It’s Time for San Antonio vs Challenges, Not Mayor vs Council
I’ll confess that I felt a spark of hope this past election season. I had a hope that City Hall would feel different this time. That the newly implemented four-year terms and the reconfigured council members would herald a fresh start for San Antonio. Instead, just two months in, San Antonio residents are watching a […]
Divorcing the Sports District from the City’s Deficit
This is Part 3 in a 12-part series on San Antonio’s Sports and Entertainment District, also known as Project Marvel. One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie Raising Arizona. An inmate, watching a couple argue, leans over to another inmate and says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the source of the marital friction […]
Not One Project. Not a New District. Not Just for the Spurs.
This is Part 2 in a 12-part series on San Antonio’s Sports and Entertainment District, also known as Project Marvel. My branding mentor has a phrase I’ve always remembered: The One Rule of Carry On. People only have room for one story in their head at a time. That’s it. One story. And that’s part […]
The Marvel Garble: San Antonio’s Perfect Storm of Confusion
I have a standing rule: if I don’t have a lunch meeting, I go eat lunch with my parents. They live just outside of downtown, and it’s one of the favorite parts of my week. They’re retired now, but still two of the most curious people I know, always asking questions about what’s going on […]
The Soft Metrics of Project Marvel
There’s an old story in San Antonio civic circles about why AT&T moved its headquarters to Dallas. Rumor has it that it wasn’t about taxes or the business climate, it was a decision swayed by the CEO’s spouse. She thought there was nothing to do here. So they packed up and left. Is that story […]
A Billion-Dollar Assist: Who’s Really Benefiting from the Spurs’ New Arena?
I have lived in San Antonio long enough to remember when the Spurs were still playing at Hemisfair Arena and David Robinson was a Navy Midshipman. I’ve watched this city rally behind its team through championships, rebuilding years, and everything in between. Like most locals, I love the Spurs. Indeed, for many years I held […]
An Open Letter from Austin to San Antonio: Please Keep Arguing So We Can Steal the Spurs
*This is a satire piece. The stakes of losing the Spurs, however, feel very real… Dear San Antonio,Hey y’all. It’s us—Austin. We’re writing with love. And opportunity. Mostly opportunity. First off, congratulations on your new civic pastime: publicly spiraling over whether or not to keep your one and only major league team. You’ve turned a […]