[October 20, 2011] Paso del Norte Group hires nationally renowned consultant for Downtown El Paso plan [El Paso Times, Texas] Tweet (El Paso Times (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 20--The Paso del Norte Group, an organization of business and community leaders working to promote economic growth in the region, has hired a nationally renowned facility development consultant to drive a plan for the revitalization of Downtown El Paso. Horrow Sports Ventures, a part of the communications giant Omnicom Group, will develop a comprehensive plan of projects that will be taken to voters in the November 2012 bond election, said community leader Myrna Deckert, former president and CEO of the PDN Group. The PDN Group will subcontract with the Downtown Management District to work with a committee of local government officials and business leaders to oversee the plan, Deckert said. The plan could include an arena but would not be driven by it, she added. "We would not fund a pipe dream. We will take a realistic stock of what we have and what we can attract," said Rick Horrow, president of Horrow Sports Ventures. "We're not entering this not to win," he said. Horrow said he's not just an arena consultant, but has had great success in urban infrastructure projects such as the redevelopment and revitalization of Downtown Oklahoma City. He has been behind more than 100 public/private partnership deals worth more than $20 billion in cities across the nation, he said. ___ (c)2011 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) Visit the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas) at www.elpasotimes.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]