents on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border of some of the major events that are scheduled during the coming months
I think as a whole it was designed so that no one around this region can compete with it said Molina who previously served on the Edinburg City Council since September 2013 before being elected Edinburg Mayor in November 2017. Unless you go to San Antonio or Houston youre not going to find anything this size that can hold events of this magnitude.
