EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Northeast El Paso residents want answers after noticing a lack of construction at the former Cohen Stadium site, the future home of the state-of-the-art Sunset Amphitheater.

The 12,500-seat venue broke ground late last November with a targeted opening date set for this fall. However, four months later, the site remains largely unchanged from the day shovels first hit the dirt.

With no visible structures erected and no construction crews in sight, some Northeast residents are questioning if there is a delay.

“It seems like they just started it and then all of a sudden they just stopped,” said Northeast El Paso resident Omar Gonzalez. “But I’m hoping it comes through.”

“Out here in the Northeast, there’s not too many things to do, so I was pretty amped to find out that they’re doing that theater,” resident Alejandro Blucher said. “But it is taking a long time. Just like the (Cohen) water park, other things that they’re doing out here are taking a long time.”

The Northeast Civics Club, a community group from the area, first raised those concerns with KTSM. They said they were not getting responses from City of El Paso representatives and urged for more transparency. Their email read:

“We are concerned that the Northeast has gotten screwed yet again as every time something is approved for us out here, something seems to happen and kills the project like the fire and police training centers.”

“Venu has been selling box seating starting at $358,000 for a 4 seat box and up to $716.000 for an 8 seat fire pit box ads all over Streaming TV.. We are worried that with nothing being done at the site, if this is a SCAM on El Paso and the Northeast,” the email continued.

Despite the empty dirt lot, officials with Venu — the developers behind the state-of-the-art project — said they are making progress behind the scenes. In a statement to KTSM, a representative for the amphitheater said:

“We’re making strong progress on Sunset Amphitheater El Paso, with the final design phase wrapping up in the coming weeks and site work expected to begin in the months ahead. We’re excited to bring this one-of-a-kind venue to El Paso.”

While KTSM has not independently verified the specific television ads, a check of Venu’s website confirms the company is actively selling the high-end suites for the exact six-figure prices residents are reporting.

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