Global Properties Awaits OK for $52M Project

[IMGCAP(1)]YUMA, AZ-Although elected officials decided to put the 6,000-seat Yuma Events Center before voters in November, the Greater Yuma Economic Development Council and the $52-million project’s developer are already looking ahead. If approved, dirt will move immediately on the 20-acre site, with completion scheduled for summer 2010.

Amid concerns from local residents that a sales tax-financed events center might ultimately force taxpayers to pay for the project, Christopher Comacho, president and CEO of the regional EDC, says the center is necessary to build a revenue base. The development is along Pacific Avenue and north of the one-million-sf Yuma Palms Regional Shopping Center. Comacho says the center would bring more people into Yuma for entertainment.

“Right now, we have a lot of sales tax leakage going to other communities,” Comacho tells GlobeSt.com. “The only entertainment venue we have here are casinos. And beyond a farm-league baseball team, we have no professional sports or a venue for concerts and rodeos.”