Project Marvel update: How local San Antonio businesses may be impacted

Project Marvel update: How local San Antonio businesses may be impacted

It’s time for your weekly Project Marvel update here on Lockdown Spurs. This time we’re going to get the viewpoint from local businesses. You are Locked on Spurs, your daily San Antonio Spurs podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back to Locked On Spurs, the lock on NBA network. I’m your host, Jeff Garcia, Spurs writer for Ken 5 San Antonio. Glad to have you back. Hope you’re having a great day and as always we thank you for making lockdown on SP your person listen each and every day free and available we get podcast i Spotify plus app YouTube you know what to do what’s that subscribe ASAP thanks for being the everydayers that you are and perfect timing too training camp has begun yeah exciting times the season is right around the corner still got to go through preeason more training camp days but nevertheless it will be here regular season is just upon us so hang on tight but we’re going to take a break from the x’s and o’s on the court about things off the court. As y’all know, every week we give you a Project Marvel update. Whether it’s from Cops Metro and why they feel it’s a bad deal to those who feel it’s a good deal. From ex Mayor Ron Nuremberg to Spurs political consultants. Yeah, we make sure all bases are covered here. And we’re going to continue doing that here on Lockdown Spurs by getting the business view of it. Yeah, we hear a lot about how it’s going to help the positively and impact positively the local businesses whether it’s downtown or just city of San Antonio as a whole. But in what way could Project Marvel do that? How can it help local business grow and thrive with a freaking entertainment district? I mean, that’s going to be awesome. So, I couldn’t think of a better person to represent local San Antonio business, the one of the best around the city. She is well known. She is wellliked. A good friend of mine. Let’s go ahead and bring her on. She is April Ans with Ans Motor. April, first of all, thank you so much for jumping on Lockdown Spurs. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me, Jeeoff. I’m really excited about being here. Yeah, I’m I’m excited. Yeah. And by the way, I also feel it’s well overdue as well, right? I know. We’ve been going back and forth on Twitterx for I can’t tell you how long. Well, you go back as we you and I go back to my former stomping ground or at the other station here in San Antonio. The other station. Yeah, the other station. Before I jump to uh Ken’s five. So that’s how far back April and I go. So but I mean since then I’ve got to know April very well. Um you know just great great person all around. But as I mentioned when it comes to local businesses you can’t get a bigger name than the Anzer name and that’s why she’s here. So uh April before we dive in um season’s about to start. Are you excited? I’m really pumped. We actually changed our seats for this year. Um, we’ve got a couple of club seats and we have two somewhere else. So, I’m Yeah, I’m really excited about the experience this year and getting in there and uh, you know, seeing all of our new players and I’ve already picked out all the games that I’m for sure going to and then the rest with the rest of our team at Team Ants to make sure everybody has some fun. You didn’t try out for the Wimby’s fanatical span section. I thought for sure you’d be up there. No, if anything, I’d be I’m I’m edging up on silver sneaker status. So, that’s probably what the next thing I try out for is silver sneakers. You know what’s bad? It’s I’m at the point now where I when I go like to Ross and I tell the cashier, uh, what age is senior citizen? And then they say 55 or up. I go, okay, I’m still good. I’m still good. I’m not there yet. This summer I got a whole bunch of grays coming in right up here. And I was like, I wonder what you have to do to qualify for silver sneakers. This must be enough, right? This must be it. So, I just want to get I was a junior silver dancer. Never got to be a silver dancer. I figured just skip right up. Silver sneakers, here we come. Look at you. Yeah. Get promoted to the top of the line. Silver sneakers. I I I didn’t even know they were still around. Silver sneakers. You know what? I don’t know if they’re still around, but I can tell that I have a high interest in it. Um, and I’ve been trying to get UTSA to be do something like some alumni something or other where I can dance at halftime. Any reason to dance? There you go. Yeah, exactly. All right. Well, April, let’s go ahead and dive into it. Uh, let’s have a chat about this. So, I just just for everybody else that are tuning in, April’s well versed on this, as am I. But if you still don’t understand what Project Marvel is, I’m going to give you just a quick and dirty. I’ll probably release some stuff out, but basically this is it. It’s an entire