MIDLAND, Texas — As of Monday, the Horseshoe Complex will no longer be managed by Horseshoe Hospitality Services.
Instead, it is back in the hands of Midland County and Midland County Commissioner's Court.
The decision to terminate the contract came during a commissioner's court meeting.
“As of today, we are taking the operations of the Horseshoe back under control of Midland County,” said Midland County Judge Terry Johnson.
It was not a unanimous decision.
The vote only passed by a 3-2 decision. The commissioners had plenty of discussion, with some asking who would run the Horseshoe during concert season and who the manager would be.
For now, Midland County will be managing and operating the facilities. Whoever does run the Horseshoe would answer directly to the court.
“Right now, we’ll be operating it, and my hope is that the county operates every facility and every facet of everything that we are involved in," said Johnson. "In my opinion, there’s no reason to contract out that service, we can do it very well in house, I'd like to see that. We have control, the person who is running it would answer to the court, right now nobody answers to the court.”
Precinct one commissioner Scott Ramsey was especially vocal regarding the decision to terminate the existing contract.
“There is nobody who is currently employed in Midland County that has any expertise whatsoever in running a major public events facility like the Horseshoe," said Ramsey. "It’s got the arena, the pavilion, the education rooms, the backstage rooms and the amphitheater. There’s not one person in this organization, in this governmental organization, that has the expertise to run that."
Also speaking at the meeting was Joe Kelley, the president of Horseshoe Hospitality Services.
He made the argument that he was getting terminated without cause, a point that Ramsey argued for.
“In my viewpoint, there was no cause to terminate this contract," said Ramsey. "He [Kelley] has done an incredible job. Very professional, he’s very well liked with all the big events and all the people who put on the big events out there. Professional in every aspect.”
While Kelley does intend to challenge the decision made by the court, he said he has no desire to bring a lawsuit to the county.
Instead, he is hopeful that all parties involved can sit down and reach a reasonable and amicable agreement regarding the situation.
On Tuesday, Kelley shared the following letter with NewsWest 9, saying it was Horseshoe Hospitality's position on the action taken: