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Ranch Park manager outlines need, timeline and costs for second arena
Summary
Dripping Springs Ranch Park manager Emily Nelson told council losing events and limited capacity justify building a second arena; staff estimated uncovered construction now with later covering would cost roughly $1.0M–$1.2M and offered a multi‑year timeline with first phase uncovered.
Emily Nelson, Dripping Springs Ranch Park manager, told the council the park has lost several series and single‑event rentals in recent years because the facility has only one full‑size arena.
"A lot of those are series, which is gonna mean two to four events a year at our facility," Nelson said, describing events that could return if a second arena were available. Nelson said some major renters bring $50,000–$60,000 annually in fees, stalls and ancillary sales and that national recognized shows typically require two covered arenas.
Nelson presented two build options: an uncovered second arena to be operational sooner, and a covered (red‑iron) arena that would cost more. She showed an estimate range of $1,000,000 to $1,200,000 for a covered red‑iron building and gave a red‑iron cover estimate of $532,432 for the cover element. Nelson said preliminary debt‑service estimates put annual financing fees at about $90,000, with very conservative first‑year revenue assumptions around $79,000; she characterized those revenue estimates as conservative and said she expects positive cash flow over a number of years as bookings increase.
Nelson described a preferred phased approach: build an uncovered arena in fall 2024 (to begin marketing and prebooking), and then pursue covering and finishing work later—targeting a fully covered second arena and prebooking by 2026–2027 if funding and timeline align. She emphasized being cautious about announcing a covered arena prematurely to avoid giving false expectations to event promoters.
Council members asked questions about competition from nearby multi‑arena facilities, parking and staging, and how the additional arena would change revenues and scheduling. Nelson and staff said the second arena would expand booking flexibility, enable more regional and national shows to consider Dripping Springs and create new revenue opportunities for local businesses.