plan to pretty much redo, revitalize the downtown area uh of San Antonio for those who are familiar San Antonio or just watched on TV or seen that tower that’s always showing during the Spurs games in downtown. That’s the area, right? So, that whole area complex is going to be revitalized and it includes a Spurs arena. Let’s make it very clear. It is not just about a Spurs arena. It’s a piece of an entire district which also includes revitalizing where the Spurs currently play right now. Frostbank Center, it’s on the east side. Pretty much there’s a again for those who don’t live in San Antonio, there’s actually another kind of arenaish next to the Frostbank Center. It’s called uh Freeman Coliseum. Basically, they want to revitalize that area. So, it’s an entire plan. And I think April, let’s go to dive venture. That’s where some people get tripped up. A lot of people think it’s just a Spurs arena and it’s not, is it? Not at all. Not at all. And I I feel like we’ve almost been a little bit behind on this project as the the longer we wait to do stuff, the more expensive these types of projects become. And we’ll we’re getting left behind by other cities. Uh they’re capturing uh tourists and conventions uh that we could be doing right now, especially with the culture in San Antonio. Um and so this is definitely more than just the arena. It would be everything in between the arena, an amphitheater, convention center, hotels. Uh this is a this is a really big deal, but you have to look at the arena as as just the anchor, right? And then you have all of these arms that come right off of it. Uh that it that it helps feed really. And I think that’s what people are missing is exactly what you’re saying. Exactly. And and if you want to get a little bit more just micro about this as well, some of the numbers that y’all probably hear about is, you know, zero tax well zero new tax dollars to residents. It’ll be funded via tourism dollars. So basically hotel taxes, car rental taxes, think that that kind of money used to fund this thing. And again, um another area that people get tripped up on is this like, oh well, it’s going to impact the San Antonio general fund. Oh, you know, I was going to take away from, you know, fixing up streets and, you know, uh, helping the community and that money would never go there. So, yeah. Exactly. Do you want to explain to everybody about that? Yeah, absolutely. So, this fund, it goes to things like this in the development of San Antonio. They could not be reallocated to a pothole. Uh, and I know that’s put in its simplest forms. However, imagine this. Imagine this district gets built. Now you’ve got additional sales tax, not just from the stores because you’re just repurposing their location, but now you have all these extra restaurants that are being populated. You have extra you have the convention center is expanded. So now we have to hold additional conventions in there simultaneously, which we couldn’t do before. Now you have more heads in beds and hotels. And so guess what? 1% of the sales tax from the can of soda you buy, that extra sales tax that does go to the fund. And guess what? That can pay for a pothole. So essentially, if these monies are used for this e economic generation, which will then generate sales tax, now we can fix your pothole, right? And that’s the best way I can put that in a simple form. Um the other thing though, uh which people don’t understand is is this is a city leased building, right? In city leased areas. Now that lease money, guess what is coming back? Um, so all that money if a restaurant goes in there or some sort of salon, I I don’t know what’s going to populate this area, clothing store, high-end clothing store, these people are paying uh a lease, right? Now, that money is coming back to the city that goes back into repayment as well. So, there’s all of these additional generators for money to come back, which is uh taking care of of that bond or that investment or whatever it is in Project Marble. But it’s almost a win. It It’s a win-win. Um I really don’t I frankly don’t see the downside to this. I actually wish that it probably hadn’t gone to where it did. The problem where of where Frostbank is now is that the way our city council is structured, the way our even our county is structured is you have some overturn of people. A project like where we put it and then to promise to write revitalize an area requires people to stay in their positions for a long time. That way they get to follow up. They get to ensure that it’s there. That doesn’t happen often enough. Often times you have new people, new people, new people and then a plan gets left behind. But when you put something in the heart of San Antonio in downtown that feeds itself, uh the amount of attention that you have to put to it, it it’s easier to focus on. It’s right there. It’s it’s like the Riverwalk. Uh you can’t ignore it. Um and so, as you can see, I’m really excited about this plan. Um but don’t worry, uh the Freeman Coliseum Frostbank is not going to get left behind. As a matter of fact, the auto dealers are even looking to move our auto show to the Freement Coliseum every single year from here on out. So, I know other folks like me are looking to do the same and make that same investment um like our auto show group. So, those guys are going to be able to that area will be able to come along as well. Um, but there’s there’s so much opportunity between sales tax and uh the leases that that we’ll be able to recoup dollars from uh that this is almost a a no-brainer idea and then those money is generated then those do go in the funds where we can improve San Antonio. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with the can’t miss offer right now. New customers can bet just five bucks and if your bet wins, you’ll get 300 bucks in bonus special fees across the app. You’ll love FanDuel because it’s just fits everything you need. You can build a same game parlay, do player props, jump into live action as a season as the action unfolds. Make every moment more exciting whether you’re watching your team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. Quick, easy. The best way to add a little more energy to Sundays. Cowboys have started their g their season. Texans are starting their season. So, might as well jump in FanDuel right now. You ready to play? Download the Fando app right now by visiting fando.com to get started. That’s fando.com to place your first $5 bet. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. Have have you been surprised? We’ll get to the the local business aspect in just a few minutes, but have you been surprised about the amount of push back there’s been? And again, not just from the mayor who had initially wanted a a strategic pause, but there other residents too that are pushing back. I I live in the downtown area and uh very close to the King Williams district and I see the no Project Marvel signs. Are you surprised by this? Yeah. Yes. And at first I was surprised and then I ended up gathering that there was a whole lot of misinformation like what you said, why this should be used to fix the streets. Well, it can’t be used to fix the streets. it was never set up that way. Uh so this this is where it it would need to go. Um so people are thinking in in that they think their property taxes are going to go up or if if something happens uh to the bond negatively then the taxpayers will be on the hook. But the fact that it’s an automatic repayment through the leases, I I don’t see how that would happen. Um, I really don’t, especially with the strength of of downtown San Antonio and what the convention center uh remodel will do, what the Almo Dome remodel will do, what an amphitheater will redo. Right. Uh, or what is that? They’re going to have a little uh land bridge. Land bridge. Yeah, the land bridge. Yeah, you can see it on your screen right now, everybody. Yeah, I’ve heard the name Papovich Way for little, right? I mean, I know a lot of people are going to like that. So, absolutely no. Do I even see taxpayers ever floating this bill via property tax their any sort of their own tax? This is all visitors tax that we’re all used to. And we see every every city you ever go to. Go to New York City, go to Dallas, go wherever. Stay stay at the hotel, you’ll see these types of things on everybody. So it it will not affect the person who lives here, has roots here, right? Um, and so and and and so I see I see it from that standpoint. And I’ve already lost my place, Jess. This we were talking. Okay. Yeah, you get you get you get all Yeah, I see you getting fired up for this topic. I do. I do. I do get fired up. Um, and misinformation, right? That’s what we were talking about. And I believe that there’s been misinformation and then people who don’t want this to happen for whatever reason, they they continue with that misinformation. Um there’s also the narrative that this is only helping the the 1enters right and so people does people assume if it’s only helping the 1enters then it must have a negative effect for me right but it’s not only helping the 1enters and frankly I wouldn’t support this if it only helped that demographic my business let’s not even think of this altruistically oh it’ll be better for San Antonio let’s look at this selfishly since everybody wants to look at it from that lens, right? So, let’s be selfish. I only do well in in Sierra Auto Group if everybody in in San Antonio does well. I sell pre-owned vehicles that are 6,000, $7,000, $10,000. I don’t own luxury vehicle brands. I don’t have Lexus. I don’t have Mercedes. I need folks I need the everyday working person who is out there working hard for their family to better their position in lives to be able to afford these types of vehicles in order for my folks who are working for us to be able to afford the same thing for themselves. Um and with without that strong uh working class that we have in San Antonio, I’m not going to do as well as I could possibly do. So, even to look at it from a selfish standpoint, right, which I’m not trying to look at, but it seems to be the best way for everybody else to understand. Um, I have to believe this will benefit those folks as well. I have to believe that there’ll be more jobs for them downtown by the Riverwalk. Uh, I don’t know if it’s janitorial. Maybe it’ll be even more highpaying jobs, more opportunities to be promoted to manager of a clothing store, more opportunities to open their mom and pop uh, family shops and have their own business. Uh, I really believe that these things are possible and the folks that make up all of San Antonio will absolutely benefit. And I need them to benefit. I need them to do well. Um, and so does the rest of team anira. So, even coming from a a purely selfish standpoint, uh it’s got it’s got to be a win for everybody and I absolutely believe it is. We’re talking with April with the Ansero Auto Group and the only person in San Antonio ever dunk on Wimayama. Yeah. Yeah. He’s the only one who ever did that. I don’t know how you did it, but you did it, April. So, just Yeah. So, the that video’s secret. Nobody’s ever seen it yet. Nobody’s ever seen it, but it’s there. It’s there. Yeah, it’s there. I haven’t even seen it either. It’s just just that’s what the streets are saying. I haven’t seen it either, but I know there we’re talking about Project Marvel, giving you the weekly update. And uh today’s update, we’re just getting the local business aspect of it. We’ve seen a lot of the kind of the macro view of it. Now we’re getting a little bit into the weeds now and the business side of things as well. And don’t forget, check out uh and go if you live in San Antonio especially, go to visit uh one of the Ansira Auto Group uh lots. April is going to brag about that in uh just a few minutes here on Loft on Spurs. You kind of started hinting towards it, talking about how it’ll project Marvel could potentially impact you and your business saying like, you know, you need that, but give us kind of a overall view of the business side. Obviously, you’re well connected. You you you rub shoulders with some of the other businesses here in San Antonio. What is the vibe among y’all? Um, the vibe that I get mostly among businesses, not all of them, there are a few that that don’t, but I think that they’re a little jaded about the last location, the arena went. And I, to be honest, that’s why um that, but most of us are in favor of Project Marble, because we just want to see the success of San Antonio. We want to see our downtown do well. We don’t want to get left behind. Uh, but we have so much to offer, such unique culture. uh for people to come down and check out and visit San Antonio and get get to experience what what we are and our vibe and and shoot if the Spurs are the anchor of that, so be it. I don’t mind. I you know Yeah, exactly. But I mean, we’ve also got the perfect place for people to visit as seen by the uh Almobile. Always a sold out event. Uh multiple final fours, men and women, multiple final fours. uh large swimming events that have bu uh brought uh Caleb Drexel and uh Michael Phelps swam up here at the north north side uh pool. So we this is us. This is who we are. We’re we’re a shining sports town with a lot of cultural vibe to hand out. Yeah. Yeah. I you know I want to go back to what your point you said earlier when you’re talking about hey you visit New York City or you know I used to live in New York City for close to 20 years and let me tell you this what a highlight for me is the the Brooklyn Arena the Barklay Center that was an entertainment sports district I I still can see it in my mind’s eye right now just how incredible it was and you’re right that Barklay Center was the anchor it was to the point where I had a friend of mine who went to the NBA draft uh based in San Antonio he texted me. He’s like, “Where do I go?” Like, it was like so brand new to him. Like, “How do I navigate? Like, where where are the good spots to go to around the arena?” Yeah. I don’t get those type of messages in San Antonio. April, no, you you don’t. And I frankly I feel like everybody in San Antonio needs to take field trips because my buddy Jason Min who does the ESPN radio show if you’re in town. Um he went to a concert this weekend and I can’t tell you what city it was but he specifically said in the video he was like this is what I imagine Project Marva to be. And it was a connected area with endless restaurants and shopping at stores and music and benches outside with uh you know green spaces for people to gather in. And I was like that’s it. And uh and granted I went to Dallas and that’s anchored by uh two sport sporting areas but I went into um a little restaurant area called I wouldn’t call it little actually it’s called Texas Live and it’s massive. It’s they have all the sports