Mayor plans to build on New Year's Eve celebration

McALLEN — The city dropped the ball.

Mayor Richard Cortez said that was a good thing.

About 10,000 people were downtown New Year's Eve for McAllen's first city-sponsored celebration of the occasion, which included food vendors, live music and a ball-drop akin to the famous Times Square event.

The ball - a 6-foot sphere of steel, wire and bolts - lit up with nearly 200 lights near midnight and was lowered as the clock ticked down to zero.

Cortez, who attended the New Year's Eve Bash on South 17th Street along with several city commissioners, said the people he talked with during the celebration told him they were glad to see McAllen finally put together a New Year's Eve party.

The mayor was initially worried about public safety and crowd control, but he said any concerns were wiped away Wednesday.

"I don't mind telling you I was nervous," Cortez said. "But at the end of the day, it looks like everything turned out pretty good."

The Police Department reported no major incidents during the celebration or after it ended at midnight.

Despite rainy weather that likely kept some Rio Grande Valley residents away, Cortez said he was pleased with the size of the crowd for the first-time event.

He said he was also happy to see families attending the celebration with young children.

Heart of the City, a nonprofit group tasked with revitalizing downtown McAllen, planned the event at the city's request.

The New Year's Eve Bash is part of the city's goal of making the seven-block stretch of South 17th Street between Austin and Houston avenues the premier entertainment district in the Valley.

The decision on whether to host the event next year will be up to the City Commission, but Cortez said his vote will be to do it again.

If it does go on again next year, the city will look to expand it to three streets, increase the number of food vendors and beer gardens and find more bands to play, the mayor said.

But Cortez said Wednesday's celebration was something on which to build.

"Everything that I've heard was very positive," he said. "And I think this is going to send a strong message that we're serious about becoming the entertainment destination here in the Valley."

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.