ploto
07-15-2007, 08:54 AM
When Spurs chairman Peter Holt let it be known during the NBA Finals that improvements were needed at the AT&T Center to keep pace with other NBA arenas, my thoughts turned right away to Miss Elvira, the biggest Spurs fan I know.
In her professional life, Miss Elvira is a teacher at my daughter's preschool. She calls the children she cares for "my babies." She has a sing-song voice, sparkling eyes, beautiful white hair and the kind of personality that makes you think she's about to hug you.
I don't know how much money Miss Elvira makes but it isn't enough to buy a car. So every weekday morning, she wakes up at 3:30 a.m., gets ready for work, then heads to the bus stop a block from her home on the city's north side, just inside Loop 410. She has to be there around 5 a.m. to make it downtown before parents start dropping off their children.
Miss Elvira's schedule is especially hard on the mornings after the Spurs play because she stays up to watch the games. That means West Coast road trips hit her as hard as they do the players.
Originally from Mexico, Miss Elvira has lived in San Antonio for years. My daughter has moved on to another classroom, but Miss Elvira still baby-sits for us occasionally. This delights our children so much that we often struggle to get their attention so we can tell them to behave.
Miss Elvira almost always wears brightly colored clothes — she has a sweatshirt with Tweety Bird on it — and her arrival is an event.
She did see a Spurs game at the AT&T Center once, but I think she sat pretty high up. She was thrilled, just the same, but she is also happy to watch them on TV.
When Holt announced during the Finals that the arena needed improvements, he didn't say what should be done. He just said, "Our fans demand the best, and we want to give them the best."
He asked that some of the county's tourism tax, which funded construction of the arena before it opened in 2002, be used for the upgrades.
Those needs will be competing with other interests for the tax money, roughly $250 million over 15 years, according to the county. Tourism officials want $125 million allocated for the San Antonio River Improvement Project. A performing arts center and amateur sports facilities are also in the running.
This week, county officials held public meetings to talk about specific spending options.
The Bexar County Commissioners Court will weigh in with the final decision, which could go before voters next May.
I know there are restrictions on where venue tax money can go — essentially, it has to be used for "venues" — but I don't think spending it on the AT&T Center is such a good idea.
It's a fine arena and Mr. Holt is an excellent businessman, but the Spurs are worth some $390 million, according to Forbes, and they already have a fund for arena improvements.
Under the original contract, fans pay a $1 fee on tickets and parking to make repairs. So it's hard to see how more venue tax dollars are needed. More importantly, we have better things to do with the money.
As a matter of fact, the median preschool teacher in Texas makes $15,090 a year, according to the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition.
So if we're going to use public money to subsidize private businesses, why not simply to hand the money over to preschool teachers like Miss Elvira?
Maybe then she wouldn't have to wake up so early after watching the Spurs.
Subsidies (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA071407.03B.stroud_column.35cc4e4.html)
In her professional life, Miss Elvira is a teacher at my daughter's preschool. She calls the children she cares for "my babies." She has a sing-song voice, sparkling eyes, beautiful white hair and the kind of personality that makes you think she's about to hug you.
I don't know how much money Miss Elvira makes but it isn't enough to buy a car. So every weekday morning, she wakes up at 3:30 a.m., gets ready for work, then heads to the bus stop a block from her home on the city's north side, just inside Loop 410. She has to be there around 5 a.m. to make it downtown before parents start dropping off their children.
Miss Elvira's schedule is especially hard on the mornings after the Spurs play because she stays up to watch the games. That means West Coast road trips hit her as hard as they do the players.
Originally from Mexico, Miss Elvira has lived in San Antonio for years. My daughter has moved on to another classroom, but Miss Elvira still baby-sits for us occasionally. This delights our children so much that we often struggle to get their attention so we can tell them to behave.
Miss Elvira almost always wears brightly colored clothes — she has a sweatshirt with Tweety Bird on it — and her arrival is an event.
She did see a Spurs game at the AT&T Center once, but I think she sat pretty high up. She was thrilled, just the same, but she is also happy to watch them on TV.
When Holt announced during the Finals that the arena needed improvements, he didn't say what should be done. He just said, "Our fans demand the best, and we want to give them the best."
He asked that some of the county's tourism tax, which funded construction of the arena before it opened in 2002, be used for the upgrades.
Those needs will be competing with other interests for the tax money, roughly $250 million over 15 years, according to the county. Tourism officials want $125 million allocated for the San Antonio River Improvement Project. A performing arts center and amateur sports facilities are also in the running.
This week, county officials held public meetings to talk about specific spending options.
The Bexar County Commissioners Court will weigh in with the final decision, which could go before voters next May.
I know there are restrictions on where venue tax money can go — essentially, it has to be used for "venues" — but I don't think spending it on the AT&T Center is such a good idea.
It's a fine arena and Mr. Holt is an excellent businessman, but the Spurs are worth some $390 million, according to Forbes, and they already have a fund for arena improvements.
Under the original contract, fans pay a $1 fee on tickets and parking to make repairs. So it's hard to see how more venue tax dollars are needed. More importantly, we have better things to do with the money.
As a matter of fact, the median preschool teacher in Texas makes $15,090 a year, according to the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition.
So if we're going to use public money to subsidize private businesses, why not simply to hand the money over to preschool teachers like Miss Elvira?
Maybe then she wouldn't have to wake up so early after watching the Spurs.
Subsidies (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA071407.03B.stroud_column.35cc4e4.html)