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Sunday, October 29, 2000

City, university claim no plan exists if measure fails

By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

Caller-Times file

Problems with condensation on the basketball floor and frigid temperatures were constant during Texas A&M-Corpus Chrisi's inaugural season of Division I men's and women's basketball at Memorial Coliseum last year.

With so much attention being given to next Tuesday's citywide vote on a one-eighth-cent sales tax increase to fund a proposed new downtown multipurpose arena, some might wonder what happens if the proposal fails to pass.
   In other words, does the city have a backup plan?
   "No, there is no backup plan as far as I can see," said Robert Furgason, president at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which would be one of the primary tenants of the new facility.
   The city has much riding on this year's ballot, which features six voter initiatives, including the arena proposal. Many view next week's election as Corpus Christi's last opportunity to build a multipurpose arena.
   Thus, there has been little discussion about what would happen if the voters do not approve the proposal.
   "If it doesn't pass, we'll continue to do what we're doing right now," mayor Loyd Neal said. "If it doesn't pass, next year we will have the same challenges. How many people do we let go? How many services do we restrict? We're going to be in the same type of spiral we've been in for years."
   Most directly affected by a "no" vote would be A&M-Corpus Christi, which views a new facility as crucial to its long-term success as an NCAA Division I athletic program, Furgason said.
   The Islanders began play last year at Memorial Coliseum and will continue to compete at the 47-year-old downtown fixture until something new is built. But the school has few options outside of the proposed $35 million downtown arena.
   "This is pretty much all-or-nothing," Furgason said. "We do not have the resources to build a facility of that nature through university means. (If it doesn't pass), we would just be stuck in the Coliseum for a long time."
   "I've said before that a new arena would be huge for us," said Dan Viola, the Islanders' athletics director. "If this does not pass - we're really not looking beyond that right now - we would continue on in the Coliseum and do the best we can. But I think, not just from our standpoint but the community standpoint, they would be losing a great opportunity to have something that could bring events to Corpus Christi for the non-athletics fan."
   Ever since the university announced it would bring back intercollegiate athletics for the first time since 1973, there has been talk of A&M-Corpus Christi building an arena of its own on campus.
   But the state of Texas prohibits public funding for university athletic facilities. Furgason said the school does not anticipate receiving any private financing for an arena.
   "So the only thing you could do is turn to the students (for funding)," Furgason said. "And the students are not going to vote to have their fees increased for that kind of facility."
   The city agrees with Furgason.
   "There is no backup plan that I am aware of," said city councilman Mark Scott, a member of Forward Corpus Christi, which supports all six upcoming ballot proposals. "You may hear some rumblings that the university will build it if it fails. There are no plans for them to build it if it fails. It's just not economically feasible for them to do so."
   Along with A&M-Corpus Christi basketball and IceRays hockey, supporters of the proposal say a new arena would help Corpus Christi land franchises in other sports, such as arena football or indoor soccer.
   All of which has many locals trying not to think about the prospects of a failed vote.
   "I think a couple of things happen if this doesn't pass," Scott said. "We will not have arena football or indoor soccer. We will not have first-tier performers coming to town, and it jeopardizes the university's drive toward Division I athletics."



Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com

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