sitting up there down these giant TVs where people are gathering for the games when their team is out of town to watch together there. Uh different restaurants in this venue. Shopping downstairs, right? Um I mean I was I was blown away and I wanted to grab it and just transplant it right in between the Almo Dome and the new Frostbank Center. I was like this would be gang busters. So Oh, it will be. Yeah. So, I feel like people need to take field trips or go online and look up uh entertainment districts and then they’ll understand when once they can see the concept uh of what it looks like and what it would bring. I think they they’d better understand for sure. Pelaton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Pelaton Cross Training Tread Plus powered by Pelaton IQ is our most advanced equipment yet. Designed to give you real-time guidance and endless ways to improve and move whether you’re running, lifting, cross trainining with your favorite instructors. This is training reimagined. Pelaton is built for breakthroughs with tools that help you plan, stay motivated, reach peak performance. Gove Pelaton IQ system offers real-time strength coaching, tracks your reps, suggest the right weights, correct your form, making every rep safer and smarter. Swivel screen is a gamecher. You can go from running on the tread plus to strength training without missing a beat. Personalized class recommendations keep you engaged. You get workouts related to your vibe and energy level each week. So let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Pelaton Cross Training Tread Plus today at onepelon.com. You know, and to be fair, April, uh we look at some of the what those that are against Project Marvel have to say. I I had somebody come on uh recently last week from Cops Metro. They give their viewpoint of why, you know, this is a bad deal. And the first, you know, I’m paraphrasing here. I know he’s probably watching right now, so excuse me if I, you know, you don’t paraphrase it the right way, but basically, in a nutshell, it was this deal is almost too good to be true. You never get something free in life. And what he’s referring to is the zero new taxes on local residents. and kind of look at the number structure. He was kind of showing slides of the term sheet and the economic impact. It’s not free. He’s right. It’s not free. No one said it was free. No. I mean, there is no taxes. Uh property taxes will not go up as a result of it. Um or any other tax that a I guess a local person would have to encounter. Sales taxes won’t even go up. Um that one that the city gets 1% that 1% stays the same. What we hope is is that more people come down here because of everything we build and so there’s more sales tax generated, but not an increase in the sales tax itself. Right. Right. Um and and I frankly I think we’re maxed out anyways on how high we can go on sales tax in Texas anyway. So I I don’t think there’s room to increase it anyways. Um but it’s not the visitors are paying for it. That’s who’s paying for it. That is not free. Visitors are paying for it. Um and then the Spurs in a sense as well as other tenants are also repaying for it because they’ll be making those lease payments, right? And so they’ll be making those lease payments which the city will be able to capture and you know and it’ll go back into paying off this um right this debt. So, I I mean it is not free, but it is but it’s not our local taxpayers who are paying it. Unless, okay, unless they have a station downtown, right? Okay. You You decide you’re not sleeping in your own home and you want to stay downtown, it’s going to be in the tax of that hotel room. That’s the extent of it. Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, that’s that’s how I see it. So, it’s not free, but it’s they’re misguided on who’s paying for it. Exactly. And then you hear, you know, the Spurs making an obligation slash commitment to paying the overruns on the construction of that. The cities and the slash residents are are not going to do that as well. You know, Abra, one big question I wanted to ask you is this. As a businesswoman yourself, when you first saw the term sleep sheet slasheconomic plan, all that good stuff, from the business lens, were you kind of blown away? Were you were you a little shocked at this at what the Spurs were committing to? Honestly, I thought it was really, really, really good deal. It was a really It to me it was a really good deal. I um you know, I I love having the Spurs here. San Antonio benefits from the Spurs. San Antonio loves the Spurs. there’s a good vibe around it. Um, and I think they’re showing their appreciation because I I think if another city were to raise their hand, say, you know, Las Vegas comes to mind easily, right? Um, that they Vegas would put more up on the plate for them. Oh, for sure. I I really think that, but I think the Spurs like being part of San Antonio. love. But you saw that by all the