1.What other financing options could Corpus Christi City Council have chosen?

2.Corpus Christi linked the stadium issue to two other important community concerns - economic development and affordable housing. How important do you think this linkage was to passage of the stadium issue? What opportunities did it provide for coalition building?

3.How can Drew show that the team is valuable to the city? What steps do community stakeholders need to take to maximize the benefits associated with the team?

ES. Sporvero, S. Warner/Sport Management Review 16 {2013) 524532 529 \"What about the community impact?': The Corpus Christi 'hook' Case study Justin Drew walked into the Corpus Christi City Hall in southern Texas. unsure of why the Mayor had asked to meet with him. As the president of the Corpus Christi Hooks. the city's minorleague baseball team. Drew was no stranger to City Hall. 1n the years since 2005. when the team moved to Corpus Christi and Whataburger stadium opened. there had been many meetings with the Mayor, the City Manager, and various City Council members. in the early clays, the meetings were to work out nancing details and issues related to the stadium location. Then. there was recognition and appreciation of the team's successes on the eld (including a Texas League Championship in 2006) and off the eld (the team's varied and signicant contributions to the community). Drew got along quite well with all of the government ofcials with whom he had worked. but this time he was a little uneasy. The Mayor hadn't given him any information on the purpose of the meeting. so Drew was uncharacteristically unprepared. The city was in the midst of its annual budget hearings. and early reports indicated that the city was facing signicant budget cuts that would affect the city's services. The nancing arrangement for the team's stadium was somewhat unique. The city of Corpus Christi had provided 100% of the funding for the Hooks stadium. which amounted to $27.7 million. so Drew was worried that this had the potential to cause some problems both for the team and for those ofcials who had negotiated the deal in 2002. 1. Team history and nancing background Efforts to attract a minor-league baseball team2 to Corpus Christi began in May of 2002. when Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan expressed his interest in bringing professional baseball back to the city and formally signed an agreement with city leaders. Many citizens were not only opposed. but outraged by the agreement (see Appendix A for examples of citizen's comments). The agreement stated that the city would build a minor league stadium. and in turn. Ryan-Sanders BaseballTM would bring an afliated minor league team to play in the stadium. In an effort to maximize support for the baseball stadium. the public funding was explicitly tied to economic development and affordable housing initiatives. In November 2002. Corpus Christi residents voted on the following proposals: Proposition 2. The adoption of a sales and use tax for the promotion and development of new and expanded business enterprises at the rate of US of one percent to be imposed for '15 years. Proposition 2A. lf Proposition 2 is approved, authorizing the use of a portion of sales and use tax for the construction. operation. and maintenance of a minor league baseball stadium. Proposition 23. If Proposition 2 is approved. authorizing the use of a portion of the sales and use tax for affordable housing. up to $500,000 annually.3 Corpus Christi voters approved Proposition 2 by a vote of 5743%, they approved the baseball stadium funding by 5545% {Proposition 2A). and they approved affordable housing by 5544% (Proposition 23). Thus. with a majority of voters' 2 Overview of Major and Minor League Baseball. Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and one of ve major sport leagues in North America. MLB has 30 teams. ofwhich 29 are located in major American cities. and 1 plays in Toronto. Ontario. MLB is divided into two leagues the American League and the National League. Bud Selig is the current Commissioner of MLB. and he oversees the operations of MLB. MLB is organized under a franchise system. Under this system. teams are owned by an individual. group of individuals. or in some cases. a corporation. The team owner has decision making authority for the team and must operate within the parameters established in the league's collective bargaining agreement. The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) represents current MLB players in collective bargaining and assists players with disputes (e.g.. salary arbitration, grievances} as they arise. Each MLB team has a representative and an alternate to represent the players' interests. Each MLB team is afliated with minor league teams that serve as the player development system for MLB. Players in Minor league Baseball sign a contract with a MLB organization. The player is then assigned to one of the afliated teams. There are four levels of play that allow a baseball player to develop skills as he progresses from level to level. Class A and Rookie level leagues are the lower levels of com petition and the teams are typically composed of new draft picks andior players who have little experience. Triple-A and Double-A leagues feature players with more experience and talent than the lower leagues. These leagues include players working their way up from lower levels of competition as well as MLB players who are either returning to the game after an injury or who have been demoted. The minor league baseball team in this case plays in the Texas league, one of three Double-A level leagues in afliated minor league baseball. Occasionally minor league teams will relocate when there is a change in team ownership or a new city entices the team to move with nancial incentives. In these cases. the owner will either have a personal preference to move the team to a specic area or be motivated by the prospect of greater nancial gain resulting from the relocation. 