SAN ANTONIO – City leaders are discussing ‘what’s next’ after a billion-dollar contribution offer from the San Antonio Spurs.
Half of that money is pledged towards a new, downtown arena. The other half will go to other developments in the area.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has said she wants to nail down the best ‘Project Marvel’ deal for the city of San Antonio. We spoke to her after a nearly 4-hour community meeting about the new arena.
She said the city is looking at the best way to do that.
“It’s hard, I think, for the council to understand if our asks are, in fact, unreasonable, if we don’t know what we are trading away,” the mayor shared.
Mayor Jones said she felt like a realtor while weighing whether or not the Spurs’ contribution offer is reasonable.
“We certainly don’t want to make assumptions about what we could or could not get, which is why I asked the questions,” she said.
Those questions surround:
- Spurs’ Naming Rights
- Merchandise Sales
- Ticket Sales
- Concession Sales
“When you say, ‘entity X gets all of it’, well, what’s all of it again?” Ortiz Jones asked. “Because I’m looking at 2030, we got $220 million gap in our general fund budget. So, I think, you know, how we can think about this? Not only in terms of how we pay for it, but how we can help ourselves with a general fund.”
The council sat through hours of questions and concerns from the community on Friday afternoon.
“I want to remind you all, as well as others that have been here reminding you, that you are here for the people of San Antonio,” one man said during public comment.
Some citizens said they feel tourists stand the most to gain out of the deal. Mayor Jones remains skeptical about it, also mentioning interest in revenue-sharing from the Spurs organization.
“Why do they have to get all of it? I understand that has kind of been the norm, but, you know, it’s a negotiation for a reason,” she pointed out. “So why wouldn’t we ask?”
“I do need the Spurs to do more,” said District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee Rodriguez. “The will for this arena is not here right now, and if we do not contribute — this arena does not happen.”
Mayor Jones calls this a ‘go-big or go-home’ deal.
“We don’t do this every day, right? This is a generational investment,” she said. “Now is the time to negotiate, and now is the time to get some answers to these questions.”
Mayor Jones said the council has to decide how to approach this. She says, arena or not, they’re most concerned with filling budget gaps and ensuring community benefit.
