Editor’s note: This profile is included in the Amarillo Pioneer’s 2020 Voter Guide, available here. For profiles on all of the candidates and issues on the ballot in the November election, please check out our Voter Guide and get informed before you head to the polls.

City of Amarillo Proposition A

Ballot Text: “The issuance of $275,000,000 General Obligation Bonds for Convention Center Facilities Expansion and Improvement and the Imposition of a Tax Sufficient to Pay to the Principal of and Interest on the Bonds.”

What It Means:

Proposition A would fund $275 million worth of costs associated with a $319 million spending package aimed at renovating the Amarillo Civic Center Complex and completing a variety of assorted downtown projects. Some projects included in the package are the construction of a downtown arena, construction of a second downtown parking garage, relocation of Amarillo City Hall, creation of a downtown park, and renovation of the Santa Fe Depot. According to the City of Amarillo’s Conversation Civic Center website, the tax increase associated with passage of this bond would be approximately $130.82 for a home valued at $100,000.

Here is a look at arguments for and against Proposition A, submitted by campaigns representing their respective sides:

FOR Proposition A - Submitted by Build Amarillo PAC

Website: BuildingABetterAmarillo.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BUILDAMARILLO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BUILDAMARILLOPAC

More than 55 years ago our community shared a robust vision for the future; voting to build the Civic Center and putting Amarillo on the entertainment map.

Over the next several decades, as the needs of our community and the entertainment industry evolved, the Civic Center underwent several expansions and renovations hoping to remain relevant and competitive.

While these projects proved beneficial for the Civic Center at the time, today, we’ve reached another critical juncture; carry on that robust vision for the generations to come or watch the outdated facility wither away.

If we don’t move forward and vote FOR Prop A on November 3rd, we will lose major events like the WRCA World Championship Ranch Rodeo and the Farm and Ranch Show, which pour more than $6.3 million into our economy and attract 80,000 people to Amarillo annually.

If we aren’t forward thinkers like those who came before us, the value of the current Civic Center will continue to depreciate, and the number of events, attendees, hotel room nights and economic impact generated by the Civic Center will decline and die.

By embracing and enhancing this 55+ year legacy with another positive vote for our City’s future, we will keep critical events from leaving Amarillo and finally be able to compete against other cities for larger concerts, conventions and other entertainment.

Not only that, high school graduates would be able to walk the stage with all their family in attendance, cheering them on to the next phase of their life, while local youth sports would have a place to play tournaments for decades to come.

It will be a great value for Amarillo taxpayers, generating an additional $28 million in annual economic activity for $130 per year, or $10.90 a month, for an owner of a $100,000 home. This amounts to an overall property tax increase of 5.2% to 5.8%. Seniors whose taxes are frozen will NOT see an increase in their property tax rate.

The redevelopment of the Amarillo Civic Center is a critical component to the future prosperity of Amarillo, and the future prosperity of our families, for generations to come.

Vote FOR the Civic Center November 3rd and vote to build a better future for Amarillo.

AGAINST Proposition A - Submitted by Save Amarillo PAC

Website: SaveAmarilloNow.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaveAmarilloPAC

Amarillo is a city long past due for a real and competitive civic center revitalization, but the plan being presented to voters is not that plan. The proposed arena is smaller than existing ones in competing cities such as Oklahoma City and Lubbock. In fact, even when adjusting for inflation and only using the costs directly associated with the proposed arena, not only is the proposed arena for Amarillo smaller, but it will cost more money per seat than larger ones in Oklahoma City and Lubbock. The proposal also wastes money on other items other than the arena, such as a new city hall and, for some reason, a second downtown outdoor event venue, right next to Hodgetown. The arena itself is only about half of the full cost of the project. A real civic center plan should focus on prioritizing the arena.

Additionally, this would be the largest tax hike in our city’s history! We are in the middle of a recession; this is absolutely not the time to be raising taxes, especially on a project as wasteful and overpriced as the city is proposing.