LUBBOCK, Texas – Officials overseeing the Lubbock County Expo Center project met on Wednesday afternoon and told EverythingLubbock.com that they hope to finalize some key details that will move the planning process forward within the next few weeks.
“Right now, we call it the Lubbock County Expo Center, but as we move forward on this naming ride and these people step up, there’s a good chance that we’re gonna be calling it the new ‘X, Y, Z Expo Center,'” said Randy Jordan, Chairman, Lubbock County Expo Center Inc.
With naming rights comes much needed funding for the multi-million dollar project, planners explained.
Previous coverage: Lubbock Government Corporation discusses more on Expo Center progress
“People ask me that all the time, ‘How come you haven’t started yet? When are you gonna start? What’s going on?’” Jordan began. “2020 had its impact on us. ‘21 was a recovery year. ‘22 – we’re beginning to get our breath back and move things forward. We’re hoping that ‘23 is a time when we can say to people, ‘We’re breaking ground.’”
While officials said they are working hard to overcome setbacks like COVID, inflation and rising interest rates, the process will still be time consuming and complicated.
“We’re talking about a big building. We’re talking about nearly 600,000 sq. feet being one of the largest buildings in Lubbock. So, it takes a long time for those guys to draw all the intricacies,” Jordan shared.
Tim Collins, Vice Chairman of the Local Government Corporation, said he wants people to know how hard officials are working to make the project happen.
“From the commissioner’s court, all the way to Randy and to our organization, [we are] trying to make sure that we do it well, we do it right, [and] that it’s gonna be what the community needs, and that when we’re all finished, we can be very proud of the effort,” Collins said.
Project leaders said the building will be worth the wait.
“It’s so exciting to have these opportunities in our community that we’ve missed over the last few years. Particularly, the dirt events, Monster Truck, motocross, obviously rodeo and horse events,” Collins started. ” I really think this will become a center for our community.”
If everything goes according to plan in the next quarter, Jordan shared, they hope to see the Expo Center finished by April 2025.
To keep up with the latest updates, follow the Lubbock County Expo Center on Facebook.
