SAN ANTONIO – A new San Antonio Spurs arena could take center court of a proposed downtown sports and entertainment district around Hemisfair.
Crucial details like the exact size, design, price, or who would pay weren’t immediately clear. However, city staff said it would not be funded by “the general taxpayers.”
During a Thursday morning briefing, City Council appeared to give staff the go-ahead to work on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the franchise and its current landlord, Bexar County, and begin developing plans for a new arena at the site of the former Institute of Texan Cultures building.
Thursday’s presentation, which indicated construction on the arena could begin as soon as spring 2026, was the city’s first formal introduction of the project.
But an arena would be just one part of a sweeping, multi-billion dollar plan to transform the Hemisfair area and connect the park to a “re-imagined” Alamodome using a land bridge over Interstate 37.
Other projects for the sports and entertainment district include the city’s top priority, an expanded Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center; a new convention center hotel; a new music venue made from renovating the former federal courthouse; and dozens of acres of mixed-use and retail development.
“I believe it’s time we go all in on a vision to build a downtown that is the envy of the world,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said
Planning has been happening privately for at least a year and a half, with tight-lipped city officials using non-disclosure agreements to guard against leaks from outside the city.
City officials say discussions about creating the district came before the arena talks.
“The Spurs don’t want to go on this site if there’s not going to be a sports entertainment district,” Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said.
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT PROJECTS
- New SPURS ARENA at the current ITC site
- ALAMODOME improvements
- LAND BRIDGE over I-37
- Expanding HENRY B. GONZALES CONVENTION CENTER
- Building a new convention center HOTEL
- Converting the John H. Wood federal courthouse into a LIVE EVENT VENUE
- RETAIL & MIXED-USE development over 50 acres
The Alamodome, convention center, park space, and a potential NBA arena “all within walking distance of 15,000 hotel rooms makes this a very unique opportunity,” City Manager Erik Walsh said.
City officials say San Antonio has missed out on 90 convention opportunities because of the current convention center size. The NCAA won’t consider the Alamodome in its current state for any future Final Four events due to its lack of premium seating and opportunities, they added.
Each of the projects has its own timeline, but the city generally expects those on the Hemisfair side of I-37 to happen within one to five years and projects on the Alamodome side to happen within five to 15 years.
As the city finishes reviewing the projects’ feasibility and generates cost estimates, Walsh said city staff would bring them “piece-by-piece” to the council, noting “we owe a lot more work to do in due diligence and feasibility.”
STEPS SO FAR
The San Antonio Spurs’ lease with Bexar County for the Frost Bank Center lasts into 2032.
However, Nirenberg said it “is probably Pollyannish” to think the team would still be playing there in 2033.
“So, we are all interested, as a community, on figuring out the future of that facility as well as the future of the Spurs and making sure that that’s here in San Antonio,” Nirenberg told reporters.
Walsh said the city, county and Spurs have had “preliminary conversations,” though it wasn’t clear how involved the county has been up to this point.
In a statement after the meeting, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said, “My staff and I were not supplied with a copy of the Spurs presentation in advance nor were we briefed. We are still evaluating the material that was presented today to City Council.”
The University of Texas System Board of Regents has already conditionally approved giving the city an exclusive option to buy or lease the 13.6-acre site of the former ITC building, across I-37 from the Alamodome.
UTSA has already removed the museum from the building in hopes of finding a new, permanent home close to the Alamo. The university says the building, which made its debut as the “Texas Pavilion” during the 1968 World’s Fair, faces $74 million in deferred maintenance and upcoming failing systems.
Though supporters recently got the building designated a State Antiquities Landmark, it could still be demolished — something the city says is necessary for the arena project.
The city has hired the international architectural design firm Populous to be the project’s master planner.
Other steps the city has taken include:
- Searched for firms to do the planning for the land bridge, funded by a federal grant.
- Initiated the process with the federal government to acquire the federal building and surface lot across César E. Chavez Boulevard.
