Daniela Cataño, right, cracks a cascarón on Monica Duck’s head during the opening night of A Night In Old San Antonio at La Villita on April 23, 2024 in San Antonio. The Conservation Society of San Antonio decided this week to cancel its license agreement with the city to host NIOSA at the historic village downtown.
Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News
The Conservation Society of San Antonio canceled its contract with the city to rent La Villita for A Night in Old San Antonio, casting even more doubt over the future of the popular Fiesta event.
The nonprofit runs NIOSA but announced Sept. 16 that it would suspend the event in 2027 because of financial difficulties.
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The Conservation Society asked the city this week to end its license agreement to use the historic arts village downtown for the four-day celebration.
The City Council approved the contract in March. Under the terms of the deal, the city was to lease La Villita to the Conservation Society for NIOSA for 10 years, with the option to extend the agreement by another 10 years. The nonprofit would pay a rental fee starting at $195,000 and increasing annually, spending a total of $2.1 million through 2035.
“The Conservation Society fully supports the city’s efforts to revitalize and redevelop this historic property, so it can be enjoyed by all,” Betty Bueché, the organization’s president, said in a statement. “We support efforts by historic property owners who improve their properties and keep them relevant, useful and accessible because it helps preserve them.”
Dive deeper: NIOSA is canceled. Now a fight is raging over why.
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In a letter Wednesday to Bueché, obtained by the San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio chief downtown officer Shanon Shea Miller said the city would waive a requirement to provide nine months written notice of the agreement’s cancellation.
“The city is open to discussing the future plans and needs of NIOSA when you feel the time is appropriate,” Miller wrote.
The Conservation Society’s decision to scrap the deal is a blow to NIOSA volunteers and attendees who are worried that giving up La Villita spells an end for NIOSA. They’re concerned other organizations will take over the space. The celebration has been held at the downtown village since 1948 and is one of Fiesta’s largest events.
Listen to the latest episode of ENside Politics: R.I.P. NIOSA?
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The event used to be a major fundraiser for the Conservation Society and its work protecting historic buildings, but Bueché said NIOSA has lost $1.4 million over the past four years because of declining attendance and the increasing costs of security, food and alcohol.
She also said the nonprofit was losing part of the footprint of La Villita because the round Villita Assembly Building is owned by a private firm and Chef Johnny Hernandez plans to open several restaurants in Maverick Plaza. But the city has disputed that characterization, saying the same amount of space is available for NIOSA.
The Assembly Building said they want it to be used for the event long-term, after they complete renovations to turn the facility into a food hall.
More than 6,000 volunteers put on NIOSA every year. Many of them have said they want to look at ways to make NIOSA financially viable, such as seeking sponsorships and increasing marketing. But Bueché has said the options being floated wouldn’t be enough to keep the event afloat.
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Related: Anger flares at Conservation Society meeting over NIOSA decision
Volunteers and residents also are frustrated by what they see as a lack of transparency about the numbers the Conservation Society has cited. The nonprofit has not publicly shared a breakdown of the losses nor a copy of an audit Bueché said it received last summer laying out NIOSA’s finances.
The Conservation Society operates three entities, and its main arm reported losses for five of the past seven fiscal years, according to tax filings. The organization’s foundation also posted losses for five of the past seven years, and a nonprofit created to secure permits to sell alcohol at NIOSA turned a profit in 2023 but lost money the next two years.
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