‘Bathroom bill’ could hurt convention bid

San Antonio fears possible block to NAACP event, Final Four in ’18

Proposed legislation to ban transgender people from using public restrooms in Texas matching their gender identity could jeopardize San Antonio’s bid to host the NAACP’s 2018 convention.

The civil rights group picked the Alamo City as the host of the event that’s expected to draw 10,000 next July after scratching its first choice of North Carolina after that state adopted anti-transgender bathroom laws.

“When you think about Charlotte, it is an outstanding convention city,” Leon Russell, vice chairman of NAACP’s board, said after a news conference in San Antonio late last week. “But, from a political standpoint, we cannot support a state that has the audacity to really incorporate discrimination in its public laws.”

Leaders concerned

Passing a bathroom bill in Texas has been one of the top priorities for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the state Senate, during the 2017 legislative session.

Speaker of the House Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican, has said he doesn’t consider the proposed law to be high on his agenda.

“I would hope that that kind of bill is not a legislative priority for the Texas Legislature,” Russell said. “I would hope that folks in Texas aren’t interested in incorporating discrimination into your public laws.”

NAACP leaders are most concerned about Senate Bill 6, a proposed Texas law that would bar transgender men and women from using bathrooms matching their gender identity in public buildings. It also proposes to block local governments from enacting ordinances circumventing the state law. It’s considered by civil rights and U.S. business leaders as discriminatory and a threat to civil rights.

Russell didn’t rule out pulling the NAACP convention from San Antonio should the bill pass. “At some point, if it does make it, we’ll have to look at how we appropriately respond,” Russell said.

$10 million impact

The NAACP’s board of directors unanimously picked San Antonio in October after the association toured the city with city officials in September, said Leon Russell, the board’s vice chairman.

“It is the fact that you are a diverse community, but you reflect your diversity and you obviously celebrate and appreciate” it, Russell said in explaining why the organization chose San Antonio.

Exact dates and speakers haven’t been solidified, but the event is expected to generate up to $10 million in spending on local hotels, restaurants and stores, city leaders and NAACP officials said at Friday’s news conference.

“This is hotel rooms, this is jobs, this is jobs at restaurants, this is all kinds of work that’s going to be happening because tourism is a vital part of San Antonio’s economy,” District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick said during the news conference.

The NAACP convention won’t be one of the largest for San Antonio, dwarfed by the 60,000 people who descended upon the city for the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference Session in 2015. The Risk Insurance Management Society in April 2018 also is expected to draw more attendees that year. The high-profile event, however, will provide an opportunity to showcase the city’s diversity, officials said.

Past speakers have included President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

“We want to display to the world everything that’s wonderful about our unique city, how we work together and how we can be a model for the nation,” Mayor Ivy Taylor said at the news conference.

Opponents of Senate Bill 6 worry how it could impact local and state tourism dollars. The Texas Association of Business has said such a law would flush $8.5 billion in gross domestic product and kill about 100,000 jobs.

Final Four next year

San Antonio also is slated to host the NCAA’s Final Four championship in 2018, but local officials fear the organization could pull the event if Texas lawmakers pass Senate Bill 6. The NCAA’s board of governors adopted standards in April requiring host cities to “demonstrate how they will provide an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”

The three-day championship would bring an influx of 71,000 out-ofstate visitors and generate a potential economic impact about $135 million to hotels, restaurants, stores and attractions, according to a study conducted by Steven Nivin, chief economist of the SABÉR Research Institute, and released Friday.

Final Four spending is expected to produce about $9.5 million in state tax revenue and $4.4 million in city tax revenue, Nivin said. The city is also investing $54 million to upgrade the Alamodome by expanding concourses and updating indoor technology, according to a city economic impact report published Thursday.

“It’s a massive event,” Nivin said. “Some people have characterized it as second only to the Super Bowl.”

The NCAA decided to pull seven championship games scheduled for this year from North Carolina after the legislation there was enacted.

jfechter@express-news.net