94 Business View Magazine - July 2016
ing, it was backed by the overall collections of the city.
So we were able to use our bond rating to get a good
rate on the bond and that’s what enabled this project
to happen – ahead of schedule and under budget.”
Now that the Henry B. González Convention Center has
embarked upon its newest iteration, Sawaya sees it as
another way in which the City of San Antonio can at-
tract even more convention business, securing its po-
sition as a top destination for conferences and events.
“In the past, people chose San Antonio - even going
back to the original convention center - because every-
thing works well, here. We have 14,000 hotel rooms in
the downtown area and over 9,000 of those are within
walking distance of the Convention Center. And they’re
connected by the world-famous River Walk.” he says.
“But we’ve created something really special - architec-
