Members of the Cedar Park Tourism Advisory Board heard funding requests during their Tuesday meeting as well as updates from the Austin Spurs NBA D-League team. Tim Salier, Spurs Sports & Entertainment vice president of Franchise Sales and Operations, said the Austin Spurs, who play at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, have seen growth in the past few years and expect to continue to see growth moving forward. “Our league continues to grow and change. Within the next year to two years, we’ll be a full 30-team league,” Salier said. “As of this coming season, 24 of those teams will be owned by NBA teams.” Salier said in the coming year, new provisions in the NBA should have a positive impact on Cedar Park hotels, including the addition of two-way contracts. “Each NBA team will have two more roster spots that will specifically be assigned to play in the D-League, which means that we’ll have more hotel rooms for all the teams that are coming through.” Salier said there is also is rebranding underway, changing the name from D-League to the NBA Gatorade League. The Spurs are requesting $50,000 from the city for next year to be used toward advertising and other needs. “We’re projecting conservatively 750 hotel rooms next year. It’s a little bit too soon to tell, but again, as the league evolves and the NBA teams own franchises, they’re changing the dynamic for how they travel with players,” Salier said. There also have been broadcasts of games and streams on Facebook Live, where Salier believes management can do more to promote the arena and the community. “Right now, they’re very much in the arena only and focused on basketball, but if you watch any sort of traditional sporting event, they’ll have bumper shots that are community images or community scenes,” Salier said. Members also heard funding requests from various entities throughout Cedar Park. These included:
  • $35,000 for the NOLA Texas Food and Music Festival TX
  • $15,000 for Cheer America
  • $35,000 for the Austin Steam Train Association
  • $3,000 for H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Digital Marketing
  • $15,000 for Cedar Fest Barbecue Cook-Off
  • $10,000 for Leander ISD-Rouse High School for Volleypalooza
  • $29,000 for Texas Museum of Science and Technology
  • $10,000 for Texas Team Trail
Crafts and Classics, which was listed on the agenda, will not take place this year or next year, said Duane Smith, tourism and community development manager. The items were for discussion only, and no formal action was taken by members.