The San Antonio City Council, this week, will start the debate over whether to pursue a bid to host the Republican National Committee's annual convention which comes with a costly price tag, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Of course they would need our convention center as well as the Alamodome. There would be extensive security requirements," City Manager Sheryl Sculley says.
And, on top of that, she say San Antonio would have to offer up a payment to the RNC. That's somewhere between $25 and $60 million worth of taxpayer dollars. And because it's public funding, she says the public needs to be involved in the decision.
"It's also up to the community to raise the money necessary to host and event like that," she explains. "And that broader dialog and conversation has not happened yet."
San Antonio has, in the past, been floated as a possible destination for both the Republican and Democratic conventions. It was turned down in the past because it was viewed as a money-loser for the city.
The convention is expected to host 50,000 visitors and 15,000 media from around the world. That would rival the size of the recent College Basketball Championship, which packed the dome in April.
There is already one City Council member on board with the plan. Councilman Greg Brockhouse applauded the business and civic leadership involved in pursuing a convention.
"It is important that City Hall show a unified front and support pursuing this opportunity. This is not a time to play partisan politics and any discussions should be held on the record, not in closed door sessions as requested by the Mayor," he said in a statement. "We should embrace the chance to showcase the City of San Antonio on a national and global scale. We would be sending a terrible message if we declined to pursue the RNC.