San Antonio councilwoman says it's 'dishonest' to claim new ballpark won't cost taxpayers

District 5 City Councilwoman Teri Castillo is calling bullshit on claims that the proposed $160 million stadium complex for San Antonio's minor-league baseball team won't cost taxpayers anything.

Indeed, Castillo went toe-to-toe with Missions ownership during a special hearing on the project Thursday. During the exchange, she called plans to finance the development with through the Houston Street Tax Increment Zone, or TIRZ, "smoke and mirrors."

"I think it's disingenuous to say no city dollars are going towards the construction of this project, because if the TIRZ didn't exist, these dollars would be captured by the city, and then can fund park improvements, streets and sidewalks — the things that my constituents call and ask me to invest in," Castillo said.

According to the Missions' front office, the TIRZ will allow the project — which also includes commercial and entertainment space and a sleek residential tower — to be funded by new developments surrounding the stadium. Most of that would be built by San Antonio development firm Weston Urban, which also owns a majority stake in the Missions.

However, Castillo maintains that the revenue from the TIRZ doesn't represent organic economic growth but rather a redistribution of existing tax revenue.

"Not acknowledging that the TIRZ is capturing money that could be going into the general fund is dishonest," Castillo said during Thursday's meeting.

Castillo argues that the construction of the 7,500-capacity stadium will cause some businesses to leave her West Side district and relocate near the baseball stadium in the hopes of attracting more customer traffic.

Those relocations would drain tax revenue away from the city's general fund, she argued. That money is used to cover the costs of schools, roads, public safety and other city needs.

Economist Andrew Zimbalist, a professor at Smith College in Massachusetts and a leading experts in publicly financed stadiums, agrees.

"All that happens [with TIRZ] is the tax revenue has moved into this special district, and now [the city] is going to use that revenue to finance the ballpark," Zimbalist told the Current. "But, it means that the city no longer has that revenue from other neighborhoods, and it's going to hurt the city budget."

Castillo also took issue with a proposed $2 fee added to ticket sales to help finance the ballpark project. Since the public will be forced to pay that fee, taxpayers are technically still subsidizing the the deal, she said.

Despite Castillo's concerns, others on the dais, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, said they see no problem in diverting existing revenue from the city budget to the ballpark project.

"We've done these stadium deals before on the promise of economic development," Nirenberg said. "Ultimately, the city ends up on the hook somehow. The public ends up on the hook. This is structured in a way that will not happen."

Council is slated to vote Sept. 5 on the Missions ballpark. However, with the project now facing more backlash than initially anticipated, meaning the vote could be moved back to a later date.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed