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Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. WW-1074 County Attorney Harris County Re: Validity of lease contract Houston, Texas entered into by and between the County of Harris and Houston Dear Mr. ~Resweber: Sports Association, Inc. Your request for ,an opinion on the above subject matter asks the following questions: "1. Does Harris County and Harris County Board of Park Commissioners have the authority to enter into thenattached Cbntract with the Houston Sports-Atisoclatlon,Inc. to operate the Harris County Sports Stadlti?. "2. Does the attached Contract violate Art. 3; "' Sec. 52, and Art. 11, Sec. 3, of the Texas Con-' stltution?' ~ Cm the 29th day of May, 1961, the contract in qvestlon _ was executed by the County Judge of Harrls County, acting pursuant to an order of the Commlssloners' Court of Harris County, the Board of Park Commissioners; created pursuant to the provisions of Article 6C79e, Vernon's Civil Statutes, and the Houston Sports Association, Inc. The contract furnished with your request consists of 56 pages with numerous prdvlslons concerning various obligations of the parties and therefore, for the purposes of this opinion, we will summarize the pertinent provisions which relate to your question. As stated In the lease agreement, this contract was enter- ed into for the reason that the "County, pursuant to the man- date of the voters of Harris County, Texas, at a special election held on January 31, 1961, 1s desirous of constructing, owning and having operated, a stadium of the nature hereln- after ldentlfled,upon the Leased Premises, for the use, welfare, enjoyment, entertainment and convenience of the citizens of the county." Hon. Joe Resweber, page 2 (WW 1074) Under the January lg6l election, the County was authorized and empowered to Issue and sell general obligation bonds as follows: (1) County Park Bonds In the amount of $3,000,000 to be used primarily In the acquisition of the land described as the Leased Premises, and (2) County Park Bonds In the ambmt of $15,000,000 to be used In the construction and completion of the stadium, Including the building, dome and alr:cotid:ltlon- lng. The County, under this agreement, leases to the Houston Sports Association the property described therein for.conslder- atlon of sufficient rentper year as will equal the amount which will be required by the County of Harris to make pay- ments under the amortization schedule on the $15,000,000 bonds aforesaid and the Houston Sports Association acquires "the exclusive right to possess, use, occupy and control the Leased Premises" during the term of the lease. The commissioners' court Is a court of limited jurlsdlct- ion and has only such powers as are conferred upon it by the Constitution or statutes offthis State, either by express terms or by necessary implication." Childress County,.viState, 127 343,
92 S.W. 261011 (1936); Hill Sterrett
252 S.W.2d 766(Clv. App. 1952, error ref., n.r.eY'. on Rosinberg j R. er v v. Lovett,
173 S.W. 508(Clv.App. error rei.) p . Hall, 2tm S.W. 289 (Clv. App. Sections 1 and 4 of Article 6081e, Vernon's Civil Statutes. provided as follows: "Sec. 1. That any county.or any Incorporated city of this State, either Independently or incoopera- tlon wlth.each other, or with the Texas estate Parks Board, may acquire byegift or purchase or by,&nde&ation proceedings, lands to be used for.pub1l.cparks and playgrounds, such lands to be situated In any locality In this State and In any slzed,ttiactsdeemed suitable by the governing body of the city or county acquiring same; provided, however, that la?ds to be acquired by any such city or county for said purposes may be, In the discretion of the governing body thereof, situated within the State, either within or without the boundary 1Mts of said county and within the llmlts of said county wherein said city lies or Is situated." "Sec. 4. The management in charge of any park created by authority of this Act shall have the right to sell and lease concessions for the establishment and operation of such amusements, stores, filling stations and all such other concerrs are are consls- tent with the operation of a public park, the proceeds Hon. Joe Resweber, page 3 (WW 107&j of such sales and rentals to be used for,the lmprove- ment and operation of the park,." Relating to county park properties and facilities, Sections 9 and 10 of Article 6079e, V.C.S., authorize the Park .Board,with the approval of the Commissioners' Cotit, to enter.lnto any.contract, lease or other agreement connect- ed with or Incidental to or In any manner affecting the acqulsl- tlon financing, construction, equipment, maintenance or opera-, tlon of~any facility or facilities located on or to be located on or pertaining to any park or parks admlnlstered,by the Board and any such contract, lease or other agreement may be for such length or.perlod of time and upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed therein. Section 12 of Article 607ge recognizes as a park purpose the construction of "stadla, coliseums, audltorlums, athletic fiel@,pavlllons and bulld- lngs and grounds for assembly, togetherwith p&king faclllt+es or other improvements Incidental thereto." The park.under ooniideratlon, ,includlng,thest&d+um, Is specifically to,be used for,'sportlng events, rodeos, '.,. festivals, fairs, reor,eationalactivities of all klnds,.coh- certs, conventions and civic events of all kinds" 'in tiddl- .. tlon to the playing and conducting of professional baseball. and football games. In City of Fort Worth v. Barlow,.313 S.W. 2d 966 (Clv. App. 1958, error ref., n.r.e.) the,court stated: 'In the light of the law, as followed In the above cited cases, the city bad the legal right to enter Into the lease contract with Reach Company. The lease obligated the Beach Company to do, in the public Interest, what the city could have done through its own servants. The lease was not Illegal. . . .ll In City of Fort Worth v.
