Building the new sports and entertainment district in the Hemisfair area would require reconfiguring roads, establishing more parking, upgrading public transit and establishing a residential parking program for nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CityCouncil_11_07.25.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
City Manager Eric Walsh addresses the council during a special session to discuss Project Marvel funding on Friday.
Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
In a timeline presented to city council members, Walsh said the city would negotiate with the Spurs in the next week and present reports on the economic analysis and community engagement, before considering terms for an agreement on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n
That date could be pushed back as officials work to get their questions answered.<\/p>\n
Those negotiations kicked into a higher gear Thursday night, when Holt sent a letter proposing hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Council members gave Walsh a list of questions they wanted the Spurs to answer. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones proposed a revenue sharing agreement to help alleviate the city\u2019s budget shortfall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may see the cost of tickets increase and wouldn\u2019t it be nice to get a cut?\u201d she said. \u201cI understand these are things that have not been traditionally discussed, but I think it\u2019s important that we look at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted the city\u2019s funding needs for its general fund and for flood control projects. She also brought up workers\u2019 pay in a press conference after the meeting as part of any agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an opportunity to think about what we put into this agreement in terms of living wages,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Walsh said the Spurs were unlikely to share revenue, given their $1 billion commitment outlined in Holt\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cRevenue sharing was not an option,\u201d he said, but Jones did not back down from the idea.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Spurs did not comment on the possibility of revenue sharing.<\/p>\n
Council members speak up<\/p>\n
A new city council fresh from a June election seized their chance to dig into the issue.<\/p>\n
Council members were divided on how much public support to lend the Spurs. Several council members urged Walsh to continue negotiations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
District 10\u2019s Marc Whyte emerged as one of the city council\u2019s pro-Spurs voices, calling for a partnership with the NBA team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Spurs shouldn\u2019t be the city piggy bank,\u201d he said. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be holding them hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of the council discussion, however, centered on a potential community benefits agreement, which could lay out conditions and rules for how the Spurs give back and work with the city if an arena does move forward.<\/p>\n
Even council members who asked Walsh to move forward with the negotiation process and the financial structure outlined, like Phyllis Viagran (D-3) and Marina Alderete Gavito (D-4), wanted to keep an eye on communities\u2019 basic needs.<\/p>\n
Other council members were more skeptical about the city\u2019s return on investment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
District 2 would lose the Spurs if they move downtown. The team has been playing on the East Side at what\u2019s now called the Frost Bank Center since 2002.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CityCouncil_05_07.25.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
District 2 City Council member Jalen McKee-Rodriguez listens during a special session on Project Marvel financing on Friday. Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Holt\u2019s letter noted that a move downtown for the Spurs would allow continued success for community partners such as the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, which \u201cwould gain the space and freedom they need to operate to their full potential.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D-2) asked for conditions like revenue sharing, ceasing games in Austin, including local housing and jobs guarantees and maintaining community oversight while calling for the team\u2019s wealthy owners to contribute more in light of potential profits from a new arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would ask what those personal contributions would be,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause there will certainly be personal gains.\u201d<\/p>\n
His skepticism was shared by District 5\u2019s Teri Castillo and District 6\u2019s Ric Galvan. Castillo said the Spurs could contribute more while Galvan said the Spurs had an opportunity to show their commitment to the community.<\/p>\n
Where the city gets the money<\/p>\n
Walsh said the city\u2019s funding would eventually come from leases for the arena and surrounding development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It would also come from future revenues, including the Hemisfair tax increment redevelopment zone, or TIRZ, which allows the city to use projected tax increases to fund development, and a project finance zone, which allows the city to access hotel associated revenues over a 30-year period.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CityCouncil_21_07.25.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
COPS\/Metro Alliance leader Mary Kuvany sports a \u201cNo! Project Marvel\u201d sign while outside the San Antonio Municipal Plaza Building after members of the organization delivered comments to the council denouncing Project Marvel during a special session on Friday. Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Those would not, he emphasized, be money from the city\u2019s general fund or routine expenditures.<\/p>\n
Walsh said the city needs to iron out the community benefits promised by the Spurs.<\/p>\n
Holt\u2019s letter promised an estimated $60 million in community benefits in addition to $1 billion in funding, including setting space aside for locally-owned businesses, $35 million for early childhood education paid over 20 years and guaranteeing park-and-ride services for 2,000 attendees and making sure that 500 tickets are available for each game at $25 or less.<\/p>\n
Walsh said city staff would pursue better understanding of the dollar amount as part of negotiations. Other major terms he listed as part of the negotiations were a promise from the team not to relocate, guarantees for property tax revenues from developers and that the Spurs take responsibility for designing, building and maintaining a new arena.<\/p>\n
The funding proposals come after weeks of tight lips from the city and the Spurs regarding financing for an arena that could cost between $1.3 and $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n
Bexar County officials have discussed providing $175 million to the new Spurs arena as part of an increase in the hotel occupancy tax. That increase would require voter approval during the November election if county officials ultimately decide to let that proposal go forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good news. One more piece of the puzzle that helps give the public insight on how the arena will be paid for,\u201d said Jim Lefko, director of communications for Judge Peter Sakai. \u201cHelps us move one step closer to calling for the venue tax election next month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lefko added that the county\u2019s exact number wouldn\u2019t be finalized until the city and the Spurs clarify their contributions. Walsh\u2019s presentation included the county\u2019s contribution at more than $300 million, substantially more than the $175 million figure county officials had previously discussed.<\/p>\n
Public commenters weigh in<\/p>\n
Dozens of residents spoke at the meeting. Their arguments ranged from pro-development speakers who felt building the arena would benefit the local economy to advocates who argued the new arena shouldn\u2019t even be built, private funding or not.<\/p>\n
Leaders from multiple chambers of commerce said Project Marvel would ultimately benefit local businesses.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CityCouncil_19_07.25.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
COPS\/Metro Alliance member Ken Amerson regroups with members outside the city council chamber after denouncing Project Marvel during the public comment period of a special session on Friday. Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to make long-term decisions,\u201d said Jeff Webster, CEO of the San Antonio Greater Chamber of Commerce. \u201cThis is an investment into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other community organizations such as the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and COPS\/Metro argued against using public funds for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need to take responsibility and pay for this arena if they want it,\u201d said Fr. Jimmy Drennan, a pastor and longtime leader of COPS\/Metro.<\/p>\n
Other residents argued that basketball tickets were already too unaffordable and the city should focus on funding housing and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Public input was a sticking point for many city officials, who wanted to see a final economic impact analysis and a report on the city\u2019s community engagement sessions to frame further negotiations.<\/p>\n
The mayor praised the Spurs as representatives for the city, but added that residents had put forward concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t do this every day. This is a generational investment,\u201d Jones said after the meeting. \u201cNow is the time to negotiate. Now is the time to get some answers to these questions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Antonio elected officials, city staff and residents spent over five hours on Friday debating how to pay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,9303,22175,34784,7779,34785,34643,6,3383,6925,969,474,4075,4074,534,1545,6218],"class_list":{"0":"post-195470","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-city-council","10":"tag-city-of-san-antonio","11":"tag-downtown-sports-and-entertainment-district","12":"tag-frost-bank-center","13":"tag-jalen-mckee-rodriguez","14":"tag-mayor-gina-ortiz-jones","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-peter-j-holt","17":"tag-project-marvel","18":"tag-san-antonio","19":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","20":"tag-sanantonio","21":"tag-sanantoniospurs","22":"tag-spurs","23":"tag-top-story","24":"tag-typedaily"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114918984427660431","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}