SAN ANTONIO – The day before a looming showdown to determine how San Antonio moves ahead with a deal for a new arena, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones hijacked a Wednesday rally organized by business leaders who support passing a term sheet for a funding deal.
Participants in Wednesday’s rally included prominent business owners, like Pete Cortez of La Familia Cortez Restaurants and chef Johnny Hernandez of La Gloria Group, the heads of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association, the head of Centro San Antonio and social media personality Spurs Jesus.
The group wants the council to approve non-binding terms for funding a new $1.3 billion arena for the Spurs at the site of the former Institute of Texan Cultures building, which includes the city kicking in up to $489 million.
The council is scheduled to vote on both the term sheet and a separate resolution pushed by Jones to hold off on a decision until the city gets a new economic study done by a firm unaffiliated with the Spurs and holds multiple community feedback meetings.
A few minutes into the business groups’ news conference, Jones came out of City Hall, walked through the crowd, and accepted the microphone from one of the speakers.
“I’ve been known to crash a party or two,” Jones said when KSAT asked if she had been invited.
During the rally, Jones spoke for more than 10 minutes, repeating her calls for a pause and encouraging people to tell their council member to support her resolution.
“We want the same thing,” she told the crowd. “I have said repeatedly, repeatedly, that I want the Spurs to stay here for 50, 100, 200 years. I want them here. We want them here, right? We want them here. We also want to make sure we get a good deal.”
Jones also invoked the late activist mother of Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8), who has previously been supportive of continuing negotiations on the term sheet.
“What would Choco Meza be doing right now?" Jones asked. " She’d be fighting for the people. She’d be demanding answers and making sure our community got a good deal here, not rushing through on this."
The mayor has been making numerous public comments in an apparent attempt to turn up the pressure on her fellow council members, five of whom asked for a vote on the term sheet to be added to Thursday’s agenda.
Jones had previously identified those five as Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3), Councilman Edward Mungia (D4), Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), and Councilman Marc Whyte (D10), which all five or their staff have confirmed.
Either the pause or passing the terms sheet would require six votes to pass. Jones has ducked questions about whether she has the votes, and she was in the clear minority when she first pushed for a pause on Aug. 6.
The mayor’s appearance also included asking a worker from Centro San Antonio how much they made and being grilled by Spurs Jesus.
“The Spurs have never said, ‘Hey, City Council, if you don’t vote on a term sheet on Thursday, we’re leaving.’ They’ve never said that,” Jones said in response to Spurs Jesus’ question on what she would tell residents if the Spurs decided to move.
She called it a “fearful comment.”
Watch her remarks below:
Business owners and hotel and restaurant industry representatives held the rally to “stand in solidarity and advocate for the City Council to move forward with a positive vote on the city’s negotiated term sheet with San Antonio Spurs,” a news release states.
Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jeff Webster said, “Now is the time to move forward.”
“The cost of indecision will delay projects, lose projects, and drive up costs,” Webster said. “We believe now is the time to move forward, be focused with details, but now is the time for San Antonio."
Hernandez called the project “a true gift to the hospitality industry.”
“You know, in the four years that I’ve been at the Frost [Bank] Center, you know, I’ve seen where we have hundreds and hundreds of part-time employees. Moving this arena downtown will transition these part-time employees into full-time jobs,” he said.
Hernandez owns Burgerteca, Casa Hernan, La Gloria and other restaurants around San Antonio. La Gloria and Burgerteca have locations in the Frost Bank Center.
Council members on Thursday will vote on whether to execute the non-binding set of terms now or hold off.
Read also: