SAN ANTONIO – Updated on April 10 at 11 a.m. to include statements from Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, Councilman Marc Whyte, and Councilwoman Teri Castillo.
Thousands of fans filled the Alamodome over the weekend to catch NCAA Men’s Final Four action, including some of San Antonio’s city councilmembers. Records released to KSAT Investigates show the city paid for their seats.
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In March, invoices and emails show the city’s Convention & Sports Facilities department paid $20,000 for Final Four tickets to give to the City Council.
That covers the cost of 20 VIP tickets, each with a $1,000 price tag and a center-court view.
Who took up the offer?
KSAT Investigates contacted the offices of all 10 council members to determine how many attended the games funded by the city.
Attended
District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran confirmed she attended all three games at the Alamodome. Her guest was her sister, former councilwoman Rebecca Viagran.
“It’s the work that we do at city council to be representing,” said Phyllis Viagran in a phone conversation. She said attending the games was part of her official city duties, which is why she does not intend to reimburse the city.
District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia told KSAT she attended Saturday’s Houston-Duke game with her godson. Rocha Garcia said she had no idea the city paid for the tickets until KSAT reached out. She wrote a check on Monday to reimburse the city for the cost.
District 2 Councilman Jalen-McKee Rodriguez, who responded to KSAT a day after the deadline, said he attended a game on Saturday with a guest “for about an hour.” The councilman said he spoke with an unnamed Fortune 500 CEO about investing in the community.
“I understand the concerns, and I believe it’s important we continue to have conversations bout transparency and responsible use of public resources,” McKee-Rodriguez said in a statement.
The councilman told KSAT that since he attended as a representative of the city, there is no expectation to pay for or reimburse the tickets.
District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, told KSAT on Thursday she was “honored to represent the city” by attending the Final Four games. Kaur refused to answer KSAT’s questions about if she brought a guest and if she planned to reimburse the city.
District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte told KSAT on Thursday he brought his 13-year-old daughter. On Facebook, the councilman said that he reimbursed the city for the tickets.
“City staff should have told the members of the City Council that the tickets were not given to the City by the NCAA but had to be paid for,” Whyte wrote.
A spokesperson for District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo told KSAT on Thursday that she went to the Final Four in her official capacity. The spokesperson has not answered questions about if Castillo took a guest or if she planned to reimburse the city for the cost of the tickets.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg received two tickets from the city manager’s office allotment, which his office said was purchased by the city. The tickets are not part of the 20-ticket allotment for the council.
“The mayor’s tickets are in the NCAA president’s section, and the mayor is serving as an official ambassador of the city,” according to a mayor’s spokesperson.
Did not attend
District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez and representatives for District 4 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda and District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito told KSAT they did not attend any of the games.
District 9 Councilman John Courage told KSAT on Tuesday evening he couldn’t go, adding that he thought they were free.
‘Perfectly normal’
The city defended the purchase made with revenue from the Alamodome, saying it’s “perfectly normal for Council members to represent the City at an event of this magnitude.”
>> Alamodome expected to turn a profit for the first time in 21 years, officials say
“The NCAA Men’s Final Four tournament placed San Antonio on a national stage and will be an economic boon to the city, injecting an estimated $440 million into the community,” assistant director of communications Brian Chasnoff wrote in an email.
KSAT also reached out to a spokesperson for the city’s Convention & Sports Facilities department and has not heard back.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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