A long-running dispute over a proposed 5,000-seat concert venue near Dripping Springs, west of Austin, is ending after the land was sold to a conservation group. The Shield-Ayres Foundation, based in Austin, has agreed to purchase the property at Fitzhugh Road and Crumley Ranch Road where Blizexas, a California-based company, had planned to build the Rockingwall Ranch Event Center.
The project faced opposition since its inception due to concerns about environmental impact. The site is located on sensitive terrain within the Barton Creek watershed and above part of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Local residents and environmental advocates raised alarms that wastewater and runoff from the amphitheater could harm water resources. There were also worries about noise, lighting, and increased traffic affecting the rural area.
Blizexas applied for a state permit to irrigate up to 12,000 gallons per day of treated wastewater on-site. This application intensified community resistance.
Carrie Napiorkowski, whose home is directly across from the property entrance, described how local opposition grew as development pressures mounted in western Travis County. “I really did believe David could beat the Goliath if you have enough people behind you,” she said.
Shield Ranch has been active in opposing the venue from early on. Marshall Ayres Bowen, vice president and general counsel for Shield Ranch, stated: “We’ve been actively opposed to this venue since the get-go.” He emphasized that their stance was not against all development but specifically concerned with preserving ecological balance in this area.
This week, Fitzhugh Ridge—a Shield Ranch-affiliated entity—announced it had entered into a contract with Blizexas for purchasing the land. Details of the deal remain undisclosed; closing is expected in January. Blizexas did not respond to requests for comment.
Bowen explained that local efforts shaped this outcome through organized meetings and engagement with regulators: “It wasn’t just, ‘We don’t want this because we don’t like it,’” he said. “It was, ‘Let’s talk about this… why we don’t think this is a good idea.’”
Future plans for the land have not been determined yet but Bowen confirmed that no concert venue will be constructed there.