veterans or alumni, I don’t know what you want to call them, veterans or alumni of the Spurs that came and spoke at city hall, right? How they could have made anywhere their home and they’ve all decided to make this their home. Um, you know, you see Bruce Bowen all the time, you see Elliot, Duncan. Um, so, uh, you know, I think I I think other cities would offer them more to move. Um, so it is pretty impressive what what we’ve got here. And here’s the other thing too. Uh, again, some of those that are on the opposite end of Project Marvel against it, they the one of the arguments is ticket affordability. Sure. Okay, fine, Spurs. This arena goes up. It’s downtown. Yay. But how can residents go in and pay for the game? They’re anticipating higher ticket costs. Now, the Spurs have committed, at least in a term sheet, that uh x amount of seats will be a fairly reasonable cost. I I don’t have the number here. I think it’s about $25ish. Um if the new arena does get made, but some interesting, but since that uh interview I had last week on our project Marvel update, I got some updated stats slashinformation that I wanted to share with you and everybody else here. Um over the last four years, uh the Spurs have averaged about 1,500 tickets per game priced at $25 or less. And then on top of that, 400 to 500 tickets per game are averaging $12 or less. And then in the NBA, the Spurs rank in the top 1% of teams for affordable ticket availability. I have I I don’t That’s wild. That’s wild, right? Yeah. And wild. Yeah, that’s that’s absolutely wild. Uh what I did not know that stat and actually I I love it. I absolutely love that stat. So, and and and doesn’t that kind of lend to the argument for those that are on the pro project Marvel side that kind of if you build it, they will come. I mean, think about it. You you brand new arena downtown, portable tickets. Yeah. a good chunk of those fans that maybe Okay, fine. Maybe they cannot afford a courtside seat or a or a suite, but the experience will still be readily available. Your thoughts? Yeah. No, and the great news, the great thing about a basketball arena is because it’s it’s so much smaller that the value of that ticket, I feel like as opposed to even a a football arena, it you’re it’s more intimate. You’re closer to the players. You can see everything that’s going on. Um, so it’s really cool to know, man, that that I’m really excited that you just told me that. Um, because to know that San Antonio can experience, you know, something that they’re a part of. And by a part of, I mean just voting for, right? I’m not talking um the investment. We’ve gone over this. This is not a sales tax or a property tax. This is visitor tax, right? And then and then we’re talking about recouping some money from the leases that the city will also get. Um and so the just be they’ll be be able to see say I’m a part of this because I voted for it which is really cool. Um and they can go experience what they voted for because of the affordability of it. I think that’s pretty neat. I think that’s pretty neat. you mentioned um that there are some businesses in San Antonio that are leaning towards ah you know this ain’t good you know this is not a good thing if you they’re worried I’d say I’ I would say that they’re they’re no way they’re they’re worried right what what is their worry if you don’t mind me asking I I think um I think it’s based off of it going to the east side primarily the followup wasn’t there on making sure all of everything that was promised was met. Um, you know, I I I just I think it’s just apprehension over what was promised the last time will not be delivered again this time, you know, and it and it’s kind of funny, not funny, but it would work. It would actually behoove Frost, the Frost Centerfreeman, you know, the the rodeo organization, you know, the people there to see this team leave to go downtown because then they could be whole for them. They could turn it into something they want and that could obviously be that could be the east side’s anchor. Well, it could. It could. But I tell you what, it is going to take some people doing some major focusing on the east side, really developing the area around it to be what the intended use had been primarily. I I think they were hoping for some stores around it, for some restaurants around it to be able to be over there, make it a nice area to walk around and be in. Um there are some plans I believe to change the Freeman Coliseum to a yearround rodeo uh establishment which is pretty cool. Um Frost Bank will remain you know hosting concerts and other tenants of of that nature. Um but I hopefully um whether the Spurs move or not, somebody needs to be dialed in on that area and really that’s I believe the county’s focus uh right now is uh you know our county commissioners and judge Sakai is to hone in on that area and develop it like everybody had hoped for. And that’s I mean that’s Spurs there or not there. Um