Read that Fraser was on board, but White wasn't

Anybody know what happened to the proposal?

Fraser tacked it onto another occupancy tax bill going through the senate and got it passed. It is on the Governor's desk, and will likely be signed. Word is White is still lobbying against it, but I highly doubt her opinion matters.

Thanks

Abbott has until the 21st to sign HB4037 or it dies.

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Abbott has until the 21st to sign HB4037 or it dies.

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It dies or becomes law?

edit: it becomes law

Hell, I'm not even sure what this is for

I know it's to get Expo center off the budget, but what about renovations ?

I read that they are wanting to build a an equestrian center, but what about improvements to the main arena?

Are they going to improve acoustics? Is it going to remain at 6500 seats?

I believe it will make it where the expo no longer requires subsidy from the county property tax/sales tax pool. Though, that is probably just operations. I don't think the occupancy tax will also cover the debt service.

I think there are going to be some improvements to the existing facility, but it is primarily an expansion project. If you have 4H kids, you'll be happy to know they are going to enclose the barn and climate control the area. Equestrian facilities are being built. There will be a permenant dirt arena as well so they no longer have to take dirt into the main arena for low-spectator events.

If you want to know more, I'd email info@bellcountyexpo.com. Tim Stephens is their executive director. He is a really good guy and very excited about the project. He could give you some better details.

But no planned expansion of arena seating capacity or acoustics upgrade?

I ask because a lot of people say we don't need an upgrade because artists don't come here and people don't go to music events

I think artists don't come here and people shy away from music events because it's just bad place to have a concert.

If theyre going to spend the money, I also would like to see seating capacity increased. There are 8 high school graduations there every year, and several college graduations

Bell County now has well over 300,000 people, and the metro area is about 425,000. Much bigger than it was in 1987.

Whatever they do, I hope they do it right, and make it a place where people will want to go for something other than Ag shows and tractor pulls.

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But no planned expansion of arena seating capacity or acoustics upgrade?

I ask because a lot of people say we don't need an upgrade because artists don't come here and people don't go to music events

I think artists don't come here and people shy away from music events because it's just bad place to have a concert.

If theyre going to spend the money, I also would like to see seating capacity increased. There are 8 high school graduations there every year, and several college graduations

Bell County now has well over 300,000 people, and the metro area is about 425,000. Much bigger than it was in 1987.

Whatever they do, I hope they do it right, and make it a place where people will want to go for something other than Ag shows and tractor pulls.

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I don't recall expansion of the main arena or acoustic upgrades, but the presentation I saw was a few months ago and I had a cold beer or two since then.

I haven't been to a concert there, so I don't know the acoustic situation, but I hope it is improved if it isn't set up well.

To comment on some of your other points, a big driver for this expansion is to make the Expo a bigger tourist draw for Bell County, and spur economic activity. I know your were probably talking a bit in jest, but Ag shows bring a ton of out of town dollars to Bell County, and those dollars help support local hotels, eateries and watering holes.

The Expo has more demand than supply for smaller capacity shows. Often they are having to heat/cool the main dome for events that have only a few spectators. That is why the installation of a permanent dirt arena with a smaller amount of seating is going to occur.

Graduations are probably the only events that stress the seating demand in the big arena. While it would be nice to have more seats for those occasions, I can understand why that wasn't a top priority for them. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to expand seating solely for the accommodation of a small number of non-paying events that don't do a whole lot on the economic development side doesn't make much sense if your goals to spur greater economic development and hopefully get the Expo to become self-sufficient. Further, Belton is the only school that is growing out of the Expo right now. Temple and the Killeen schools are pretty steady at the 1.9-2.2K enrollment marks. I graduated from Belton when we were about that size, and seating capacity wasn't an issue at our graduation. I think both UMHB and CTAMU host their graduations on UMHB's campus.

I appreciate what you are saying, and I'd love to have a world class arena with seating capacity to warrant T-Swift stopping by, but if you talk to the guys that live and breath this industry, they'll tell you that isn't where the demand pressure is right now.

Im not sure anyone expects Taylor Swift. But look what's going on a little further south.

http://www.cedarparkcenter.com

And not that I'm an attendee, but apparently the monster truck show last fall was pitiful and ticked a lot of people of that felt they wasted their money.

I've seen Garth Brooks, Kiss, and Steve Warner at the expo. But that was a couple of decades ago and soon after it opened. Not sure they could pull similar acts today.

Florida Georgia line came not too long ago. I am not saying that acts avoid the expo, but it is a tough market. Most of the time Bell County is a little too close to Austin to get our own tour stop, but too far from Austin to get the "Austin area" stop for most big acts.

Sorry, to correct my earlier post, the governor can allow the bill to become law without actually signing it. Word out of Austin is that this what is going to happen.

I heard over the Holiday that Hugh Shine will be running against Molly in the next election. Not as a democrat, as a republican, of course.

I'm surprised there aren't more people lining up to run in the primary

As for the Expo, I was excited at first, but now don't really care. Doesn't sound like they have the slightest interest in community enjoyment of the facility, and care almost exclusively about attracting out of town tourist money for local businesses

Not saying tourism is bad... it's not. It's a good thing

But I think they could at least upgrade the current dome to make it better acoustically so that they can attract better shows, and so people can MUCH better enjoy shows when they go. No, I'm not saying Taylor Swift. But better tier 2 acts that can draw 6-7000 but can't fill up the drum