THE Sun Bowl Uplift

The Sun Bowl is El Paso’s venue.

We hope that something from the variety of acts that we will attract with the Sun Bowl Uplift will catch your interest. But if not, we believe that economic benefits to the county will far exceed the cost of the bond.

If we secure eight new events a year, we project the positive economic impact from new tourism spending, dollars retained from El Pasoans staying in town to go to concerts and events, and related retail spending to be more than $2 billion over the 30-year-life of the bond.

We expect this economic impact will generate more than 600 jobs, based on modeling done by the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness.

With an additional eight events a year, we expect the tax revenue to the county to be $82 million over the life of the $99 million bond. 

This is one of the few bond projects proposed that may actually pay for itself.

The debt repayment on the bonds for the $99 million Sun Bowl Uplift project will be approximately 83¢ a month or $9.90 per year per $100,000 of assessed property value. 

The County of El Paso is likely to place a $350 million general obligation bond on the ballot in November. UTEP is asking for the Sun Bowl Uplift project to be part of that total, not an addition to the $350 million. If the county doesn’t select the Sun Bowl Uplift as a project, the likelihood is that $99 million will be spent on other projects.

We believe the Sun Bowl Uplift is one of the only projects proposed that will have a significant financial return on investment to the county, including tens of millions in tax receipts from people who live outside of El Paso County that will visit the city to attend events over the life of the bond.

Texas law doesn’t allow public university funds to be used on athletic or auxiliary functions, including event venues like the Sun Bowl. 

According to the Texas State Constitution, Article VII, Sec. 18 d., funding from the UT System’s Permanent University Fund “may not be used for the purpose of constructing, equipping, repairing, or rehabilitating buildings or other permanent improvements that are to be used for student housing, intercollegiate athletics, or auxiliary enterprises.”

Revenue generated by UTEP athletics, including ticket sales and sponsorships, is used to fund athletic scholarships and other expenses of our 17 athletic teams. In recent years, UTEP has put money into maintaining the Sun Bowl, but there is not enough funding generated by ticket sales to be able to do a project of this size. 

Athletics revenue is dedicated to the success of the student athlete, providing opportunities for hundreds of students to receive a quality education.

While UTEP programs have benefited from record fundraising this past year, the scale of this project far exceeds what we believe our donor capacity is, and a partnership with the county is the most viable option. In fact, the Sun Bowl was originally built by the county for UTEP in the 1960s. However, anyone interested in potentially supporting the Sun Bowl Uplift with a legacy gift should contact Jake Logan, UTEP’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement.

Educational and general funds appropriated by the Texas legislature can’t be used for athletics or event spaces. According to the General Appropriations Act (GAA), educational and general funds to any institution or agency named in Article III of the GAA may not be expended to support auxiliary enterprises. See Article III, Section 6(8)(b) of the General Appropriations Act (Special Provisions Relating Only to State Agencies of Higher Education); Texas Government Code 2252.061(1).

UTEP’s primary mission is to provide access to an affordable, high-quality education to students in our region. Putting the burden of servicing this bond that would benefit the community on the backs of students by increasing tuition wouldn’t be fair.   

State law also limits our ability to do so. According to Sec 54.003, 54.0513 and 51.009 of the Texas education code, tuition dollars must be used “for the effective operation of the institution.” The UT System has clear guidance that using tuition for auxiliary functions like the Sun Bowl is not appropriate.

We believe the upgrades in the Uplift project will make the Sun Bowl much more compelling to A-List acts when they are choosing where to stop on major tours.

UTEP Special Events has been bringing great acts to El Paso to the Sun Bowl and the Don Haskins Center for decades, and we have been seeking to increase the use of these facilities even more in recent years. From our communication with concert promoters and artists, UTEP Special Events knows what make-or-break amenities are needed by the Sun Bowl to be competitive. 

Concert producers and event promoters consider many factors when choosing a venue. One of the most significant factors is the cost of temporary facilities needed for their show and the ease and time required to set-up and tear-down. Currently, the biggest acts looking at UTEP must arrange and pay for field covering, extra power, and extra labor for setup (because of the distance of trucks from the stage and the limited number of trucks that can simultaneously be loading or unloading). Acts are already looking to El Paso but are unwilling to deal with those inconveniences and opt for better equipped venues.

In our conversations with event producers, we know that El Paso’s location is great because of our central location for east-west and north-south tour routes.

A formal timeline has not been announced, but the work would be done in phases and around the existing athletic and event schedule of the Sun Bowl. Currently, the Sun Bowl is used about 30 days a year, so we are hopeful to be able to take advantage of the downtime to quickly implement the uplift features.

The main difference is size. Some acts have a sweet spot for profitability in the 10,000 to 15,000 seating range. These acts have smaller sets, less overhead and often are not popular enough to draw a larger crowd.

Many artists and events require a crowd of 25,000 to 50,000 to make it worth a tour stop. These acts have huge overheads because they are traveling with large, custom elaborate staging and production equipment.

The Sun Bowl is the only venue within hundreds of miles that has the seating capacity needed for many A-list acts. Add the upgraded facilities to the capacity, and the Sun Bowl becomes a viable option for many of these acts that would not fit into the other regional venues.

We will uplift the Sun Bowl to make it more likely that major acts will want to stop in El Paso and improve the fan experience. That means improved power, a drivable field cover system, improved access to the field for large trucks, and improvements to the fan and act experience like restrooms, concessions, food service and support areas.

Certainly, the acts that come make money on the tickets people choose to buy. When we rent the Sun Bowl, any profit on the rent goes back into maintaining UTEP facilities for future generations of UTEP students and the community. UTEP is not a profit-making entity.  Everything goes back into our mission of teaching, research and service to the community.

The County Commissioners will decide if the Sun Bowl Uplift will be on the ballot for voters to decide whether they want this in November. The County has appointed a Bond Advisory Committee that is soliciting community input.