City looking to reallocate sales taxes to fund American Bank Center expansion

KIII 3 News
Author: Madeline Salinas
Published: 6:15 PM CDT July 23, 2023

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The American Bank Center area may start looking a little different within the coming years. 

The city is looking to renovate and expand the convention center, with the cost around $800 million over the next 10 to 15 years. The city's participation looks to be anywhere between $400 million and $500 million.

Assistant City Manager, Heather Hurlbert spoke with 3NEWS and said, “We have several sources of revenue. The recent legislation that was passed by the state that allows us to tap into the state’s hotel occupancy tax and the states sales tax for this project.”

Along with that state funding, the city will also be continuing to use taxes from economic development funds and the local hotel occupancy tax which is automatically available for convention center upgrades and expansions.

On Tuesday City Council will propose to include an item on the November 2023 election ballot that could also help fund the project. 

“So, what the election will be if the City Council decides to call it in November, will be to repurpose, not increase a fourth of a cent of sales tax,”  Hurlbert added. 

That Type A sales tax is currently paying off the debt service for the original arena construction along with the ongoing maintenance and projects along the seawall.

Should city's proposal of the repurposing of those funds end up on the ballot and voters agree to it, it would help in getting the American Bank Center a connecting six hundred room hotel.  

Hurlbert explained that those funds would also help create an entertainment district that includes restaurants and mixed-use development in the downtown area by the convention center.

Hurlbert wants to stress to taxpayers that this proposal is not a tax increase, rather a reallocation of sales taxes that citizens are already paying.