The Alamo Dome was built as a payoff to the wealthy owners of the property who are part of the "old 400" families who have controlled SA for years via money and politics. The site was virtually unsaleable because of environmental issues about the toxicity of the land beneath the old foundry buildings. Remember how that didn't come out until after the purchase that bailed out the owners? Why did no one in power ask the questions necessary for citizens to understand what they were buying with their tax dollars? Do you think the environmental concerns should have been mentioned as a probable cause for an increase in the cost? What about parking? Sure, there is a limited amount of parking for the rich, but what huge public arena in Texas should be built without adequate parking for a normal NFL franchise? Any reputable architect should have noted/blasted the lack of parking for a 60,000 seat stadium--- and that it didn't meet NFL standards just because it would seat enough people (if you could get them there) Instead Cisneros sold the dream of an NFL franchise to gullible voters on a bond issue.
Now the Alamo Dome mostly sits empty because there are limited users, even as a convention center or occasional Bowl game to make it more than a beached whale. It was totally unsuitable for a NBA stadium as well, so the gullible voters went for another deal out by the old Stock Show arena. I agree that the Convention Center complex downtown could use a more marketable facility, but how many times will the voters buy into the pitch that "this is what we need to keep the Spurs and add to the value of our convention business." We paid for the old Hemisphere Arena uplift disaster and then the Alamo Dome disaster and now the ATT arena out in the boonies. Doesn't it ever register that we are being led simply by the nose to benefit the rich?
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AD loved Jim’s. So did Timmy and Danny Green. I remember Verde would eat at the one over off Huebner regularly before Pop shipped him out.
