BEAUMONT, Texas — Jefferson County commissioners voted Tuesday morning to continue the county's contract with the company that manages Ford Park Entertainment Complex for another five years.
Commissioners voted unanimously to extend the county's contract with Spectra but added a clause that will allow the county to end the contract with 180 days notice.
The county has been seeking a buyer for the facility on the west side of Beaumont.
If the county were to dissolve the contract it would have to reimburse Spectra for any capital contributions made to the facility during the extended contract.
The county’s current five-year contract with Spectra is set to expire at the end of September.
A contract for the sale of Ford Park was officially canceled on March 29, 2022.
The sale fell through after the Renaissance Development Group missed a string of deadlines to pay for the complex. The company had planned to bring horse racing to the county.
County officials said they "gave the potential purchaser every opportunity to get this done."
In late February of 2022, Jefferson County commissioners said the Renaissance Development Group had until March 4 to pay an additional $560,000 in earnest money. That deadline was missed, effectively killing the sale.
Almost two weeks after the sale of Ford Park fell through, county leaders considered replacing a cooling tower valued roughly at $205,000. County commissioners decided not to take any action regarding the repairs needed.
Several new potential buyers have expressed interest in buying the park, but no one has been publicly announced county auditor Patrick Swain told 12News at the time.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.