EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso County commissioners are expected to consider restarting two separate bidding processes tied to the El Paso County Coliseum at Monday\u2019s meeting, a move county leaders say is aimed at making the process fairer and attracting more competition.<\/p>\n
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said the county is considering closing out and restarting requests for proposals for sports tourism and for coliseum management and operations because officials were unable to answer many questions from potential bidders during the initial RFPs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’d like it to be fair. During the RFP, both of them, we were not able to answer a lot of questions, they were asking about the roof or asking about some of the conditions,\u201d Samaniego said.<\/p>\n
Emily Schmalz reports on El Paso County may restart Coliseum bidding to ensure fair, transparent RFP process (Credit: KFOX14)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: Six bidders, including UTEP and Sports Commission, tour Coliseum ahead of June 25 bids<\/a><\/p>\n The sports tourism bidding process closed July 16 with only two bids, according to county documents: one from the El Paso Sports Commission and a second from an international management consultant represented by Brian Kennedy. A separate process for management and operations was set to close Sept. 3, but that timeline could change depending on Monday\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Samaniego said bidders had questions about the facility\u2019s condition, including the HVAC system, and he believes restarting the process with clearer information could improve transparency.<\/p>\n \u201cNot understanding some of the things like what do I need to improve? How bad is the HVAC and we just felt if we go back and do it properly, get the right answers for everyone, we’d have a fairer and transparent, RFP,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Samaniego also said the county wants more competition for the work.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, the more you have, the better the chances are for the county to have the right person at both the, Sports Commission and also the Coliseum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Samaniego said restarting the process would not eliminate current management from consideration. The El Paso Sports Commission has managed the coliseum since 2003, and its current contract is set to expire Sept. 2027.<\/p>\n