San Antonio at last abandoning pointless quest for another major league team?

A few months ago, the San Antonio city government hired Michael Sculley as a consultant in their attempt to attract another major league sports franchise to this city.  This deal struck me as fishy, as Michael Sculley is the husband of the city manager, Sheryl Sculley, and the contract was one of those "no bid" ones of the kind that President Bush has used so extensively and so suspiciously.  It also bothered me to see the city continue to throw money away in this doomed and embarrassing effort.  (The low point was late 2005 when San Antonio officials tried to woo the New Orleans Saints away from that devastated city.)

But this latest move may have turned out to be a wise approach after all, given what Michael Sculley is now saying:

"It's hard for me to fathom as a newcomer here why (San Antonio) has struggled with this for so long," Sculley said of the city's quest to land a second franchise. "As a newcomer, I'm going, 'Don't you think you've fought that battle long enough?'"

His advice:

Sculley said [Bexar County] commissioners should instead focus on proposals to use the [proposed extension of the venue] tax to finance San Antonio River improvements and construction of a performing arts center and a youth sports complex.

"I'm trying to convince them, saying, 'You guys can become heroes in the public eye by not wasting money on a potential professional team,'" Sculley said in an interview at his Alamodome office.

...

"I think we need to be proactive and tell (the NFL and baseball), 'You've turned your back on us long enough. It's time we take care of our own,'" Sculley said. "We really need to focus on the citizens of San Antonio, (build) the city up and then (the leagues) will come knocking at our door."

And he's got county judge Nelson Wolff and mayor Phil Hardberger singing the same tune now, too.  That's good work.

Comments

Wasn't he hired by Bexar County, not the City of San Antonio. His wife is the City Manager. They are completely different governmental entities.

BW