- Hired engineers to perform cost estimates and feasibility studies on infrastructure updates.
Staff plan to present the convention center expansion project to council members in December.
FUNDING
The city’s plans don’t yet come with a price tag.
During the city’s secretive, initial planning phase of the sports and entertainment district, colorfully code-named “Project Marvel,” a KSAT open records request found an email in which Houston told a commercial real estate firm the district was “$3-4 billion.”
Houston now says that was an estimate she used to “share with them the order of magnitude of what we’re talking about. I’m not talking about a $500 million project. We’re talking about billions.”
Possible funding sources for district projects include private equity, private development, historic tax credits for private developers, the city’s existing hotel occupancy tax, and Bexar County’s venue tax on car rentals and hotels.
Public improvement districts, municipal management districts, or Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ) are other possibilities.
The city also created a Project Financing Zone last year around the convention center and Alamodome, which can be used to capture part of the state’s hotel-associated revenue for 30 years. Houston says there’s nothing preventing the city from creating a third eligible project, such as an arena, within the PFZ.
City staff said the only thing “general taxpayers” might end up paying for is the infrastructure needed for the area, which will likely be through bonds.
A bond or venue tax would need voter approval.
Asked about funding possibilities after the meeting, Walsh said, “I think you heard clearly from a number of council members that taxpayer-funded dollars is not something they want to that they want us to look at."
Now that the broad strokes of the plans are out, the city needs to drill down on details.
“We’re going to work on an MOU with our partners and then develop a funding options and alternatives,” Walsh said.
“I think we start tomorrow.”
COUNCIL REACTION
City Council members appeared optimistic about the plans, though wary of becoming starstruck.
“That concept is great. I wish I could wave a magic wand and put it in place tomorrow,” said Councilman John Courage (D9), before warning that no one can tell what the future holds.
The need for community input and engagement was a common theme in the discussion.
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), whose district is home to the Frost Bank Center, pointed to the development that failed to appear after the Spurs' current home was plopped onto the East Side.
“And if and when the Spurs leave the Frost Bank Center, they need to leave my community in a much better position than we’re in today,” he said.
HOW WE GOT HERE
In January 2023, Spurs Sports and Entertainment General Counsel Bobby Perez and Walsh traded congratulatory text messages following a game at the Alamodome for the franchise’s 50th anniversary in San Antonio.
“Thanks for the assist in making NBA history!!!!” Perez texted Walsh.
“A great event, Bobby! We need more games downtown” Walsh replied, with a smiley face emoji.
Five days later, Perez texted Walsh again, “Let’s discuss next steps re: downtown.”
Open records requests revealed an Apr. 11, 2023 meeting involving Walsh and Spurs brass, including Spurs Sports and Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford, at the AT&T Center. The records did not indicate what was discussed.
By then, records show the city had already begun collecting non-disclosure agreements for “Project Marvel,” starting with UTSA President Taylor Eighmy on Apr. 6, 2023.
In July 2023, a source first confirmed to KSAT that the Spurs were considering a downtown move. The team’s lease with Bexar County for the Frost Bank Center lasts into 2032.
In February 2024, the University of Texas System Board of Regents conditionally granted the city the exclusive right to lease or buy 13.6 acres of land at Hemisfair, which appears to be the Institute of Texan Cultures building.
UTSA says the Brutalist-style building has $74 million worth of deferred maintenance and upcoming failing systems.
Though supporters of the ITC building successfully got it designated as a State Antiquities Landmark, that is not guaranteed to protect it from demolition, which UTSA has said is necessary “to accomplish the highest use of the land.”
Spurs Presentation by David Ibanez on Scribd
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CORRECTION - A previous version of this story did not include hotel tax within the description of the Bexar County Venue Tax. It has been corrected in the version above.
EDITOR‘S NOTE - A previous version of this story stated there were two existing PFZs, based on officials’ comments. There is just one, which encompasses both the convention center and Alamodome. The name has also been corrected.