An outdoor swim stadium that would be built in Northside ISD would be one of dozens of projects to receive funding if voters approve an extension of the Bexar County visitors tax in the May 10 election. Early voting is April 28 to May 6.
Bexar County voters will decide whether to continue a tax on hotel rooms and rental cars. This is commonly called the visitor tax, because only people who stay in hotels or rent cars in Bexar County pay this tax. The visitor tax was first passed by voters in 1999 to build the AT&T Center, home of the San Antonio Spurs.
If approved, the tax would generate about $415 million and would be used to fund sports, cultural, and public improvement projects throughout Bexar County, including an Olympic-size outdoor swim stadium next to the Northside Natatorium on Loop 1604.
The complex that would be created by the proposed swim stadium, the existing Natatorium, and a planned warm-up and diving pool (to be funded by a future bond issue) has been dubbed the San Antonio National Aquatics Center.
The San Antonio National Aquatics Center would be the only facility of its kind in the central United States and would attract regional and national swimming competitions. Northside's proposal has been endorsed by the national governing body for the sport of swimming, USA Swimming, which has promised the venue a minimum of five events per year.
When the stadium is not being used for competitions, it would be available to students and the general public.
The swim stadium will have a capacity for 2,400 spectators and 1,200 athletes and will cost about $10 million to build. The Bexar County Commissioners have earmarked $7 million of the visitor tax revenues for the swim stadium, which means NISD must find alternative sources of funding for the remaining $3 million.
To see an artist rendering of what the swim stadium might look like and to find out more information, visit the San Antonio National Aquatics Center web site. Here's a complete list of other proposed projects throughout the county, including the UTSA Sports Complex and the Culebra Creek Soccer Park, also located within NISD.
