Some Question Merit Of Venue Tax Extension For AT&T Center
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AT&T Center Tax Extension Is Hot
Topic Among San Antonio Voters |
If voters in San Antonio agree to "extend the venue tax for community arenas," the $75M slated for AT&T Center won't be available until 2012, "partly because of uncertainty about technology and partly because of public perception," according to Greg Jefferson of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. Supporters of the ballot measure are "vague about what improvements that $75[M] would pay for," largely because "it's impossible to identify what kind of new technology will make an arena 'state of the art' a few years from now." Bexar County (TX) Judge Nelson Wolff said that the Spurs will need a "cutting-edge facility" if the team is going to "fend off competition with television for fans." Wolff: "It's hard to be specific because we're talking about five years from now." Jefferson noted the "lack of details is drawing fire." Jim Lunz, a member of the Community Arenas Board, which oversees the grounds, said, "They never mention a dollar amount in all the propaganda they're putting out, and I assume there's a reason for that. I have absolutely no idea what they want to do." The Spurs would "have to kick in 16[%] of the cost of any improvements" to AT&T Center, the same percentage the team "had to hand over for the arena's construction under its operating agreement." The team also "would be on the hook for cost overruns." The venue tax currently is set to expire "when the debt on AT&T Center's construction is paid," sometime between 2009-2012 (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/27).
GREED? In San Antonio, Scott Stroud wrote of revenue from the arena upgrades, "Who would pocket the money? Not the county, which owns the arena, but the Spurs." That "might leave voters wondering why they can't pay for a new scoreboard themselves." The question for voters is "whether they want to create a fund that could be used to generate more profits" for the Spurs. Stroud: "I believe that's driving the push for the $75[M] fund -- the NBA's bottomless appetite for new sources of revenue" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/26). Also in San Antonio, Jaime Castillo writes "credit the county for putting a system of checks and balances into place." If the Spurs "want to add a restaurant or a flashy scoreboard, they can't get their hands on any new tax money until 2012, when the [AT&T Center] is 10 years old." The Spurs also "must get the project approved by Commissioners Court, which ensures a public discussion" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/29).
SAY YES: Voting began yesterday on the venue tax, and a SAN-ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS editorial stated if approved, the "extension will generate $415[M] for San Antonio River improvements, amateur athletic facilities, a performing arts center and upgrades to the AT&T Center, Freeman Coliseum and the Stock Show & Rodeo grounds." Voters "should support all four proposals," because to "do otherwise would be a shortsighted and costly error" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 4/27).
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