Amarillo City Council is set to consider a multi-million-dollar contract for upgrades to Hodgetown during their upcoming regular meeting.

The contract, which totals $4.595 million, is set to be awarded to Western Builders, Inc., which was one of the companies that originally built the stadium. According to the agenda packet for the meeting, Western Builders was the only bidder for the upgrade contract.

According to the city, these upgrades are mostly being made to meet updated Major League Baseball requirements. Some of these requirements include increases to the square footage of shared workout areas and food service break areas, dedicated locker and shower spaces for females, and additional security measures. Additional storage for team and event venue areas is also included in the planned upgrades.

City Council approved $4.757 million in Hotel Occupancy Tax bonds in March for the project. This contract will be funded with $4 million from those bonds and $595,000 from Elmore Sports Group.

Approval of the upgrade contract, which is listed as item 10E, is the largest spending item on the agenda. The next largest spending item, item 9Q, is a $577,100 purchase of a motor grader and street broom, a loader/backhoe, and a rough terrain forklift. According to the agenda packet, these are scheduled replacements and will be used by the Street Division, Drainage Utility Division, and the River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The rough terrain forklift and loader/backhoe are set to be purchased from Associated Supply Co for $190,650, while the motor grader and street broom are set to be purchased from Yellowhouse Machinery Co for $386,450.

A full table summarizing spending items can be found at the end of this article.

The council will also consider approval of the council’s six strategic pillars (business friendly community, communication, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure, public safety, and technology and innovation), a resolution supporting the expansion of Interstate 27, and the city’s investment policy. Discussion items on the agenda include downtown paid parking, zoning code parking regulations, license and business regulations, the process for the 2023 election of the Appraisal District Board of Directors, and the Northeast Interceptor construction project. The invocation for the meeting is set to be given by Vida Church pastor and former City Council candidate Margie Gonzales.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m. on the third floor of City Hall on Tuesday, September 26th. The full agenda and agenda packet may be downloaded at this link. Those interested in speaking during the meeting are encouraged to sign up at this link. Councilman Place 3 Tom Scherlen will be available to meet with members of the public from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. that morning in City Hall Room 203. The council will meet at 1:00 p.m. in a closed-door executive session to discuss the civic center funding lawsuit ahead of the regular meeting.