The proposed Lubbock County Expo Center will not go downtown but instead stay at the original location – North Loop 289 at North University Avenue – if the decision of a county oversight committee stands when the matter goes to the County Commissioners Court on January 26.
The oversight committee (Local Government Corporation or LGC) approved a resolution Wednesday on a vote of 7-2 to do three things.
The resolution supports:
- The new design proposed by the non-profit Lubbock County Expo Center, Inc. (LCEC) which LubbockLights.com covered here. LCEC will pay Parkhill $375,000 for the new design which largely copies the Taylor Telecom Arena in Abilene.
- The location on 80 acres of donated land at North University and North Loop 289. (And it approves some behind-the-scenes legal work related to the donated land.)
- Laying the groundwork for the county to borrow roughly $32 million to be paid back by a hotel visitor tax and car rental tax, which voters approved in 2018. The rest of the money needed for the $67 million project needs to come from private donors.
Two board members felt like they still did not have enough information. County Auditor Kathy Williams was also present and said she does not have a current audit (the last audit she has is 2020, she said) or current financial information on the private side of the project.
LCEC chairman Randy Jordan said she’s been given much of that information – but not all.
Despite the concerns, LGC members felt like the resolution was necessary to go forward – not waiting for their next meeting.
About halfway into the meeting Carl Isett asked, “When will the county auditor have the information she needs to guide the commissioners in the right decision?”
Williams then told the board, “It has been requested from LCEC over the years. And what I received a couple months back is all I have. And I’m just waiting on them to provide documentation.”
Williams said she received bank statements but not a complete set of records.
Jordan was complimentary of Williams doing a good job but, “It’s amazing some of the things that she says. We have provided her all of our tax returns. Of course, we don’t have 25’s done [yet].”
An outside auditing firm just finished an audit of LCEC for 2021/22 and Jordan says the audits are running behind. But he said the other financial documents including profit/loss statements have been turned over.
Isett said he had not seen “a single piece of paper” that LCEC could lay hands on millions of dollars in private funding.
LGC member Gary Boren raised similar concerns about not seeing documentation.
Isett and Boren suggested putting off the vote and inviting Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer and State Representative Carl Tepper to come talk about putting the project downtown. That suggestion did not sit well with LGC member Dwight McDonald.
“I’m tired of waiting. Either we’re going to do something or we’re not. And you don’t wait until we’re about to cross the finish line to say, ‘Wait, let’s start the race over,’” McDonald said.
“Don’t wait until we’re about to make a decision and pass a resolution to then go, ‘Stop. I want to talk to you,’” McDonald said.
McDonald then made a motion to approve the resolution, which passed.
After the vote, Jordan responded to the concerns of not having enough private money available by saying, “We would never have come back to LGC in October if we did not have that available to us.”
The LGC encouraged the LCEC to provide additional documentation in the next two months.
LCEC is paying Parkhill for design work, but $375,000 up-front is only the start. Fees could be $3 million based on Wednesday’s discussion, but the exact figure is not known yet. The fee should be less than usual because of the work done in the previous set of architectural plans that had to be abandoned for cost and trouble with fundraising after COVID.
There is still more work for both LGC and for county commissioners. LubbockLights.com laid out a timeline in this story.
Background
LubbockLights.com broke the story when city leaders invited the county to put the Expo Center downtown at the Civic Center site. Their motivation was downtown redevelopment which included bringing more events into the area.
Their promise was access to more money, thanks in part to a new state law allowing Lubbock to create a project finance zone (PFZ) around the Civic Center. The official revenue estimate from the Texas Comptroller was $121.7 million between now and 2055. Lubbock can borrow money against the PFZ and raise even more money with an increase to the hotel visitor tax.
LCEC objected, saying the Civic Center site did not have room for future expansions and there were concerns with traffic flow for big events downtown.
A joint city/county study pointed out pros and cons of each site, but did not put those objections to rest.
LCEC held a press conference in November repeating its rejection of the downtown option and announcing its plan, which included a bank loan of up to $20 million from Plains Capital Bank. The next day LCEC presented the plan to LGC. It did not go well.
The LGC took no action, voicing concerns about unanswered questions.
LCEC consultant Greg Garfield with Garfield Public Private also disclosed a potential $500,000 operating loss in November – which might be offset by a list of revenue streams.
“This is not including sponsorships, philanthropic fundraising, naming rights, personal seat license and other programs that we have in our model that we believe is going to make this a viable and going operation,” Garfield said.
But LGC board members including Carl Isett in December had serious concerns about the yearly operating budget, saying previous projections had the Expo Center breaking even – not losing money.
Draft resolution in support of the Lubbock County Expo Center venue project
WHEREAS, Lubbock County entered into a Development Agreement (“the Agreement”) with Lubbock County Expo Center, Inc. (“LCEC”) on November 14, 2019, to plan, acquire, establish, develop, and construct the Lubbock County Expo Center Venue Project as authorized by Chapter 334 of the Texas Local Government Code; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the Agreement, LCEC purchased and deeded to Lubbock County an approximately eighty (80) acre tract of land along North University Avenue and the North Loop 289 Access Road for the site of the Venue Project; and
WHEREAS, under the Agreement, LCEC assumed responsibility for the development and construction of the Venue Project; and, the funds needed to develop and construct the Venue Project either have been or will be acquired by private funding raised by LCEC, proceeds from the collection of Venue Project taxes, and/or by and through the issuance of tax-exempt bond financing by Lubbock County.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSIONERS COURT OF LUBBOCK COUNTY, TEXAS:
That due to the changes in the financial climate and construction costs since the Agreement was entered into, the Lubbock County Commissioners Court does hereby support and approve of LCEC’s pursuit of an alternative design of the Venue Project, the letter agreement between LCEC and Parkhill to create the design, and the expenditure of $375,000.00 by LCEC as payment for the new design; and
That the Court affirms the Venue Project will be constructed on the approximately eighty (80) acres of land along North University Avenue and North Loop 289 Access Road, and the Court approves of the Special Warranty Deed extending the right of reversion period for five (5) years from the Effective Date of the Special Warranty Deed; and
Furthermore, that the Lubbock County Commissioners Court will engage Bond Counsel to commence work on the Venue Project based on the new alternative design and preliminary, proposed budget.
APPROVED on this the 26th day of January 2026.
Note: The resolution was approved by an oversight committee, but has not yet gone to county commissioners. It remains a draft resolution until then.
The LGC will meet again in March. They will ask LCEC to provide updated financial information at that time.
This story was posted as developing news right after the LGC vote. Check back for updates.
