Proposed Dallas Trinity River Horse Park In Need Of Operator

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Imagine a horse park just seven minutes from downtown Dallas -- that's the plan for a section of the Trinity River Forest, near Loop 12 and Interstate 45.

In 2006, Dallas voters approved the $15 million project, which has pretty much come to a standstill.

The problem doesn't seem to be with the location but with someone to run facility.

"Texas is a state that has a lot of horse activity, as you might expect, and so we know that the business is here, it's just a matter of finding the operator," explained Dallas Parks and Recreation director Paul Dyer. "So, we're going out for requests for proposals to see if there's an operator out there that would like to manage this facility."

Dyer said horse parks are almost like sports complexes that hold English and Western riding competitions.

After more than five years the city is moving forward to try and see if a company wants to partner with them in making the park a reality.

"So the city, rather than abandon the project, has decided to look around the country at other operators," said Dyer. "Perhaps one of those operators might want to do a contract with the city that would provide a long-term relationship and a management contract with that agency."

Plans for the horse park include trails along the Trinity River.