SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio plans to use a new advisory committee to get public input on plans for a new sports and entertainment district and make recommendations on how to spend millions the Spurs are expected to set aside as part of an arena deal.
The San Antonio City Council voted 10-1 Thursday to create a “District Community Advisory Committee.” Its 33 members will be appointed by the mayor and city council members.
Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) has been one of the champions of the idea.
“We have not done sufficient community engagement at all,” she told reporters. “So this is the community advisory committee that’s going to be able to tell us, ‘This is what we are hearing from the community.’”
The new committee will be tasked with getting input and making recommendations on spending money from a “community benefits agreement” (CBA) expected to be included in an arena deal with the Spurs.
The city still needs to negotiate a final deal for the proposed $1.3 billion arena, but a nonbinding term sheet council members approved last August includes $2.5 million in annual funding committed by the Spurs over the life of a 30-year lease.
The money would be used by the city, based on whatever process the City Council determines.
The committee is also expected to develop an input process for the wider district, which could include an expanded convention center and the transformation of a former federal courthouse into a live entertainment venue.
The committee will be responsible for bringing issue-based stakeholder groups to get specific input. According to the ordinance passed by council, it will meet “no less than once a month and will provide reports and updates to the City Council every six months, beginning December 2026.”
The reporting will cover various planning and construction phases of the district. Kaur said they want the community to tell the city what its priorities are.
“So I want to know what is it that they want to have us focus on? Do they want us to start off immediately with affordable housing? Do they want to start off first with the design? Where is the priority for the community? We haven’t heard any of that.”
Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) was the only vote against the creation of the committee. He represents the area around the Spurs’ current home, the Frost Bank Center.
“You know, I believe that community engagement is necessary and it’s an excellent thing, and it is something that should have started far before council approved a term sheet,” he told reporters after the vote.
“In this instance, I feel like the creation of this committee is performative. I don’t think it meets the true intents of what the community is asking for, and it doesn’t take into account all the impacts that those who live in and around the district will face.”
Read also: