LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – While the Lubbock County Expo Center continues private fundraising efforts, city and county leaders were presented Tuesday with a different option that could reshape the project’s future.
In 2018, Lubbock County voters approved a portion of hotel occupancy tax to help fund an expo center on the North Loop. Seven years later, the 133 acres purchased for the project remain untouched, with the venture still not fully funded on the private side.
A feasibility study from a convention research firm suggested to Lubbock County Commissioners a downtown multi-purpose venue as an alternative to the originally planned North Loop location, sparking new discussions about the best path forward for the long-delayed project.
Lubbock leaders considering new location options for Expo Center(KCBD)
Tyler Othen, director of Conventions Sports and Leisure International, believes changing the Expo Center’s location to downtown would excite investors and bring more business to the area.
“It could signal to developers, it could signal to the investment community that Lubbock is serious about growth and it should be the center of investment in residential, in office, in other mixed use and restaurants throughout downtown to get this area activated,” Othen said.
Jason Corley, the county commissioner for Precinct 2, said he hopes the Expo Center project stays on the North Loop but sees benefits in a downtown Lubbock multi-purpose venue at the civic center.
“I want to see all of this development happening in downtown Lubbock because that is going to increase property values, which generates tax revenues which helps us lower the tax rate overall and lowers that burden on all of our citizens,” Corley said.
However, he also noted potential advantages of the North Loop location.
“But, if we go up north with the Expo Center and go out that direction, what you are going to see is a huge surge in development that’s going to pop up in area that hasn’t been developed before, so I think you can see a whole lot more growth in a much shorter time,” Corley said.
Corley knows the community wants answers and believes progress is being made. He hopes residents will provide input to help commissioners make the best decision for the county.
“We are getting really close, so the discussion has been about, do you go downtown, do you go out on the north loop with what the voter was promised in the first place,” Corley said. “I think we can expect city council to hear from their voters and Lubbock county commissioners to hear from their voters as well and just let us know where you guys are at, or where do you guys want to be at is probably the better question.”
Othen said whether a venue gets built downtown or near the North Loop, he believes the facility will help bring another source of entertainment for Lubbock for years to come.
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