City & County Approve Applying for DOD Funds for Coliseum Expansion

SAN ANGELO – San Angelo City Council members and Tom Green County Commissioners Tuesday approved a plan to apply for Department of Defense funds to partially pay for expansion of the San Angelo Coliseum.  

As were reported Monday, the City Council considered approving a resolution supporting Tom Green County’s application for grant funds from the Department of Defense and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation to be used for the expansion of the coliseum.  The council approved the resolution without comment as part of the consent agenda Tuesday.  

The San Angelo Coliseum complex is the largest disaster relief facility in 11,000 square miles according to the Commissioner's Court Tuesday morning.  

The City of San Angelo owns the coliseum and the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Association operates the facility under contract.  

The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Association announced a $40 million plan to expand and renovate the Coliseum during the April 2022 Rodeo.  The expansion would increase seating capacity from 5,000 to 10,000 and add 60 suites, handicapped seating, additional meeting rooms and restroom facilities and much more while keeping the arena floor of the coliseum exactly the same size

State law prohibits the County from spending taxpayer dollars on a facility the County doesn't own.  

The Rodeo Association, City and County negotiated for several months and were attempting to put a $30 million bond proposal project on the May 2023 election but the County's bond attorney said an opinion requested from the Texas Attorney General did not approve of the selling bonds guaranteed by Tom Green County tax dollars to be spent on the City owned facility.  

The County is applying for the grant to provide part of the funding for expansion of the existing coliseum built in 1959 that has an outsized economic, agricultural and now military impact on the community.

The expansion would provide additional space to house joint service members and family in the event of a natural disaster; serve as alternate Continuity of Operations site in the event of a catastrophe at Goodfellow Air Force Base; and serve as an event center for specialized military training events, joint military and interagency exercises and as the prime location for emergency management in the City.

According to information presented at the Commissioner's Court meeting Tuesday, the DOD program is offering 70% funding with a 30% local match.  The expansion project is an estimated $40 million which would require a $12 million local match.  Commissioners indicated the DOD grant and match would have no impact on the local tax rate.