Del Rio Rejects All Bids for Paul Poag Theatre, Delays Reopening Past Year's End

Del Rio City Council voted to reject every bid submitted for the Paul Poag Theatre Rehabilitation Project Phase III and authorized Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez to seek a fresh round, a decision that effectively rules out any reopening of the historic downtown venue before the end of 2026.

The council acted during its regular meeting March 10, after City Secretary Mari Acosta read a resolution authorizing Chavez "to reject all bids for the Paul Poag Theatre Rehabilitation Project Phase III due to multiple errors in the calculation of bids received and re-advertise and give notice of the request for bids." Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus moved first: "As painful as it is, I make a motion to have the interim city manager reject all bids." Councilman J.P. Sanchez seconded.

Before the vote, Mayor Al Arreola asked whether the project would need to restart from the design phase entirely. Discussion also turned to why required paperwork was missing from the submitted bids. When a councilmember identified only as Lopez asked who bore responsibility for the gap, Montes replied directly: "The bidders did not submit the paperwork. Not us. We were not missing the information. They did not submit with their bids."

The timeline damage had already begun before the vote. Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez asked whether the project would have met its original schedule even if a bid had been accepted. Solis answered that it would not: "No, it probably would have pushed a little bit to late summer, early fall, just because I think the contractor would need a good six months at least to get it going." Solis added that the city had extended the bid deadline multiple times to give contractors the opportunity to visit the site, underscoring that the schedule had been slipping even before the rejection.

With the rebid process now starting over, a six-month contractor ramp-up window pushes any realistic construction start well into the second half of the year. Officials offered no revised target completion date. Arreola closed the discussion with a straightforward directive: "Let's go out for bids and see if we can get somebody."

Community reaction on social media reflected frustration with the repeated delays. Resident Frank Torres questioned whether the city should sell the theater outright rather than continue managing the project. Rob Trevino pressed for specifics: "What were the errors in the submitted bids? Is it because certain contractors didn't submit one?" The city has not publicly detailed the precise nature of the calculation errors cited in the resolution.

The council's decision leaves the scope of Phase III, the project budget, and the rebid timeline without public answers as Del Rio waits again for the Paul Poag Theatre to return to life.