By: Madison Iszler | From: San Antonio Express News
The leaders of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and the Freeman Coliseum are pitching Bexar County officials — and ultimately voters — on a $197 million proposal to renovate the coliseum grounds and generate year-round programming as part of a broader plan to redevelop the area with the Spurs’ impending departure from the neighboring Frost Bank Center.
The Coliseum Advisory Board and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition Inc., which operates the rodeo, want to reconfigure several buildings, construct more buildings and add green space between the facilities, including turning an exhibit hall into roughly 2,800-seat venue with a show arena, pens, and an upscale bar and dining mezzanine.
Adding space and flexibility would allow the organizations to host a greater variety of events, such as an annual county fair, bull riding and fighting, Olympic horse shows, horse auctions and sales, prospect livestock shows, banquets, conferences, RV and car shows, and pickleball and volleyball games, coliseum Executive Director Derrick Howard and rodeo CEO Cody Davenport told county commissioners Tuesday.
The rodeo uses the grounds under a long-term lease with the county, which owns the Frost Bank Center, Freeman Coliseum and the surrounding parking lots and smaller buildings.
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The rodeo organization generated about $367 million in local spending and through fundraising events this year, and expanding programming would generate another $384 million annually, according to figures from local economist Belinda Román. Davenport said he frequently has to turn away large equestrian events.
Bringing more concerts to the Frost Bank Center also would be part of the plan, he said.
“Our industry has grown much larger, as well as our team down here running the rodeo, and we are looking to go far beyond the month of February,” Davenport said in an interview.
The proposal could be put to voters in November if county officials make it part of a venue tax election that also could include funding for a new downtown arena for the Spurs, which is expected to cost up to $1.5 billion.
The so-called venue tax, which is collected on hotel rooms and rental cars, could yield up to $397 million if the hotel occupancy tax remains at 1.75%, or as much as $449 million if the county asks voters to raise the rate to the maximum of 2%. Some of that money would have to go toward Frost Bank Center upgrades, which are expected to cost $78 million over the next five years.
Commissioners approved an agreement in March calling on the city of San Antonio and the Spurs to spell out by July how much each plans to contribute to a new arena for the NBA franchise to be built at the site of the former Institute of Texan Cultures at Hemisfair. County Judge Peter Sakai has said his support for putting up county tax revenue for the arena would be contingent on a plan to revitalize the area around the Frost Bank Center, where the team has played since 2002.
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The county has until Aug. 18 to place a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Commissioners on Tuesday voted 4-1 to give County Manager David Smith the go-ahead to prepare a draft resolution outlining the projects that would be part of the venue tax election — one of multiple steps before it can be put to voters. The resolution would come back to the court with more details at a later date.
Their decision came after Commissioners Grant Moody and Tommy Calvert said they had qualms about supporting the motion. Moody said he was expecting to be given more information by county staff about options for the venue tax election and how much it could raise, while Calvert said he was concerned that residents hadn’t had a chance to weigh in.
Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores said the court has been discussing the rodeo and coliseum board’s proposal for months, and is “in crunch time” with the looming deadline for calling for the election. Sakai also said the court is “under the gun” and called the rodeo organization’s pitch “a hell of a proposal.”
The $197 million price tag includes demolishing existing space, erecting new buildings, upgrading existing facilities, adding a new entrance on the northeast side and updating utilities.
In the interview, Davenport said the rodeo organization can’t compete for certain events with the current facilities on the Frost Bank Center and Coliseum grounds and that it's contractually restricted on the number of days it can operate events. The organization initially would self-produce events with the goal to gradually start working with other industry groups, Davenport said.
“Currently, we do not have the facilities to be able to compete out there,” Davenport said.
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He pointed to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, both of which offer a variety of programming for much of the year. San Antonio is one of the top “feeder” markets for the Fort Worth Stockyards, which hosts daily cattle drives, concerts, festivals and other events along with its 23-day stock show and rodeo, Davenport said.
Both of those venues also border other development — hotels, single-family homes, a casino and spa, restaurants and shops.
“The key thing is getting people down here on a regular basis,” Davenport said. “I’m not out here promising that we’re going to do all the development around here … but what I am promising is we can bring people down here, just like we’re already doing in February. We can do it on a year-round basis, we have the people down here, which allows your business community to recognize that and create opportunities.”