Brazos County Expo Complex Makes its Debut

Maybe they should rename the Brazos County Exposition Complex “Phoenix” to describe its ascent from the ashes of a near-death. Early detractors dickering over the land and dastardly increases in construction costs slowed the project along the way, but now construction on the multi-use venue at 5827 Leonard Road has been completed, and the Complex has played host to several events.
The Complex includes a 70,000-square-foot covered arena with 3,000 permanent seats, a 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall with five individual exhibit rooms, and a 60,000-square-foot stall barn.
The first event, the Texas A&M Saddle and Sirloin Club’s Steer, Heifer and Pig Futurity, took place in mid-August. In September, the Complex was home to horse shows, banquets, meetings and trade shows. In October, the Complex welcomed the Napa Car Wars Nationals.
Events scheduled for the exhibit hall include the Bryan/College Station Homebuilders Association’s 2008 Home and Garden Show and wedding receptions.
Tom Quarles, Brazos County’s special event facilities director, brings to his position more than 20 years experience overseeing the 1.4 million-square-foot Reliant Stadium and overseeing construction of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s office space.
Quarles said to attract the larger shows would probably require an addition, and there is room for expansion on the site’s 150-plus acres.
“It wouldn’t take a lot to get there, but we have to get up and running with what we have first,” he said.
The Complex was several years in the making, with land disputes and scrapped designs along the way. An $18.5 million bond issue narrowly passed in November 2000, solidifying more than two decades of discussion, planning and study by a 10-member committee. The county then battled the Bienski family for the 159-acre plot in West Bryan. In 2001 the county condemned the property and offered the family about $1 million, but a two-year legal battle culminated in a $1.5-million settlement. A 14-month wetlands mitigation process ordered by the Corps of Engineers delayed progress further. That pushed the groundbreaking from the planned date of October 2003 to February 2004. A week later, voters shot down a proposed hotel tax that would have funded a $4.5 million assembly hall at the Complex.
Construction costs