NEWS RELEASE

CORRECT ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATE OF “ARENA” LITIGATION

El Paso, Texas, October 25, 2018: The City’s New Release is a gross mischaracterization of
the current status of the dispute over whether the City will ever be able to build a sports arena in
Duranguito. On October 16, 2018, the City notified me through my attorneys that it intended to
start demolition of the buildings in Duranguito soon after October 30, 2018. The Antiquities
Code of Texas prohibits the City from commencing the project until the archeological study
permitted by the Texas Historical Commission is completed. The survey has not even
started. As a result of the City’s notice, I obtained a copy of the scope of work proposed by the
City’s archeological consultant and learned that the Texas Historical Commission had approved
a plan under which buildings in Duranguito would be demolished in order to facilitate the
archeological investigation. Since this plan violates the Antiquities Code, I filed suit in Travis
County asking for the court to order the Executive Director of the Texas Historical Commission
to withdraw his approval of an archeological study that allowed for demolition of the buildings
in Duranguito while the study was ongoing. While the Court was considering whether to hold a
hearing, the City voluntarily represented to the Court, without any prompting from me or my
attorneys, that demolition would not begin until November 19. This was done to avoid a hearing
on a temporary restraining order. It allowed the hearing on a temporary restraining order to be
avoided and now my request for a temporary injunction will be heard in Austin during the week
of November 12. The purpose of my lawsuit in Austin is to stop the proposed demolition of
buildings in Duranguito by the City before the archeological study has even been started, which
would be a violation the Antiquities Code.

The Rule 11 Agreement pertains to a separate case pending in the 384th District Court in El
Paso. The Rule 11 agreement disposed of issues that are no longer pertinent to the case pending
in the El Paso Court especially since the City agreed not to attempt to demolish until not earlier
than November 19, 2018. The City in effect agreed to the same relief that would have been
afforded by a temporary restraining order, which allows the Austin court to rule on the validity
of the archeological study’s plan to demolish buildings before the survey is completed which is a
violation of the Antiquities Code.

The City’s press release fails to mention that the final judgment in another Austin case filed by
the City prohibits the City from constructing a facility that is designed to accommodate sports.
The City put this issue before the voters as a multi-purpose performing arts and entertainment
center when it actually intended to build a sports arena. The City has appealed the final
judgment and is now forced to defend its failure to disclose to the voters that the project on the
ballot was not the project it intended to build.

This dispute has not been resolved and a critical hearing will be held in Austin during the week
of November 12, 2018. The City’s press release appears to be purposely designed to mislead the
voters once again. This time they will not be fooled.

Max Grossman, PhD

Architectural Historian