and no one can say it’s well the Spurs are here. It’ll ruin it if they leave. Well, nobody did anything while they were which is what kind of what you’re saying. So maybe now there’ll be a new initiative around there. And I Yeah, I honestly hope for that regardless what happens. Yeah, I’m leaving the leaving the photo up here. This is a mockup of what this proposed entertainment district could look like. Uh, as y’all can see, there is the land bridge that connects the the re what possibly could be a new look facelift to the Elmo Dome. You see the Spurs Arena or proposed downtown arena down there. I mean, just I mean my goodness. I mean, that just looks Yeah, I know. So, the last thing I believe that would be done is a faceelift and remodel of the Almo. Yeah, I think that’s last on the list if I’m correct. And first on the list is the um Frostbank Center as it’s currently named and then everything else is in between. Right. Convention center. Yeah. Hotels. And And if you look carefully everybody, you could actually probably see April cheering up and down for UTSA on that Lamborghin. That’s me. That’s me. Yes. In the orange. Yeah. And the bright orange. uh you know before I going to let you go and um again thank you again for your time here April but what would be your message to those that are on the fence about this project this proposed project those that are or maybe you’re leaning towards hell no we don’t want this to happen where what would your message be to them okay I’ve got I kind of have two of them the first one has to do a little bit with UTSA football and that’s a little bit of a different setup but you’ll understand where I’m coming from Okay. Um, and I’m going to quote Red Mcomes. Oh my gosh. The competitor, right? Because he said something great. He said that that UTSA football is the front porch, the welcoming center to UTSA, right? And you could almost say the Spurs could be somewhat somewhat the same in the same arena. But once you have UTSA and you’re welcoming people into the football arena, giving them a reason to all congregate, 45 to 50,000 people, you’ve re-engaged them in UTSA. And I’ve always said when when UTSA does well and that football team does well, all of a sudden people start focusing on more of UTSA. You’re like, “Welcome in, please come in.” All of a sudden other sports are doing well. Then we have our cyber security is doing well, engineering’s doing well, business schools doing well. When they’re doing well, headquarters are like, “Wow, look at over there. that great talent base uh that San Antonio has in UTSA and their football team and the entertainment maybe would put roots down there, but at the same time they look at San Antonio, okay, do they have any professional teams? Do they have any um green spaces? How about their symphony at the Tobin, what’s that like? And those things are important, but you put that down and then all of these new headquarters, they end up giving back to UTSA, but the Sulkas football. Um that’s in a nutshell. So, I look at the Spurs and Project Marvel the same way, right? We’ve got to bring people in. We’ve got to put an appetite for San Antonio uh out there because we’re like, “Hey, check this out. We have this entertainment district, but then these people stay. They spend money. They have so much fun. They decide we can have the final four here. They decide that we maybe this is a great place to have a Taylor Swift concert. We were too small or didn’t have the right venue before. So, we got passed up for Dallas and Houston. And that that lady changed GDP. I mean, she was like, you know, caused a small earthquake in Seattle. Um, and so it’s not I’m not saying this necessarily towards Taylor Swift. I’m just talking about opportunities that we would miss. Um, and this gives us more opportunities and they all end up, this is the second part of the equation is when people don’t see this giant circle like I have with UTSA football, like I have with I have a giant circle for Project Marvel because now we’re generating more sales tax just out of more people being here. So now we have better roads, more potholes fixed, all the things that people wanted to be done. But we also end up having more jobs for everybody. We have people who are working, like I said before, um they’re able to be promoted as a store manager maybe in this area. Maybe it’s their first job and they signed up to be a janitor. I don’t know. Maybe, who knows? Who knows what the opportunities are? Concessions, your own mom and pop restaurant, right? Uh the sky is the limit. And when those folks do well, the rest of the businesses do well because now they have income to spend with everybody else in San Antonio. Um, so it’s a big circle really that just in it’s an opportunity to invite people in to see San Antonio, but then to help the base of San Antonio, which ends up helping everybody and none of it is is because we’ve raised taxes on individuals or property. Absolutely. She