Edinburg, Texas, United States

🇺🇸 Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and the third-largest city in the larger Rio Grande Valley region.

Edinburg is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Edinburg is home to the main campus of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

History In 1908, John Closner, William Briggs, Argyle McAllen, Plutarco de la Viña, and Dennis B. Chapin developed a new community at this site. The town square was located at the current crossroads of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 107. The town was named "Chapin" in honor of one of the developers. A local myth relates that Edinburg became the county seat of Hidalgo County in a dramatic, nighttime covert operation in which the county records were removed from the previous county seat. However, historical records show more practical reasons. The 1886 Hidalgo County Courthouse in the city of Hidalgo was under frequent danger of flooding because it stood just a few yards away from the banks of the Rio Grande. Additionally, the county was over 80 miles long at this time, and state law required that the courthouse be close to the geographic centre of a county. A wood-frame courthouse was designed and built beside the Chapin courthouse square in 1908; construction on a grand courthouse within the square began in 1910 under the supervision of San Antonio builders and a partnership of San Antonio architects. When Dennis Chapin was involved in the shooting death of Oscar J. Rountree at the Dan Breen Saloon in San Antonio, the community changed its name to "Edinburg" to honor John Young, a prominent businessman who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The town was officially renamed in 1911 and incorporated in 1919.

Geography Edinburg is located in south-central Hidalgo County. It is bordered to the south by Pharr and to the south-west by McAllen, the largest city in the county. U.S. Route 281 (Interstate 69C) runs through the east side of Edinburg. US 281 leads north 103 miles (166 km) to Alice and 229 miles (369 km) to San Antonio. Downtown McAllen is 10 miles (16 km) to the south and west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Edinburg has a total area of 37.7 square miles (97.6 km²), of which 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.16%, is covered by water.

Economy Several state agencies have offices in Edinburg. This includes the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, the Texas Attorney General's Child Support Unit, the Texas Departments of Health Services, Human Services, Protective and Regulatory Services, and Public Safety. The Texas Youth Commission has a facility near Edinburg. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates two facilities, the Lopez Unit and the Segovia Unit, in Edinburg.

Public libraries The City of Edinburg operates the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library.

Museums Edinburg is home to the Museum of South Texas History, formerly the Hidalgo County Historical Museum.

Tourist Industry The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands comprise one of nine sites of the World Birding Center, a native habitat site and wildlife refuge.

Sport This city was the home of the Edinburg Roadrunners, an independent league baseball team in the North American League, but after numerous ownership changes, the team disbanded. Currently, UTRGV is the only major baseball team in Edinburg.

In 2013, the city of Edinburg and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation announced plans for the construction of an events arena in which the NBA Development League champions, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, would be the anchor tenants. It opened in 2018. The team also has its practice facility at the Edinburg Sports and Wellness Center. The city also opened a six-city-block stretch of green pedestrian walkway space known as the McIntyre Street Project in April 2014; it is expected to be the beginning of a proposed arts and restaurant district extending through the heart of Edinburg.

Since 2016, the city has been home to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros soccer club in the USL Championship, who play at H-E-B Park. The city is also home to the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Academy, the best youth soccer club in the area and a pioneer in youth development for the Rio Grande Valley. The Toros Academy plays in the MLS Next league against the best academies in the nation and provides fully funded programs for U-15, U-17, and U-19 boys.

Stadiums and arenas Bert Ogden Arena was originally opened in August 2018, is the home for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. The capacity for basketball games is 7,688 and 9,000 for concerts. The construction cost was $88 million.

UTRGV Baseball Stadium, commonly known as Edinburg Stadium, had its groundbreaking take place in 2000., and it opened in 2001. The stadium's capacity is 4,000 people. It was the home for the Edinburg Roadrunners (2001 to 2013). The Edinburg Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball 2006 to 2010 and the North American League from 2011 to 2012. The land was owned by the City of Edinburg in years prior to 2014, was donated to the University of Texas System.

H-E-B Park is a 9,700-seat soccer-specific stadium home for the rio Grande Valley FC Toros of the USL Championship. The construction of the stadium was completed in 2016 and officially opened on March 22, 2017.

