Here’s what would seem to be an impossible dream. The cities of Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito and other smaller Cameron County communities band together to decide on a funding plan to build a regional events center - and agree where to build it.

Looking to the west, Cameron County residents see the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, a $20 million multi-purpose complex that seats nearly 7,000, and has attracted a bevy of major entertainers, along with three sports teams/tenants, since opening in 2003. Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos would like his county to have the same sort of facility, calling it “a no-brainer.”

Maybe. But here’s something to know about such facilities. They rarely make much money because they are so expensive to operate and maintain. Cascos said as much in an article in The Brownsville Herald last week, saying, “They (events centers) are not meant to generate positive cash flow or positive revenue, but what it does do is add another quality life of section (for the area).”

By any measure, Dodge Arena looks to be a success story after four years. The facility is owned by the city of Hidalgo-Texas Municipal Faclities Corp., with the owners leasing the arena to promoters and sports teams. The arena and its operators have attracted a steady stream of well-known entertainers, as well as hosting an NBA developmental league team that is tied to the San Antonio Spurs, and indoor hockey and football teams.

Is the Rio Grande Valley big enough for two such facilities? A critical determination with such facilities is filling them up with not only events, but tenants. An arena that sits empty for too many days without out any action turns an already struggling financial operation into a huge money loser. So with a nearby Dodge Arena already taking up considerable entertainment space in the region, along with three sports teams, is there enough oxygen left to make a Cameron County events center a viable idea?

Cascos at least wants to explore the idea. The county judge has sent out letters to mayors, chambers of commerce presidents, school superintendents, and other governmental entities in the area in touting the regional events center idea. County commissioners recently passed a resolution supporting a regional convention/events center in Cameron County, and Cascos is seeking wider support for the concept.

The steps to take are many and all lined with difficulty. First, the governmental entitities would need to agree on a funding scheme/plan to offer to taxpayers for their consideration and possible approval. Hiking property taxes for such a project would be a non-starter, as it is most parts of the country, so another option would have to come forward. In San Antonio, for example, the AT&T Center where the Spurs play was financed by an increase in hotel/motel and rental car taxes and fees.

Then comes the major issue of where to build such an events center. A location right by the expressway between Brownsville and Harlingen would seem to be the logical choice, but would local residents be willing to pay for such a facility that’s not physically located in their city? Valley communities do not have a positive track record in seeing the greater regional good over the wishes and wants of individual communities.

The whole thing looks like a real long shot right now when one considers all of the hoops and turns that have to be successfully navigated to make this project an even viable idea. Cascos, however, would appear to be the sort of low-key, thoughtful, and methodical political leader who could get the idea somewhere.

Plenty of careful and professional market analysis would need to be done, with the final call based on cold, hard, and truthful economic numbers, not some vague call to improving area quality of life. That’s what happened in Edinburg some years ago with the building of a water park that city leaders there touted, but then crashed rather quickly because there simply was not the business justification to make the venture successful.

The Valley may very well need only one regional entertainment center for some years to come. That wouldn’t be such a terrible thing, and besides there are other more pressing needs, like say better streets, more branch libraries, and improving parks.

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