3 Snyder. N. (2002. November 5). Votes that don't 0K funding still to be tallied: but if Prop 2 isn't approved by half, baseball. affordable housing won't pass. Corpus Christi Caller Times. 530 ES. Spawero. S. Warner/Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 524-532 approval, the city levied a 1 [8 cent sales tax increase in order to raise the additional funds required for the cost of the stadium (i.e., construction costs plus interest), as well as economic development and affordable housing. The stadium was originally estimated to cost $1518 million. However. nal construction costs of the stadium totaled $27.7 million,4 and the nal cost to the city was much greater because of the debt service. Most local politicians thought that the team was worth the cost, since it would add another entertainment option to this already popular tourist destination and would give the residents a rst-class baseball operation in which they could take pride. There was some opposition from local residents, but supporters of the baseball stadium had a substantial funding advantage in the lead-up to the bond referendum. An organized group in favor of the stadium spent nearly $170,000 to promote the project as a key engine for economic development. whereas the opposition spent only $10,075 on efforts to defeat the ballot initiative. Additionally. stadium supporters assumed that linking the stadium initiative to the affordable housing issue would help generate support. The team's rst year was an unqualied success. A beautiful stadium was crafted from historic cotton warehouses on the site, and the sparkling Corpus Christi Bay provided a scenic backdrop past the outeld walls. A popular fast food restaurant, Whataburger, procured the naming rights to eld. The team didn't have a great year on the eld nishing next to last in the League but the people of Corpus Christi loved the Hooks! Everywhere you looked, you saw people wearing Hooks merchandise. The next year was even better. In 2006. Roger Clemens was rehabbing an injury and made a 6inning appearance with the Hooks. This appearance attracted national attention, and over 9000 fans came to the ballpark to see the star. The team won the Texas League Championship and claimed both the Texas League Manager and Pitcher of the Year. The excitement surrounding the team that year led to the team's single-season attendance record of 506,398. In 2007, the team hosted the Texas League All-Star Game, which drew top executives and fans from all levels of baseball. Plus, the All-Star Game was a great opportunity to have community-wide celebrations in the days leading up to the game. Over the past several years, the team has produced some great major league talent. justin Timberlake even starred in a movie as a Hooks player, and several of the movie scenes were lmed in the ballpark. The team was receiving noteworthy attention, however, it was unclear to all the stakeholders involved if the support and excitement could be maintained over the long term. The city's track record supporting professional teams did not inspire a great deal of condence. In the 20th century. Corpus Christi hosted eight minor league baseball teams, but none of these teams lasted more than four seasons. More recent history also provided cause for concern, with three local minor league teams closing up shop since 2007. The Coastal Bend Aviators, an unafliated minor league team that began play in the Corpus Christi area in 2003, ceased operations in 2007, citing a lack of local fan support. In 2009, the Corpus Christi Sharks of the af2 (arena football) ceased operations after three seasons. The Sharks averaged 4114 fans per game, but were ultimately unable to generate sufcient local support from individuals or sponsors. Similarly, in 2010, the Corpus Christi lceRays ceased operations and were replaced with a junior hockey team. The lceRays had played in Corpus Christi as a member of the Central Hockey League since 1997. but its owners were losing approximately $600,000 per season and could not afford to continue operations. Drew was worried that the Hooks could be next, and the loss of the Mayor's support would be devastating to Hooks. With this history in mind, Drew entered the Mayor's ofce, where he was greeted warmly. The mayor without hesitation said, \"Let me cut right to the chase, Mr. Drew. The Hooks have done great things for this community and we love the team. But we've got some new members on the Council who weren't around when you brought the team here and they are starting to ask a lot of questions about the city's nancial priorities. They don't see the big picture of all the good things that have happened since