City council has approved a contract for WiFi to be installed at the Alamodome. Initially the city will spend $1.4 million from the Hotel Occupancy Tax to fund the project, but then the city says it will actually get money back from the events it attracts from out of state.
According to the city’s supporting documents from the April 11 City Council A session, the Texas Events Trust Fund legislation allows cities and counties to be reimbursed for expenses that attract high-tax impact events to Texas.
In June, the Alamodome plans to do that when it hosts the Triennial National Youth Gathering of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
An assessment of the aging Alamodome found that improvements like adding wireless Internet access is a high priority for groups like the Final Four, the Valero Alamo Bowl and UTSA, and instant access is a desirable infrastructure to have in place with the increasing number of mobile electronic devices.
City leaders are counting on the WiFi access to bring the Alamodome into the 21st century and compete heavily for more big-ticket events in the future.
