Opinion

S.A. can support soccer, but what will it cost?

San Antonio's growing Latino population is one reason a study says the city can support professional soccer. The popularity is evident by the tailgaters at a game in January between the Mexican National Team and South Korea Republic at the Alamodome. less San Antonio's growing Latino population is one reason a study says the city can support professional soccer. The popularity is evident by the tailgaters at a game in January between the Mexican National Team ... more Photo: Express-News File Photo Photo: Express-News File Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.A. can support soccer, but what will it cost? 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — As City Councilman Mike Gallagher moves the ball forward for Major League Soccer here, hopefully one large nagging question gets answered.

Just how much city support does San Antonio Scorpions owner Gordon Hartman want?

Gallagher's request for a resolution affirming council support for MLS in the Alamo City should jump-start the public discussion. Plus, it's a nice flirty wink at MLS. That can't hurt.

Soccer is all the rage these days. Attendance has grown by more than 20 percent in recent years, a detail hardly lost on city officials.

“MLS has moved to the forefront as the most viable major sports league for Bexar and San Antonio to actively recruit,” Michael Sawaya, the city's convention, sports and entertainment facilities director, wrote in an email back in February to Jaime Castillo, spokesman for former Mayor Julián Castro.

But despite months and months of chatter, there is still little public understanding of what city support would entail.

Does Hartman want the city to buy and expand his 8,300-seat Toyota Field? Unlikely. That's a potential $80 million proposition. Or does he want the city to cover the estimated $40 million cost to expand it to 18,500 seats?

Hartman has confidentiality agreements with four different investment groups — one of which is Spurs Sports & Entertainment, an open secret among politicos — and has said talks are fluid.

He's also offered assurances the city will get a good deal.

For its part, the city has been equally coy. But it recently commissioned an MLS stadium study, which provides some insight.

The study by Chicago-based HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilities Consulting was fairly bullish. Can San Antonio support an MLS team? Yes, it can, the report says.

Sure, it's a concern that San Antonio is poorer and the population is less educated than other MLS markets. But being a youthful, Latino town with a strong growth outlook makes up for this, the report says.

Another plus, in a comparison with a downtown location, Toyota Field, in the 'burbs, rates slightly better.

What about public financing? Most MLS stadiums are publicly owned, or at least have some public investment, the report says. It breaks down three different scenarios where the city funds 100, 50 and 25 percent of the stadium costs.

In all three scenarios, the city comes out ahead. But the study assumes MLS in San Antonio draws 18,000 fans a game. What if, say, attendance is 16,000?

It doesn't answer this type of question.

Also, it's an outlier for a soccer stadium to be built without some private investment.

In an email in March, Thomas Hazinski of HVS offered some insights.

Hartman was “asking for a public investment of $60 to $80 million,” with no private investment, he wrote to Sawaya.

Now, Hartman and Sawaya have characterized this email as dated and off the mark.

Even so, it reflects the need for clarity on public funding.

“It would be somewhere short of 100 percent,” Sawaya said of city involvement.

Right. That's quite a spread.

Hartman has said talks include private investment. One scenario could be the city pays for the stadium expansion and then receives a portion of ticket revenues, he said.

Credit Hartman for a masterful job of capturing the community's imagination and yearning for a second major league team. There is a palpable sense of possibility about this.

All the more reason, then, to answer the question of how much support he wants. The public deserves to know its role in this game.