the Hooks came to town. Instead, they are focused on the money that we are spending on the baseball stadium while we are considering cutting public services and shutting down senior centers. I guess these individuals especially Larry Green are just a reection of the national mood scal responsibility, cutting spending, and holding us all more accountable with how we spend tax dollars." Drew knew that Councilman Green had been a particularly vocal critic of several local spending projects. Drew responded to the Mayor: "I appreciate Councilman Green's concerns, but you are right that he is missing the big picture. When we ll the stadium, you are looking at six thousand people who are out on the town. enjoying Corpus Christi. spending money, and driving tax revenues. Then on top of that add all of the events that we are hosting that attract visitors from all over the state and even the country. I don't think there's any question that we have helped the Corpus Christi economy.\" \"I agree. That's why I want us to get out in front of this issue. As the Council has to make tough budget choices in the coming weeks, I don't want the Hooks to become some kind of political ping-pong ball. And I certainly don't want our residents to start doubting the value of the city's investment in the Hooks," the mayor added. \"I'm willing to do anything I can. What did you have in mind?," Drew said. The mayor then responded, \"I want you to head up a special task force forTourism and Economic Development. You've got great relationships with all of the major stakeholders in town get them together and come up with a strategy of how the city can measure and maximize our return on investment. I believe we are in great shape now, but we can do even more if we work together.\" Drew left City Hall enthusiastic about the project. He knew in his heart that the team had done some great things for the city, but he didn't have much hard data to support it. He also knew that there was an opportunity to generate even greater 4 Sturdevant, M. (2005, March 27). The real cost of revitalization; Final prices for arena, stadium on par with other cities' costs. Corpus Christi Caller Times. P. A1 . E5. Spamro, S. Warner/Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 524-532 531 economic benets for the city. if he could get the right people engaged and willing to contribute. Drew would need to assemble key business. community. and government leaders and work with them to identify economic priorities and the vision for development. The next day. Drew met with Councilman Green his rst ofcial act as the head of the working group. "Good morning. Councilman. and thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I am really glad that you are willing to help us think about the value that the team creates for the city." \"My pleasure. In an ideal world, you and the Mayor would have thought about this ten years ago before the city spent $28 million of the taxpayers' money. But that is water under the bridge. The situation before us now is to gure out how to capitalize on the presence of the team and the facility. We been looking over the last economic impact report the city commissioned. It's from 2008 three years after the Hooks came to town. Have you seen this?" Green passed a copy of the report across his desk to Drew (see Appendix B). "Oh. yes. 1 was on the Board of the Convention and Visitors Bureau when we received the results of that study. If I recall correctly. the bottom line was that visitors to Corpus bring over $1 billion into the local economy." "That's true. but the belief that a baseball team is responsible for that is just wrongheaded. The Hooks are too small of an organization to have any meaningful effect on the local economy. I'd be surprised if the team by itself brings enough money into the economy to cover the debt service on Whataburger Field. if you look closely at this report. you'll see that only 3% of visitors reported attending a sporting event. Based on 7.2 million annual visitortrips. that means only 216.000 people who visited our ne community went to a sporting event. and that includes all sporting events high school. college. hockey. etc. To make matters worse. the visitors surveyed for this study are only spending $12 a day on entertainment. As I see it. we need to gure out a way to make these visitors stay longer and spend more whether that means adding a night at the ballpark or nature tourists' visits. or maybe even adding some other tourist attraction to the itinerary of people who come to see a ballgame." Drew began to feel more relaxed as he realized that. while Green may have been critical of the choice to spend money on the ballpark. he seemed to be enthusiastic about trying to maximize the economic benets to the community. \"I agree with you completely. To be honest. I don't think that we have done all that we could in terms of a coordinating among the different tourism groups in town.