Page 18 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide 2023-2024 tures 25 suites and 500 club seats. The property also includes 2,200 parking spaces, a lounge with access from outside of the arena, as well as a bar and pro shop. The Payne Arena has featured family and children shows, concerts, sporting events and other entertaining events. The arena is home to the Rio Grande Valley Dorados (Arena Football) and the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas (Major Arena Soccer). The Arena is located at 2600 N. 10th St. (Hwy. 336) in Hidalgo. Tickets can be purchased from the box office, Ticketmaster, or other outlets. Visit www.hidalgoarena.com or call (956) 8436688 for a schedule of events or more information. Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Museum The Magic Valley’s early 20th Century transition into an agricultural powerhouse is retold at the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse, which also embraces nature conservation as a wing of the World Birding Center. The Old Hidalgo Pumphouse began pumping water to create an agricultural empire north of the Rio Grande in 1909 when the Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company installed steam-driven pumps, fueled by mesquite wood to pump the water to irrigate farms. The Pumphouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, exhibits the steam engines and pumps and tells the story of how agriculture was developed in the Rio Grande Valley. This site overall is a hidden treasure, with beautiful sceneries of its gardens where you can enjoy nature with native trees, native shrubs, and native plants; these features attract birds and butterflies. The Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Museum and World Birding Center, located at 902 S. 2nd St. in Hidalgo, is open 7 days a week. The hours of operation are Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free to all visitors, but there is a charge on scheduled museum and historical trolley tours. The museum tour fee is $3, and the historical trolley tour fee is $5. Photography sessions, venue rentals, and bicycle rentals are also offered. For more information call (956) 843-8686, or visit www.cityofhidalgo.net or www.facebook.com/HidalgoPumphouseMuseumandWorldBirdingCenter/. World’s Largest Killer Bee Fear of bees raged across the United States when aggressive African Killer Bees first entered the United States in 1970 in Hidalgo, Texas. Today a statue next to the Hidalgo City Hall at 600 Old Military Rd., marks the city as the place the feared bees first entered the U.S. Statue of Father Hidalgo Located on the grounds of the Hidalgo Memorial Park the statue of Father Miguel Hidalgo, for whom the city and county are named, pays tribute to the Catholic Father known as a champion for human rights. He was influential in starting the Mexican Revolution against Spain while Texas was still part of Mexico. Father Hidalgo issued his famous Grito de Dolores, calling for Mexican Revolution on September 16, 1810. The statue is located at the entrance to the park at the north end of Esperanza Ave.
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