In a shocking turn of events that surprised absolutely nobody, our visionary leaders on the Lubbock City Council have decided to punt the proposed Civic Center expansion vote from this November to at least 2027. Why the sudden cold feet? Because, as Mayor Mark McBrayer so candidly admitted, the city still has “so much work we have to do to nail down costs” before bothering to ask voters. City Manager Jarrett Atkinson backed him up, warning that the current numbers are merely “concept-level” and admitting his deep, personal fear that if they blurt out an actual cost estimate now, it might accidentally become “the number”. Heaven forbid city hall be held accountable to a real price tag before August’s ballot cutoff!
Instead of rushing into pesky math, the city is shifting its focus to triggering a Project Financing Zone (PFZ) that allows Lubbock to hoard state hotel taxes within a 3-mile radius of the Civic Center rather than sending them off to Austin. Thanks to state allies Dustin Burrows, Carl Tepper, and Charles Perry, the Texas Comptroller estimates this tax maneuver will pull in $121.7 million—by the year 2055. That’s right, 2055, a year so far in the future we’ll all be flying hover-trucks down 82nd Street. All of this tax shuffling—along with a proposed hotel tax increase and private contributions—is meant to build a new 60,000-square-foot space, remodel 40,000 square feet for events, and hopefully entice someone to build a hotel across the street.
So when will any actual dirt move on this grand vision? Best-case scenario, construction might start in early 2028 or 2029. Meanwhile, Councilman Tim Collins bravely suggested the city try putting together a “community benefit analysis” and a financial forecast so voters can see where the money is going. What a revolutionary concept—asking municipal government to show its work before begging for a vote.
If it takes city hall three full years just to figure out what a project costs on paper, how many generations will we be dead and buried before they actually finish building it?
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