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What do San Antonio runoff candidates say about Project Marvel?
SSan Antonio Spurs

What do San Antonio runoff candidates say about Project Marvel?

  • June 7, 2025

San Antonio – Find more election coverage on the Vote 2025 page.

Could a shift in San Antonio leadership derail or change the course for Project Marvel?

After Saturday’s runoff election, there will be five to six new faces on the city council, and they’ll be bringing their own views on how to proceed with the city’s proposed multi-billion-dollar sports and entertainment district downtown.

District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia has already won his seat outright and joined the council, but the mayor’s seat as well as Districts 1, 6, 8, and 9 are still up for grabs.

At a Wednesday council briefing, it was clear some of the five returning council members aren’t marveling over the project.

“It’s hard for me to bust out the pom-poms like some of my colleagues have when we don’t have any clear financial framework of where we intend to invest in the dollars,” District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo said.

Project Marvel includes several components, like expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center, renovating the John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse into an events venue, upgrading the Alamodome, building a land bridge over Interstate 37, adding private development and more.

But it’s the $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion proposed NBA arena for the San Antonio Spurs that has attracted the most attention — and controversy.

“Because when people say that they’re opposed to Project Marvel, they mean they’re opposed to the arena. That’s the vast majority of people that we’ve spoken to,” District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said during the briefing.

There are no hard numbers yet for how the arena would be funded, though city staff have sketched out a mix of public and private sources they think could be tapped: special tax capture zones for local property taxes and state, hotel-related taxes; a county venue tax on hotel stays and car rentals; lease payments for the arena and ground under private developments; and the team itself.

Here’s what the runoff candidates have to say about Project Marvel.

Mayor

Project Marvel has played a big role in the mayor’s race between Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos, especially concerning the Spurs arena portion.

The issue took up eight of the 50 minutes in KSAT’s May 21 mayoral debate.

Ortiz Jones said during the debate that there had been too much talk about city funding for an arena “when there hasn’t been nearly enough discussion of how the city is ultimately going to benefit.”

“I’ve been very clear, we need answers to three questions. How much is it going to cost? Who’s going to pay? And how is the city going to benefit? And then we can talk about the city’s portion of that,” Ortiz Jones said.

Pablos raised the possibility that the Spurs could leave town.

“We’re a tourism city. So we have to make sure that we keep that in mind before we go and say that we will not spend any tax money on there. And if we do, I will wanna make sure that the taxpayers get their return on their investment and that all 10 districts benefit from it.”

Below, watch their full back-and-forth on this issue during the debate.

District 1

Incumbent District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur has been generally supportive of Project Marvel, but says community engagement needs to happen before the council makes further decisions.

As for the Spurs arena portion, Kaur said her support will come down to what the community will get in return.

“If the community feels like what they’re getting as a result of this public investment…and they feel like they could support it, then I would support it,” she said.

Her challenger, Patty Gibbons, is generally opposed to Project Marvel.

Though Gibbons said she liked some of the individual projects, like expanding the convention center and upgrading the Alamodome, she questioned whether Project Marvel would be economically advantageous to the city.

“I think it’s just sort of ignoring a lot of pain and a lot of projects that constituents in district one have been talking and asking for,” Gibbons said. “So I think the can gets kicked down the road is my concern.”

District 6

Ric Galvan told KSAT in an email that “while aesthetically appealing, I am not in favor of using any of our residents’ tax dollars to fund it — particularly the stadium portion.”

He went on to say that, in the face of a city budget deficit, city services, safe and healthy communities, and affordability should be prioritized, while also supporting education and workforce needs.

Kelly Ann Gonzalez did not respond to an email or phone calls inquiring about her position on Project Marvel.

District 8

Ivalis Meza Gonzalez told KSAT during a recent interview that she believed there needed to be more public conversations about Project Marvel and that District 8 residents have questions about how it would benefit them.

“I’ll feel comfortable when I know that residents feel like they have all the information in front of them,” she said.

Speaking about the Spurs arena in particular, Paula McGee said, “I think we still have not had final numbers on what the cost of this is. And so there is yet to be completely communicated the details of it.”

“I don’t want the taxpayers to bear the burden of this, but in any event, it requires a lot of thorough examination in order to be able to communicate the details of it to the community and let them decide, is it something that they want or don’t want,” she said.

District 9

In an emailed statement through her campaign manager, Misty Spears said she supports efforts to grow the city’s economy and infrastructure but would not support a plan “that puts the financial burden on taxpayers.”

“Any deal of this size must be transparent, fiscally responsible, and centered on community benefit — not corporate giveaways,” she said.

Angi Taylor Aramburu did not respond to an email or phone calls inquiring about her position.

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