is April Ana with the Ansero Auto Group. April, you know, we’ve been mentioning Ansero Auto Group uh the whole show. Time for you to brag about it. What’s going on over there? Why should go people Why should people say to go visit you in the lots? All that good stuff. Oh, awesome. Yeah. Well, my dad started in 1972 downtown on Martin and Flores and he was the first Hispanic owner of a Chevrolet dealership at the United States. Yay. Um he says he would never be where he is without the people of San Antonio and his competitor. So, the first people to help uh my dad, this is where I get a lot of my mindset from like Pop Gun, Jimmy Cavender, um they were all like, “Ernesto, how can we help you be successful?” Um because they really felt if we were all successful together. Uh it would actually help San Antonio a as a whole, right? Um and so to this day, I’m friends with uh the majority of the dealers in in the city and I love it. Um, I’d like to think that we have high integrity, honest, low prices, but that sounds like a car dealer pitch. Um, but it’s true. I like to, even if it’s an issue someone’s having at another dealer, I actually return to that owner, to that whoever operates that dealership, and I’m like, I’ve brought you this customer, they’re having an issue, and I let them solve it. I don’t talk bad about that dealer. Um, I don’t say, you should come here. that dealer did something off you because I want all dealers to have a good look. I I feel like we sink or swim together because no one ever wants to buy a car because they’re afraid of how it’s going to go. And I feel that I help mitigate some of that or solve some of it by letting each dealer know if there’s an issue with someone for them and them being able to fix it. Um, but really I’m an open book. You can find me on Facebook or Instagram. Hardly on Tik Tok on X. Yeah, I’m the older demographic. So, but we have we have 14 stores at anier.com. So, that’s it. And and you are very heavily involved supporting UTSA. I I mean, seriously, I think you guys are just heads above the rest when it comes to supporting the Road Runners. Yeah. Well, I told you like the my little circle of how I think it actually benefits absolutely everyone. I think when UTSA does well and in a former fashion that it really does benefit San Antonio as a whole and all those people who are going to come rushing to live in San Antonio, they’re all going to need cars. So there you go. There you go. What a better spot to go to than NC Auto Group. Yeah. April, again, thank you. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule. I appreciate it. Yes, this was long overdue. Again, everybody, I’ve known April for years, years, years, but I’m glad she’s here. I’m glad she took time out of schedule to help educate everybody on Project Marvel as well as give the business side view, the lens of what’s happening. Again, make sure to follow April on uh X. We’ll say X. How about that? Just uh X now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just go just get in there, search April, give her a follow. Uh it’s just a great follow, especially when it comes to UTSA football. Oh my god. Yeah. She’s all about everybody. Be I warned y’all. I warned you. Just a heads up on that. And again, thank you, April. Appreciate it. Everybody else, we thank you all for making life your first listen each and every day. Free and available wherever we get podcast, iTunes, Spotify, Kens, Plus app, YouTube. You know what to do. Go subscribe ASAP. We’ll be back tomorrow with training camp well underway. So, uh, yeah, looking forward to that. So, for April and Sarah, I am Jeff Garcia. We’re going to put a lock in this episode of Lockdown Spurs. [Music] [Music]

Project Marvel: San Antonio’s game-changing entertainment district plus Spurs arena. Will it revolutionize the city’s economy?

A proposed $1 billion development aims to transform downtown San Antonio with a new San Antonio Spurs arena, convention center, and entertainment hub.

Host Jeff Garcia and local business leader April Ancira of the Ancira Auto Group break down the project’s potential impact, addressing concerns about funding and the economic benefits it will bring. They explore how Project Marvel could boost tourism, create jobs, and help keep the Spurs in San Antonio in the long term. The discussion covers ticket affordability, misconceptions about taxpayer costs, and the vision for a world-class destination rivaling other major cities.

Tune in for an insider’s perspective on San Antonio’s ambitious plan to become an entertainment powerhouse.

0:00 Intro: Weekly Project Marvel update
5:32 Project Marvel more than just an arena
16:00 April Ancira on local business perspective
24:32 Spurs commitment to San Antonio impressive
28:46 Some businesses worried about Project Marvel
32:50 April’s message to those on the fence
36:37 History and values of Ancira Auto Group

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