Barlow, supra, the lease agreement referred t b the above quote conaerned leasing by the city of a sw&'beach, whereby the Beach Company was obligated to make the area an outstanding swlrmnlngcenter. Under the authority of City of Fort Worth v. Barlow, assuming that the County of fEarrlshas the authority to con- struct the stadium In question, It Is our opinion that the lease agreement executed May 29th, 1961, obligates the Houston Hon. Joe Resweber, page 4 (WW 1074) Sports Association to do in the public interest what the County could have done through Its own servant8 and, In the event that the County Is authorized to construct the stadium In ques- tion for the purposes stated above, the lease Is legal. There- fore the question resented Is whether, pursuant to the provls- Ions of Articles t&e,,.and 6079e, V.C.S., the County has the authority to-construct a stadium on a park owned by the County to be used In the conduct of professional baseball and football games, sporting events, rodeos, festivals, fairs, recreational activities of all kinds, concerts, conventions and civic events of all kinds. In discussing public parks, the court stated In King v. Sheppard,
157 S.W. 26682 (Clv.App. 1941, error ref., w.o.m.); "In almost every jurisdiction, both state and federal, the courts of this country have held' that the Legislature or the Cdngrkss may make ap- propriations to purchase land and maintain publlc~ parks without any specific designation of such power In theltirespective constitutions. These decisions, although recognlzlngthat in the ,memory of m8n now living the proposition of taking land, for a compensation for public parks may have been regarded as a novel exercise of legislative power and although many things which In the Immediate past uere regarded as luxuries, or altogether unknown; l!=Y have become necessities, hold that the establishment of public parks affect the health, comfort, pleasure, taste, education, and the mental and physical health of the people, and are.thus cond=lve to the public welfare of the people. . . . .. . . I w . . as used In modern and presenttimes ln APerica the term 'park' usually signifies an open or lnclosed tract of land set apart for the recreutlon, and enjoyment of the public; or, 'In the -era1 acceptance of the term, a public park Is s8ld to be a tract of land, great or small, dediuted and maintained for the purposes of pleamre, exercise, amusement, or ornament; a place to which the public at large-may resort to fearrecreation, air, and light.'. . ." and held that the Legislature was authorized to make an appro- priation M the purchase of the land now constituting the Big Bend I&tlonal Park and to transfer It to the United States government. Hon. Joe Resweber, page 5 (WW-1074) Wketilse, In Conley v. Daughters of the Republic,
106 Tex. 80,
156 S.W. 197(1913), the court held that the State had the authority tomacquire title to the Alamo property and to place that property In the'custody of the Daughters of the Republic, a private corporation. In Clty~of Dallas v. George, Tex. 169, S.W. 2d 473, ny whe thxldlty of a &tract be- tween the City of Dallas, State Fair of Texas and R.B. George, whereby George agreed to advance a sum of money for the use of the State Fair of Texas In building a racetrack on property belonging to the City of Dallas which the State Fair of Texas was entitled to us@ exclusively. For additional Texas cases on this question see City of Port Arthur v. Young,
337 S.W.2d 385(Clv: App. 1931, error Is v. City of Fort Worth, Tex.-,
89 S.W. 2d~ . Aqaamsl Land Co. v. City of Cape Glrardeau,
142 S.W.2d 332(Sup.Ct. of Missouri No. 2, 1940) involved an attack on the expenditure-of bond proceeds for a "public park", the erec- tion of "community building and stadium with Indoor court fcr games and community activities and for landscaping and grading the grounds, building a race track, athletic field, drives, entrances, etc." The court In that case held that such con- struction was a~proper park usage, stating: "There Is no doubt In our minds about the fact that the contemplated athletic facilities come within proper park usage. It was ruled In Miller' v. City of Columbia,
138 S.C. 343, 351,
126 S.E. 484, that an athletic stadium could not be built In a certain public park In that city, but that was because such use would violate restrictive covenants contained In the private grant by which the park was dedicated. In the Instant case the large arena building, with a floor area of 86 feet by 126 feet, and a stage 20 feet by 60 feet, Is adapted %o public speaking of an educational rellg- lous or political nature, theatrical and musical entertainments, dances and Indoor athletics. Another hall ln the building will accomodate smaller gatherings, banquets and exhibits of various kinds. We see no objection to that. . . ." For additional authorities see annotations