Government As Edinburg is the county seat of Hidalgo County, most major county offices are located there, including the Criminal District Attorney's Office, the District Courts and County Courts at Law of Hidalgo County, the Community Supervision and Corrections Department, the Hidalgo County Juvenile Probation Department, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, and the offices of the County Judge, the Tax Assessor/Collector, the County Treasurer, County Auditor and Veterans Services. Hidalgo County Commissioner's Precinct Four represents Edinburg on the Hidalgo County County Commissioner's Court.

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley In December 2012, officials announced the merger of the existing University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg and the University of Texas at Brownsville into a regional institution. A year later, in December 2013, University of Texas System officials decided to name the new institution the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV's creation garnered much media attention because of its expected economic, social, and health-care impact on the region. UTRGV is unique in that it is the first time the UT System has merged existing campuses in such a way. UTRGV was to also bring the first medical school to the Rio Grande Valley region. The first class of UTRGV students began courses in fall 2015.

Colleges Edinburg is also the home of the Rio Grande Bible Institute and is located in the South Texas College District.

Television stations The Edinburg area is served by numerous local television affiliates. • KGBT (CBS 4) – Harlingen, Texas • KRGV (ABC 5) – Weslaco, Texas • XERV (Televisa 9 Las Estrellas) – Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico • XHREY (Azteca Uno 12) Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico • XHOR (Azteca 7 14) Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico • KCWT (CW 21) La Feria, Texas • KVEO (NBC 23) – Brownsville, Texas • KTFV (UniMás 32) – McAllen, Texas • KTLM (Telemundo 40) – Rio Grande City, Texas • KLUJ (TBN 44) – Harlingen, Texas • KNVO (Univisión 48) – McAllen, Texas • XHVTV (Multimedios 54) – Reynosa, Tamaulipas • KFXV (FOX 60) – Harlingen, Texas • KNWS-LD (Azteca América 64) – Brownsville, Texas • KMBH-LD (Fox 67) – McAllen, Texas

Media: Radio • KHID 88.1 FM (National Public Radio) • KOIR Radio Esperanza 88.5 FM (Spanish Christian) [Spanish] • XHRYA Mas Musica 90.9 FM (Hit Radio) [Spanish] • XHMLS Exitos 91.3 FM (All-Time Hits) [Spanish] • KCAS The New KCAS 91.5 FM (Religious) • XHAAA La Caliente 93.1 FM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish] • KFRQ 94.5 FM (Classic/Modern/Hard Rock) • XHRT Xtrema 95.3 FM (All-Time Hits) [Spanish] • KBTQ Radio Recuerdo 96.1 FM (Oldies) [Spanish] • KVMV Faith, Hope & Love 96.9 FM (Contemporary Christian) • KCYP-LP 97.7 FM LP | The city (Local Talent and Talk) • KKPS Que Pasa 99.5 FM (Regional Tejano) [Spanish] • KTEX-FM South Texas Country 100.3 FM (Country) • KNVO-FM Jose 101.1 FM (Contemporary Spanish) • XHAVO Digital 101.5 FM (International Music) [Spanish] • KBFM Wild 104.1 FM (Hip-Hop/R&B/Reggaeton) • KJAV 104.9 FM Ultra • KQXX The X 105.5 FM (Classic-rock) • KBIC 105.7 FM Radio Vida (Christian radio) • KHKZ Kiss 106.3 FM (Hot AC) • XHVTH La Mas Buena 107.1 FM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish] • KVLY Mix FM 107.9 FM (Adult Contemporary, TOP 40) • KURV 710 AM (Talk Radio) FOX News • XERDO-AM La Radio 1450 AM (News/Sports) [Spanish] • XEMS La Radio Mexicana 1490 AM (Regional Mexican) [Spanish]

Area newspapers • The Monitor • Valley Morning Star • Rio Grande Guardian

Transport McIntyre Street Project plans also include a bus transportation hub for Valley Metro, the regional transit service.

Greyhound provides bus service to Edinburg.

Transport: Road • State Highway 107 • State Highway 336 • U.S. Route 281 • Interstate 69C

Transport: Air Two major commercial airports are near Edinburg: McAllen Miller International Airport (MFE) at McAllen, 20 minutes from Edinburg and Valley International Airport, (HRL) in Harlingen, 40 minutes from Edinburg. The South Texas International Airport at Edinburg (KEBG) is a public-use airport owned and operated by the City of Edinburg.