"Lot B"--the clear choice of the staff and the expensive consultants--was no longer the best site.
The new best site was "Lot E"--also owned by Ray Hunt. Known as Site No. 1 to the city staff, the tract, located between the Jefferson Boulevard viaduct and the convention center, was not even among the consultants' top choices.
Assistant city manager Benavides broke the news.
"At our last briefing on October 19, several council members asked us to go back and look at other sites, like Site No. 1, Lot E, which we felt conflicted with the Dallas Convention Center master plan," Benavides said, standing before the council, armed with new flip charts and drawings that made the case for Site No. 1.
Benavides then went on to discuss, in detail, the incredible virtues of "Site No. 1"--previously dismissed in part because it would obstruct future expansion of the convention center.
One virtue of Site No. 1, Benavides said, was that it would be $8 million cheaper to put the arena there because the city's existing parking garage could be used instead of having to build a new one.
Never mind that the consultants had previously told the council Site 2 would be the least expensive.
When Benavides was finished, the council members were so surprised that no one spoke for a moment. Then Fielding asked Benavides: "Are you here to recommend Site 1 or Site 2?"
"We're recommending Site 1," Benavides responded.
Fielding smiled--clearly, this was ludicrous. "Have we changed now the site recommendation? Now we've decided we want to put it in the path of the convention center expansion?"
Benavides shook his head yes.
Councilman Bob Stimson was all ears. The freshman councilman couldn't help but think that he had gotten the site changed.
"Just 10 days ago I spoke to John Ware about my concern on the original site--thinking this site would be better," Stimson said, grinning ear to ear as he spoke. "I'm somewhat happy that we have a system that appears to be working. It's going to take a while to digest this one."
In fact, Stimson had gone to Ware and voiced his concern about "Lot B"--site No. 2. Ware had listened to Stimson's reservations--and diplomatically promised to look again at the possibility of expanding the convention center and building the new arena in that space.
Stimson went off and did his own review of "Site 1." And next thing anyone knew, the city staff had recommended the site.
He had done it, Stimson figured. "I even got [councilman] Max [Wells] to go to John and say, 'Stimson makes a good argument,'" Stimson told me several days after the site change. "John can see the writing on the wall."
Perhaps so. But only when Ray Hunt is doing the writing.
In truth, Stimson had absolutely nothing to do with anything. Even the merits of the sites had nothing to do with anything.
In truth, Ware and the city staff had dismissed Stimson's appeal for Site 1 out of hand.
On November 11, in fact, Louise Elam--at the request of assistant city manager Benavides--had drafted a memo to Stimson explaining why it was impossible to move the new arena to site No. 1. Copies of the memo were found in the files of Elam, Marcotte, and convention center boss Frank Poe.
"You have requested additional information concerning the evaluation of Site No.1 (Lot "E", West of the 1994 Convention Center Expansion)...The following information is provided."
The memo spent five paragraphs explaining why Stimson's idea was a bad one. There were only two ways to do the arena on that land, the memo explained: Build it in place of the convention center expansion plans, or build it on top of, or below, a future convention center expansion.
None of which was a good idea, the staff concluded; the convention center needed more room to expand. "Future marketability of the Convention Center for large events will be compromised if the 1 million square feet of exhibit hall space cannot be accommodated," Elam's memo states. And putting the arena above or below the convention center expansion would be equally "problematic," according to the memo, because of elevation and structural problems.
There were other considerations too. "Lot 'E' contains 1,579 parking spaces and depending on the arena design, the majority of these would be displaced," Elam's memo states. "It is anticipated that if the new arena were constructed at this location that it would be necessary to add at least one level of parking to the Reunion Parking Center. Also, the traffic accessibility and visibility from the freeways are not as favorable as Site No. 2."
Stimson's idea was simply a bad one. "Since there did not seem to be any distinct advantage to Site No. 1 over Site No. 2, and there were several distinct disadvantages," Elam explained, "Site No.1 was not recommended for the new arena."
Councilman Stimson never got his memo.
Because on the very day it was going to be sent--Friday, November 11--Elam and her boss, Jay Macaulay, got new instructions, documents in their files show.
"Jay said Mike Marcotte called, and CVK asked him to get E.B. to do study on moving arena to Site No. 1 (Lot "E")," according to notes Elam took after a conversation with Macaulay. The initials she used refer to Cliff Keheley and consultant Ellerbe Becket. "Apparently," the notes continue, "Carter came to city and said, Hunt would fight city 'tooth and nail' if arena on Site No. 2, because it's in the way of their future development.
