Just one month to go before San Antonio voters will vote on items related to the new proposed Spurs arena, the public got their chance to have some questions answered about the project Thursday night.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who is anti-arena, held a town hall in District 10, which was joined by Councilman Mark Whyte, who is pro-arena. There, the public finally got to peek into the plans, and what exactly they are voting for next month.
A question was raised about the funding for infrastructure around the arena, which has been relatively unclear. Councilman Whyte took the reins, saying the vote next month is about establishing the foundations to move forward.
“On the November vote…that venue tax…that money can only be used down in that area for entertainment purposed, convention centers, and arenas,” he said.
The same citizen then asked for clarification on how that tax will work and was not too thrilled with the response.
“You yourself go stay in a hotel downtown, there will be that increased tax from 1.7 percent to 2 percent,” said Whyte.
“Then you should have told us that up front…y’all have been telling us all along we would not have to pay for it…who is going to pay for the infrastructure? That is going to come from us,” the person said.
Whyte added that if the vote next month passed, that opens up a vote on the bond next year. That is when things will get interesting.
“In that vote, citizens will then have to decide if they want to allocate funds to allocate fund there around the arena or not…because that is money that absolutely could be used in other areas around the city,” said Whyte.
There was also some argument raised over the age of the current Frost Bank Arena, built in 2002. At just 23 years old, it is not a particularly aging stadium, and one person suggested making upgrades to the current arena instead.
Other citizens lamented on the fact the Spurs moved from the Alamodome after being there for five years and raised concern over the team asking for a new arena again. Whyte says that is actually not the case.
“There is a misconception that the Spurs came to the city and said they wanted a new arena…that is not what happened…the city approached the Spurs about moving downtown,” Whyte said. “There is a feeling among our city government that we need revitalize and get some economic development into downtown San Antonio.”
The Mayor did not talk much on the Spurs, instead allowing representatives of the “Win Together” movement and the Councilman to answer the questions.
A vote is set for next month.