Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force endorses ‘RioPlex’ name to market region

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force has expressed its support of the name “RioPlex” to initiate a region-wide marketing campaign, according to the Hidalgo County Judge's Public Affairs Division.

The name was unveiled during a breakfast meeting on Wednesday at the McAllen Country Club with over 60 business leaders and elected officials.

“In order to be attractive to outside investment and economic growth, we must sell ourselves as a region instead of competing with one another as municipal entities,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez, who founded the Prosperity Task Force. “The challenge in adopting a region-wide name was to include both the U.S. and Mexican side of the border – a major selling point of this region as a gateway to Latin American markets. That challenge excluded the name “Rio Grande Valley” because the well-known moniker refers only to the U.S. side of the border."

The RioPlex region includes the presence of companies headquartered in 20 different countries; has seven international airports and 13 international bridges.