\" \"You are right. When the Hooks came here. everyone talked about all the possibilities. What has the team delivered? As far as I can see. there hasn't been much development; the area around the stadium is remarkably similar to how it was when the team came to town. And any gains in tourism seem to be happy accidents and not the result of any coordinated effort to attract visitors. especially for sport events. Without any tangible outcomes. it is hard not to see this as one more case of corporate welfare. You all sit back and watch the money roll in. while the taxpayers of Corpus Christi pay the bills." \"Councilman. I don't think that you are being completely fair. It isn't up to the team to make all of these things happen. We are in the business of baseball. and we do baseball pretty well. We would love to have all of those things you just mentioned happen. but we can't do it alone. Even if we had all the knowledge and resources. this still needs to be a community effort. We need to develop a coherent strategy. and that's what I want to do with this task force.\" It was clear Drew had a lofty task in front of him. The Hooks obviously need to garner community support from not only Councilman Green. but also numerous other stakeholders. Consequently. the Hooks must either demonstrate their ability to positively impact the community. or risk nding themselves on the ever-growing list of failed baseball teams in Corpus Christi. Appendix A. letters to the Editor Pie in the sky In regard to the latest boondoggle (i.e.. the new baseball stadium) and the City ridiculous idea to consider supporting it. I hope the City Council will not let their potential pledge of support turn into a charity for an already wealthy baseball team owner. Mr. Ryan. Why not have Mr. Ryan pay to have his team here and not subsidize his pie in the sky ideas while City Council focuses on what they should be doing. Not neglecting the streets. parks. waterways. and the rest of our decaying infrastructure that so desperately need repairs. 1 don't think Corpus Christi should even consider this idea. unless Mr. Ryan is shouldering a sizeable portion of the development. building. and operation and maintenance costs associated with it {including the ever-present parking problem in that area). Sick of corporate greed. Julian Forrester 532 E5. Sporvero, S. Warner/Sport Management Review 16 (2013) 524532 Take me out to the Library! On the very day of your featured article reporting the deplorable state of our library system. your editorial praised the spending of tax monies to build the baseball stadium and its surrounding infrastructure improvements. Obviously, this represents the misguided priorities of not only the city administration, but the Caller Times Editorial Board as well. This city has sorely needed an improved library branch that is centrally located in Corpus Christi for decades. Citizens have to brave the dangerous freeway intersections to navigate their way to a remote corner of an obsolete shopping center parking lot in a deplorable situation to check out a book. We need a new library branch, not a baseball stadium. What good will a new baseball stadium do if our children can't read the game program! Wake up City Council! Dorothy Waller Don't drink the water Let me get this straight. The City of Corpus Christi has tax money available to build a baseball stadium, which, of course, is a toy. It will never be used by a signicant number of citizens by choice. Not every is a baseball fan, folks. Many of our citizens that might be baseball fans can't afford game tickets. Yet this city. which does not have enough tax money to provide a drinking fountain at a community playground. is funding a baseball stadium! This is demeaning for every parent that wants to let their child go out and play and disgrace for the city. Need I remind everyone that we are in Texas and have a city full of kids that want to enjoy one of the few community playgrounds? We also have a major obesity epidemic, and are doing enough but encouraging our children to eat nachos, drink soda. and sit and watch others play at the new stadium. Thank you City Council for keeping our children inside playing video games, and providing them with another unhealthy activity to do. Not drinking the water. G. Edgar Radcliff 2.24.2004 Appendix B. Economic impact summary 2008 Corpus Christi economic impact summary5 0 Visitors 0 7.2 million visitors (person trips to metro area) 0 ~17 million visitor-days (2.3 days per trip) 0 Average traveling party of 2.3 - 17% day travelers, 54% hotelsfmotels, 7% camp - 70% leisure travelers]30% business travelers - 22% of visitors go to the beachlwaterfront, 20% go sightseeing, 8% go huntinglshing, 3% attend sporting event 0 Spending 0 Over $1 billion in total visitor destination spending in 2008 0 $110.70 per visitor per day - Spending by category: restaurants and bars (25%), lodging (22%), local transportation (18%), shopping (15%), recreation and entertainment (11%) - Visitors account for 81% of sales in local hotels. 60% airport activity, 55% car rentals. 26% local transportation, 25% amusements, 22% restaurants and bars 0 Economic impacts 0 Direct impacts of local tourism - $514.4 million in value added (output) - $275.6 million in wages and salaries - 12,999 jobs - $23.2 million in local taxes. $59.7 million in state taxes - Tourism directly accounts for nearly 5% of local business activity and 7% of local workforce 0 Tourism employment by sector: - Restaurants and bars = 5733; hotelsfmotels = 2341 - Amusements = 1777; retail trade = 1683 Q Total impacts - $1.2 billion in value added - $457.5 million in wages and salaries - 21,737 jobs 5 http: waw.visitcorpuschristitx.orgfuserlesileourismlmpactS tudy_2009.pdf