 | |
  Cohen Stadium Location within Texas | |
| Full name | Andy and Syd Cohen Stadium[1] |
|---|---|
| Address | 9700 Gateway North Blvd., El Paso, Texas[1] |
| Location | Northeast El Paso, Texas |
| Coordinates | 31°53′28″N 106°26′18″W / 31.891195°N 106.438272°W |
| Owner | City of El Paso |
| Capacity | 9,725 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | June 1990[3] |
| Renovated | 2003 |
| Demolished | June 5, 2019[2] |
| Construction cost | $7.8 million[3] |
| Tenants | |
| El Paso Diablos (TL/CBL/AA) 1990–2013 El Paso Santos (PSL) 2012[4] | |
Cohen Stadium was a stadium on the Northeast side of El Paso, Texas, by the Patriot Freeway, next to the Franklin Mountains. It replaced Dudley Field and has been replaced by Southwest University Park. It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the El Paso Diablos minor league baseball team. It opened in 1990 and held 9,725 people. A demolition contract for the stadium was awarded on April 2, 2019, to be completed in 120 days.[5] Demolition took place on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.[2] The site will become the Cohen Entertainment District, featuring a water park, open spaces, shopping and restaurants.[2]
The park was known as being an extremely hitter-friendly park, due to its high elevation, low humidity, and favorable wind currents toward the outfield. Primarily used for baseball, Cohen Stadium also hosted concerts, boxing, and soccer games. In 2012, it was home to the El Paso Santos minor-league soccer team playing from February until April,[4] but despite being Pecos Soccer League (PSL) champions, they were displaced by the Diablos' departure.[6]
Cohen Stadium was named for the former Major League Baseball players Andy Cohen and his brother Syd Cohen who grew up in El Paso.[3]
In December 2009, the stadium's cement canopy was partially torn away by heavy winds in El Paso. Winds of the storm which caused the damage exceeded 70 mph.[7]
World famous DJ Tiësto made an appearance at Cohen Stadium on May 6, 2011, with an estimated attendance of 10,000 people.[citation needed]
Cohen Stadium hosted the first annual Sun City Music Festival on September 3 and 4, 2011.[8] The festival was dedicated to the world's largest electronic-dance music artists having headliners such as Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Afrojack, Funkagenda, Sander van Doorn among others.[9] In 2012, SCMF was moved to Ascarate Park.
- ^ a b "Mutual Lease Termination Agreement" (PDF). City of El Paso. June 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ a b c Lambie, Mark R. (June 5, 2019). "Game over for El Paso's Cohen Stadium as demolition makes way for entertainment district". El Paso Times. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c Perez, Elida S. (February 6, 2018). "Cohen family hopes name honoring El Paso baseball greats remains if stadium razed". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ a b El Paso Diablos (February 3, 2012). "El Paso Santos of the Pecos Soccer League to Play at Cohen Stadium". OurSports Central (Press release). American Association (AA). Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ Willard, Keenan (April 2, 2019). "City moves forward with turning Cohen Stadium to water park; demolition will begin". KFOX-TV. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ "Welcome to Pecos Soccer League". pecossoccer.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
In 2012 the Pecos Soccer League was founded in El Paso ... The El Paso Santos won the Pecos Cup ... On December 4, 2012 it was announced that the San Diego Padres were moving their AAA Team from Tucson to El Paso. The City of El Paso terminated the El Paso Diablos lease ... This closed Cohen Stadium and thus ended the original Pecos Soccer League.
- ^ "High winds rattle city: Stadium damaged; outages reported". El Paso Times. December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ Torres, Mariel (October 2, 2011). "The rave is all about music, but some seek Ecstacy to enhance the dance". Borderzine.
- ^ "Sun City Music Festival 2011". United States Trance Movement. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2019.