Texas Supreme Court Shuts Down Max Grossman – Durangito Fight Might Be Over

The fight over the downtown neighborhood that was nicknamed Durangito by UTEP Professor Max Grossman might be over.

The Texas Supreme Court said it would not hear a case spearheaded by Max Grossman and a Houston oilman who has been paying for legal fees in the fight to keep the neighborhood from being demolished in order to make way for a voter-approved arena. The fight over Durangito has been going on for almost three years.

With a 'no' from the Texas Supreme Court, this should effectively end the fight over Durangito and open the door to the demolition of the buildings there and the construction of the arena, but as we've seen in the past, Grossman might have another ace up his sleeve. If he doesn't come up with something, the Texas Supreme Court's decision will allow the City of El Paso to build the multi-purpose entertainment center with funds from the 2012 Quality of Life bond election. The City can also use funding from other sources to get the arena built and even enhance the facility for sports use. That means the City could do things like sell naming rights much like they did with the downtown ballpark.

The arena was earmarked to cost $180 million in the Quality of Life bond, but it's unlikely that it will be built for that price. It will most likely cost far more. As for why the Texas Supreme Court decided not to hear the case - that's not really known. The case didn't get the required number of justices to grant a petition.

Max Grossman released a statement about the TSC decision:

"Dear Media and Friends,

This afternoon the Supreme Court of Texas declined to review the bond validation lawsuit which the City originally filed in Travis County on May 2, 2017, beginning the current litigation. I am very disappointed with this outcome as it bodes poorly for bond elections because Texas cities can apparently issue bond ordinances and interpret the language within them however they wish, to the detriment of Texas taxpayers and their interests.

It is especially disappointing that so many of our local politicians will celebrate today with the hope of ultimately destroying the birthplace of our city.

Max Grossman, PhD
El Paso, Texas"

We'll see what happens next.