San Antonio's blunders with the Alamodome and AT&T Center offer warnings about the dangers of ignoring public input as we mull a new facility for the Missions. SanAntonio SATX SanAntonioTX MinorLeagueBaseball Baseball MLB Texas
The choice of the Alamodome site wasn't the product of an independent planning process, but represented then-Mayor Henry Cisneros' personal choice.San Antonio civic and business leaders have spoken for years about the need for a new minor league ballpark to replace aging Nelson Wolff Stadium.
The VIA sales tax scheme had a major problem, though. It required the approval of the Texas Legislature. And while the legislature ultimately blessed San Antonio's tax deal, it insisted that the plan go to local voters for approval. Understandably, state politicos didn't want to take the heat for raising taxes here.
However, there's yet another lesson to be learned from the Alamodome saga, a lesson that involves location and site selection. The choice of the dome site wasn't the product of an independent planning process advised by outside consultants and informed by thelargely shaped by his desire to sell the dome to the public as a"multipurpose convention and sports facility." That meant it needed to be close to the convention center.
House Bill 72 offered Texas communities the opportunity to pay for new sports facilities with taxes on hotel rooms and car rentals, making it possible to sell new stadiums and arenas as being effectively free to local taxpayers. But there was a catch — the voters had to approve the deals and the new taxes. So, in this case, at least we had serious public discussion of what the San Antonio Spurs wanted.
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