SAN ANTONIO – With a potential Spurs arena planned for downtown, a Bexar County commissioner is hosting town hall meetings to gather public input.
Discussions will focus on a tax that could fund the new arena and express what should happen to the Spurs' current home, the Frost Bank Center.
Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert has scheduled two town hall-style meetings at the Freeman Coliseum grounds on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
Calvert said the Jan. 25 meeting will be a “true open town hall” and allow residents to express what they want to see for the Frost Bank Center’s future and other projects the county has funded through its venue tax.
The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo will also have an opportunity to discuss what it would like to see.
The Feb. 1 meeting will be geared toward what the Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center need in the future, bonding assistance and how to do operate programs for nearby areas with high unemployment.
VENUE TAX
Voters passed the current venue tax — split between a 5% tax on short-term car rentals and a 1.75% hotel tax — in 1999 to fund the construction of the Spurs' current county-owned home, now known as the Frost Bank Center.
In 2008, voters agreed to use the tax for river improvements, sports and performing arts facilities and community arenas. Some projects it helped fund included the San Antonio River Museum Reach, Northside Swim Center and Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
The tax brought in $34 million last year and is still being used to pay off the debt from the 1999 and 2008 projects.
A spokesman said the county still has $344 million in principal and $165 million in interest, which is expected to be paid off by 2051.
Bexar County commissioners pumped the brakes earlier this month on a plan for a tax election in May that would have asked voters whether to use it to help pay for a new Spurs arena at Hemisfair.
“The resolution that was provided only had that an election going forward would have meant 100% to (the Spurs),” Calvert said.
At the time, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and Calvert, who represent both Hemisfair and the Spurs' current home at the Frost Bank Center, said the county did not have information or public input.
Calvert indicated he wants more projects rolled into a tax election than just a new Spurs arena, such as additional improvements to the 2008 projects.
“The most important thing is to get back to a chicken in every pot kind of election, not just one thing on the ballot,” Calvert said.
FROST BANK CENTER FUTURE
It’s also unclear what will happen to the Frost Bank Center if the Spurs move downtown.
The team’s lease on the county-owned facility lasts into 2032, but a timeline included in an initial city presentation estimated the Hemisfair arena’s construction finishing in 2028.
Calvert has several thoughts on how it could be repurposed, such as higher education opportunities, a food court, construction programs and year-round rodeo events. He suggested housing could also be built nearby.
Calvert said speakers will have the opportunity to talk for one minute.
“If we feel like it’s constructive, you know, we’ll keep that — extend it a little bit. But it is meant to hear many ideas," Calvert said.
The following list are elected officials expected to attend Saturday’s town hall:
- State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio)
- State Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio)
- State Rep. Barbara Gervin Hawkins (D-San Antonio)
- Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2)
- Alamo Colleges District Trustee Gloria Ray (D2)
- San Antonio ISD Trustee Alicia Sebastian (D2)
Town Hall Details
- Dates: Saturday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 1
- Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Location: 3201 E. Houston St. at the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum Frontier Room