Local: S.A. to discuss ways to lure pro franchises
 

Local: S.A. to discuss ways to lure pro franchises


Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer

Mayor Phil Hardberger and County Judge Nelson Wolff have scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss how San Antonio would pursue NFL or Major League Baseball teams interested in relocation.
"Phil and I need to come to a consensus on how we should approach (teams exploring relocation) and what we are willing do to do get a team," Wolff said Wednesday.

County sports consultant Michael Sculley will also attend the meeting, Wolff said. County commissioners want Sculley to develop relationships with Major League Baseball and the NFL and keep the county apprised of opportunities.

"We have a pipeline to Major League Baseball because of the Marlins, but we need to strengthen that pipeline," Wolff said. "And, at some point, we need to make contact with (NFL commissioner Roger Goodell)."

The county attempted to lure the Marlins away from South Florida last spring with a plan that called for generating $200 million for a stadium by extending the tourism taxes paying for the AT&T Center.

City and county officials are also expected to attend a meeting of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's NFL task force Wednesday to discuss how the city would react if the San Diego Chargers decide to pursue relocation.

Under their agreement with San Diego, the Chargers are free to talk to any U.S. city about relocating. But the club has said several times it won't entertain proposals from cities outside San Diego County.

The Chargers, who want a new stadium, can leave San Diego after the 2008 season.

I don't think San Antonio would get the Chargers. You don't want to oversaturate a small market, like San Antonio's either.

I don't think they're announcing catering to the Chargers just yet but instead creating an infrastructure so that they will always be able to pursue any opportunities that arise to bring in new sports teams to the city.

This is where austin and sa should come together and try to bring a team to the AREA. Austin and sa alone would be small markets but put them together and its a decently sized medium market. Just make sure to put the stadium in new braunfels :D :D

^^Great idea, but the NB locals would go nuts over that. They are already trying to ban drinking on the river, trying to get an NFL stadium would be ludacris. I was thinking Selma....they'll do just about anything for attention. lol.

I wonder if Hardberger would be intrested in talking to Holly Hills? BUT....what's the point? It seems pointless to get our hopes up when we know that no team is going to move to SA (barring another natural disaster).

That Holly Hills dream plan went down the shitter I believe.

http://eastsidevision.info/Vision.htm

I think it's great that the city hasn't given up on persueing any other pro team for S.A. A more detaill plan will likely be made public after Monday's meeting.

San Antonio is larger than several markets with more than one professional team. :shrug:

Not to crap on San Antonio, but the city's one shot at a NFL team was the Saints. Everyone knows that the next city to get a NFL team will be Los Angeles.

The market is too small to competitively support a MLB team. Perhaps an NHL or MLS expansion team could one day play in San Antonio

Well if you put it in small towns outside the city you're not thinking about the infrastructure and since San Antonio is just San Antonio without Austin, you're wasting your money on trying to get teams you can't get.

What about KC, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee?

Put in a fast train between SA and ATX. The SA-ATX Express. Close the time/distance gap. Hell, I'll buy season tics!

All larger than San Antonio's metro.

San Antonio is already larger than Milwaukee. It is growing much faster than KC or Cincinnati and will be larger in about three years.

Those teams have been there for a while, though. I think their economies help them out. Milwaukee is close to Chicago, also. KC owns almost everything outside St. Louis. Cincy runs northern Kentucky and half of Ohio. They have larger media markets than San Antonio.

That's actually a good point. Put the stadium in San Antonio and put it on a commuter rail line. Connect to sunset station downtown, rennovate the Alamodome, set up a shuttle service and viola!

And when was the last time these smaller cities produced a competitive MLB team? San Antonio, while growning, is still a small market compared to lots of other cities.

I agree with Geaux Tigers...
Cincy: long history with baseball...weren't the Reds the first baseball team in America?

Milwaukee: small, stagnant market, but a history of professional sports, at least for the last 50 years...plus, they have a new stadium

Kansas City: gone if MLB ever decides to contract by 2 teams; possibly gone in a few years anyway...when Eugene Kaufman (?), their former owner, died a few years ago, several nails went into their coffin

Here's a good MLS name: Alamo FC

Why not put the stadium in Kyle or Buda?