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The brand new Kerrville Sports Complex opened this week on Holdsworth Drive. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, January 17, and the ceremonial “first pitch” and “first kicks” were held on Saturday, January 20. Lots of news coverage has focused on the complex this week.
In an article authored by Zeke MacCormack and published in the San Antonio Express News about the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new sports complex on Holdsworth Drive, the author writes about issues connected to the complex that are several years old and have a confusing history. Here are some of the statements from the article and our fact-checks and context that should help inform readers about the new facility.
Please note that we have not addressed the purely political aspects of the article and have instead chosen to focus on the hard facts.
TRUE: “The city estimates that each six-day tournament involving 500 players or more will generate $1 million in local economic spending — at hotels, restaurants, gas stations and such.”
- This was stated by Ashlea Boyle, director of parks and recreation, City of Kerrville.
- This estimate relies on official estimates from the Convention and Visitors Bureau that states at least 3 visitors accompany each player in a multiday baseball tournament
NEEDS CONTEXT: “The city issued $9 million in debt to cover the remaining costs of putting in the sports fields. The debt will be paid off using local sales tax proceeds.”
- The debt service will be paid using 4B sales tax revenues, which are required to be spent on economic development projects.
- The funds do not come from the general sales tax revenues that the city relies on for its operating budget.
- The EIC approved the funding for this project, and council blessed it, in 2015.
- See our white paper on the city’s finances for more context.
FALSE: Mayor White was quoted in the article: “I wasn’t opposed to the project at all. I was opposed to how it was funded and how the contracts were structured.”
- Mayor White voted against the project five separate times in 2015 and 2016.
- She also voted numerous times against the water reuse pond and reuse distribution lines that were a critical element to the success of the sports complex.
NEEDS CONTEXT: According to Mayor White in the article: “[DBAT] have two years’ free rent, and we have the debt service and maintenance costs to cover… We may never receive any lease revenue if they have 20 or more tournaments a year, the way the contract is structured.”
- The lease contract with DBAT includes a clause that DBAT pays no “rent” on the building as long as they continue to host at least 20 baseball tournaments per year.
- As stated above, each baseball tournament has the potential to generate $1 million in local economic activity, so up to $20 million annually.
- DBAT’s rent would never be as high as the economic potential of 20 baseball tournaments.
- Therefore DBAT is incentivized to do even more public good for the community and host as many baseball tournaments as possible.
- This incentivization has the potential to greatly exceed any potential rent revenues the city could extract from the building.
The sports complex is officially open for business. Soccer and baseball events, games, and tournaments are already filling up the calendars for the spring and summer. For more information about the sports complex, visit the following websites:
