SAN ANTONIO — A bill in the Texas Legislature could provide a major boost to the Alamodome and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
SB 2220, authored by Jose Menendez, seeks to provide more than $222 million in hotel tax revenue to the city for upgrades to attract big events.
According to the bill’s fiscal notes, San Antonio would receive the authority to get hotel tax revenue for up to 30 years to expand, improve and renovate the two facilities.
"Convention business is big business for the state of Texas," Mark Anderson, President and CEO of Visit San Antonio said.
The convention center boasts 514,000 square feet with 72 meeting rooms, but the city says it has lost events due to insufficient meeting rooms and exhibit hall space. An analysis from city hall estimates San Antonio has lost more than $525 million in spend and more than 311,000 potential visitors.
“If San Antonio were to expand our convention center by 200,000 sq ft, there are 94 groups that we’ve uncovered over the past 72 hours that we can prospect and potentially book,” Anderson said during testimony before a Senate Committee last month that’s nearly $1 billion in economic impact .
“They will sometimes choose Las Vegas or Orlando, or other large cities, Chicago, because they have more meeting space,” State Sen. Menendez told KENS 5.
Coming off the IPW Convention last week—the city wants to keep the momentum going. The Alamodome--which recently hosted the XFL Championship, and hosts other events such as the Valero Alamo Bowl, concerts, soccer and boxing—is hosting the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2025 and the Women’s Final Four in 2029.
The bill’s fiscal note says the city would have authority to receive hotel-associated revenue, including state sales tax, hotel tax and mixed beverage sales tax revenue from hotels within a public financing zone.
According to city documents, “a substantial renovation” is needed for San Antonio to compete with other big cities to host events in the future. The city says it has invested in the facility, but it is a 30-year-old building. It’s not clear what exactly those renovations could be.
San Antonio will host the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2025 and the Women’s Final Four in 2029.
The bill is waiting for Governor Greg Abbott’s signature before becoming law. KENS 5 has reached out to the governor’s office for comment.