With a public referendum on around $150 million worth of county funding for a San Antonio Spurs arena up for a vote five weeks from today, KSAT-TV had Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, the county’s top executive because Texas, sit down for a Q&A on the subject. This was decidedly a choice: Sakai is a proponent of the ballot measure, on the grounds that “establishing a new downtown arena will expand our economic development and commercial activity in a way that will benefit the entire community” and also he wants to “do everything I can to keep the Spurs in town“; I might have found a guest who didn’t have a rooting interest to do my explainer, but you do you, KSAT.
And how did Sakai do Sakai? Some highlights:
- “I need to clear up some misinformation: This is not Project Marvel. That is a city of San Antonio project. … Proposition B is whatever balance of money, we put a cap, 25%, up to $311 million, and that is what is going to go to the new Spurs venue, wherever they want to put it. As far as Project Marvel, the county is not connected at all. So I hope that clears it up for the voters.”
True, the county money — $311 million collected over many years, so worth more like $150 million in present value — would only go toward paying 25% of the construction cost of an arena. But that arena is the centerpiece of the larger mixed-use Project Marvel development that is set for hundreds of millions more in public subsidies, so saying “this isn’t Project Marvel” is fairly disingenuous, and almost certainly not best described as “clearing things up for the voters.”
-
“This is not a homeowner property tax. It is zero impact on homeowners and renters. … If one were to say in a hotel for $200 a night, I’m not good at math, but 200 times 1.75 is $3.50. To go to 2% increase, that’s a 50 cents a day tourist tax.”
That’s fine math, but terrible economics. First off, the vote is not just on raising the county hotel tax but also on extending its 5% car rental tax, and local “homeowners and renters” absolutely do rent cars, even if not as much as tourists do. Higher car rental taxes also risk discouraging tourists from visiting at all — if this were really free money, Bexar County could just raise its car rental tax to 100% and soak all the tourists into paying for two arenas for the Spurs, plus free ponies for all local residents.
Also, while both the car rental tax and the hotel tax can only be used for promoting tourism, that can include lots of other things like supporting the arts and museums, which might have more benefits for locals and less for one sports owner — or which at least might allow the county to replace other public spending on those areas, freeing up less restricted tax money to use for all kinds of other things.
- “Let’s make sure the Frost Bank Center does not become the next Astrodome. Anybody been to Houston? That place is sitting there rotting.”
Uhhhh, the Astrodome is sitting vacant because it’s a state historical landmark that can’t be torn down, but Houston paid to build new stadiums for the Astros and Texans. Spurs owner Peter Holt hasn’t threatened to move the team and doesn’t have many great options to do so, but that hasn’t stopped elected officials like Sakai from strongly implying that voters had better approve the arena deal, and Project Marvel in general, or else you don’t wanna know what’ll happen to your NBA team.
All in all: pretty bad explainer, at least if you want anything actually explained and not just spun. The KSAT anchors did push back slightly on Sakai saying that the Spurs arena isn’t Project Marvel when it’s part of Project Marvel, but they nodded along with all the rest. Sorry, Bexar County voters, looks like you’re on your own for understanding the consequences of the upcoming Spurs arena vote better than your elected officials do — the good news is, that’s a pretty low bar.
So, do elected officials do this because…
1) They are not bright
2) They are just misinformed
3) They are being bribed in some way
4) They would just rather be beholden to rich people than to voters?
I am honestly scratching my head as to which scenario makes the most sense, when elected officials constantly say things with great confidence that are simply and demonstrably not true.
Doesn’t there have to be an explanation!
Spend some time around local “leaders” and it begins to make more sense. All the cool kids think it’s a great idea, and you get great seats in the owner’s box. Not only do they not understand, they don’t care.
As Upton Sinclair put it, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Replace “salary” with “social standing,” and you’re probably pretty close. Though I’m sure there are plenty of local officials below Sakai’s level who are thinking that if they play their cards right, they can get jobs with the Spurs once they’re tired of living on a public servant’s salary.
“All the cool kids think it’s a great idea, and you get great seats in the owner’s box”
NERDS!
Literally. Wonks wanna hang with the jocks, so you end up with a political class desperate for attention from some worn out sportsballer ranting what it’s like to “lace ’em up” & how closing public libraires are worth the cost.
The owners box is the ____________ circle in hell ( my vote is # 9: Treachery)
Shameful for this “judge” to endorse a costly project that he cannot even explain.
As usual, these counties, communities and federal districts get what they deserve and will have to pay for it.
Um, whether elected, appointed or actually qualified through some sort of accredited vetting process, aren’t judges supposed to, you know, be impartial in the face of evidence both for and against the ‘matter’ being heard?
Is there another interview coming where the judge lists all the reasons it would be bad for residents to have this measure pass, and then explain how he will take both sides under full consideration before issuing his opinion/position on the matter?
County judges in Texas aren’t really judges. They’re what other states call county executives. See the Wiki link in this post.
This is correct. Think of a County Judge in Texas like a mayor in a city except in a county.
We have talked about this before…. yes. But they are still judges. It all seems sort of like Marcus Welby doing a tv commercial for medical devices and saying that although he is not a doctor, he does play one on tv…
I assume that’s the goal. But it is still corrupt as hell.
“Spurs owner Peter Holt hasn’t threatened to move the team and doesn’t have many great options to do so” — The only reason that is so is that the NBA would block Holt from moving the team to Seattle, which would be a great option.