144 A.L.R. 487-513. Honorable Joe Re$weber, page 6 (WW-1074) In view of the foregoing authorities, it Is our opinion that the consttictlon of the stadium In question Is a proper park usage and Is within the authority of the Commissioners' Court of Harris County, pursuant to the provisions .of Artlcl~es 6081e and 607ge, Vernon's Civil Statutes. Section 52 of Article III of the Constitution of Texas provides: "The Legislature shall have no powerto authorize any county, city, town or other poll$lcal corporation or subdivision of the State to lend Its credit or to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any Individual, association or corporation what: soevfsr,or to become a stockholder In such ._ corporation, as~oclatlon or company; . .~.I!. Section 2 of A&lcle XI of the Constitution ~of Texas pro&des: 'INo county, city or other..plutilclpal corporation shall hereafter become a subscriber to the capital of any private corporation or aeeoclatlon,.or make any appropriation or donation $0 the same, eon In anywise loan Its ~,cmdlt; but thls~shall pot be construed to in any way affect any obligation heretofore under- taken pursuant to law." As noted above, the lease contract uad&conslderatlon calls for a consideration of approximately $15,000,000 and the'Houston Sports Assoclaton is obligated to do $n the public lntereat,what the County could have done through Its own servants. Therefore, the lease contract Is not In. violation of.,Sectlon52.0f Article III .of the Constitution of Texas. City of Fort Worth v. Barlo& sunra. In mv. T8X. 338 s.w.za 133 (1960), the City of Beaumont aTthe Stx'of Texas agreed to finance the removal of a span of railroad from Its location In the city to another. The City was to pay all expenses of the project In excess of $550,000 and the State was to have the work done and was to contribute $550,000 toward the.expense. Certain taxpayers sought to lnvalldate~the contract. The court held, In construing the provlslosn of Section 3 of ,,! Honorable Joe Resweber, page 7 (WW-1074). Article XI or the Constitution of Texas: " . . .'Under the Contititutionof 1869 and a statute enacted by the Legislature In 1871, the counties and munlclpalltles of Texas were'-authorizedto aid such construc- tion by taking stock In and making loans or donations to railroad companies. The primary purpose of Article XI, Section 3, Is to deprive these political subdivisions of that power. It does not prohibit all business dealings with private corporations and asso- ciations, but mlnlclpal funds or credit may not be used simply to obtain for the community and Its citizens the general benefits resulting from the operation of such an enterprise. On the other hand an expenditure for the credit accomplishment of a legitimate public and municipal purpose Is not rendered unlawful by the fact that a prlvaiely owned business may be benefited thereby. The contract In question does not seek to have'th.e'. County become a subscriber to the capital stock of any.prl- vate corporation 43or'to make any appropriation br donat+ to any private corporation nor otherwise loan Its credit. On the contrary, the:County of Harris Is receiving a valuable consideration from the Houston.Sp6rts Association and.the Houston Sports Association Is obligated to carry out the public purpose:.here&oforestated. It Is, therefore, our opinion that the contract In question does not violate the provisions of Section 3 of Articl8 XI of the Constitution Of 'FeXaS. The lease contract executed by the County of Harris and the Houston Sports Association, Inc., Wh8r8bJrthe County Of HarPi leases t0 Houston SpOtiS A88OCiatiOn a StadiUUl located On COUnty owned property for the purpose of conducting therein sporting events, rodeos, festivals, fairs, recreational activities of all kinds, Honorable Joe Resweber, page 8 (WW-1074). concerts, conventionsand civic events of all kinds, in addition to the playing and conducting of professional .baseballand football games, Is valid. Yours very truly, WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas Assistant JR:ms:mfh APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE BY W. V. Geppert, Chairman Milton Richardson Houghton Brownlee, Jr. Sam Wilson Llnward Shivers REVIEWDFORTHEiATTORNEYGENERAL BY: Morgan Neesbltt.
Document Info
Docket Number: WW-1074
Judges: Will Wilson
Filed Date: 7/2/1961
Precedential Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 2/18/2017