By Edmond Ortiz
The city and the San Antonio Spurs have overcome another major barrier toward developing a new pro basketball arena downtown.
Despite concerns and objections presented by some city leaders and residents, the city is pressing forward with a plan to leverage specific-use public funds to acquire the property that will accommodate the Spurs’ proposed downtown arena.
What you should know
City Council voted 7-4 to commit to negotiating and executing a purchase and sale agreement with the University of Texas System to buy the former Institute of Texan Culture site for $60 million in revenues from the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. It will take another $55 million in Midtown TIRZ money to close the deal.
That Hemisfair property would accommodate the Spurs’ new arena, which would be joined by adjacent redevelopment as part of the basketball team’s envisioned Project Marvel sports and entertainment district.
In the same council vote, the city will negotiate and execute funding pacts with the San Antonio Botanical Garden Society, Brackenridge Park Conservancy and San Antonio Zoological Society. Here, the city would pledge a maximum of $10 million each toward the nonprofits for their respective proposed projects. Those nonprofits cannot receive the committed money until they each come up with matching funds.
Additionally, the city would further extend the Midtown TIRZ’s termination date from September 2041 to September 2060.
Council also authorized city staff to return later with a new financing plan for projects currently funded by the Midtown TIRZ, and to see whether the TIRZ could be used as a source of funds for affordable housing in the area.
What they are saying
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez cast dissenting votes, echoing larger concerns about allocating public funds toward the Spurs arena project, and relying on TIRZ funds, which are originally meant to support improvements and development within the designated zone. Councilmembers Teri Castillo and Ric Galvan chose to abstain from the vote.
While the Midtown TIRZ has helped to finance the redevelopment of the former Pearl Brewery and other notable projects along lower Broadway Street and in the northern part of downtown, some local leaders suggested letting the TIRZ expire in 2040 so that those monies could be returned to the city’s general fund and used on basic essentials, such as road repairs.
Jones said the city has a hard time continuing to channel funds to help the Spurs advance Project Marvel while council still faces an arduous task in finalizing a Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which contains a shortfall, a proposed property tax hike, cuts to popular programs and nonprofits, and a shrinking capacity for another bond package.
Some city officials speculated that, if the three nonprofits would be denied TIRZ funding, they would be forced to seeking alternate methods – including requesting money in a future city bond – for their proposed projects.
Jones said she hoped those three nonprofits would decrease their financial requests in order to allow more flexibility in the Midtown TIRZ funding capacity. She added that, in the end, council was deciding to direct funding to benefit one area while all parts of town have all sorts of needs that may not be fully met anytime soon.
“With some of the projects that are being considered here, and the great effort to accommodate them, I think all of us in this dais know neighborhoods in our own community that would not be afforded that same luxury,” Jones said. “Extending this TIRZ and some of the things that are being considered are modern-day redlining.”
Some residents and leaders of grassroots groups already troubled by various elements of Project Marvel took digs at the plan to use TIRZ funding mainly to acquire the former ITC property. Other detractors said neither the council nor the Midtown TIRZ board, which voted Sept. 4 to back the pledge of TIRZ money, have engaged the public about the planned funding allocation.
Graciela Sanchez, Esperanza Center’s executive director, said Spurs ownership, including Michael Dell, whose Forbes magazine just named the world’s fourth richest person, could easily self-fund the entire Spurs arena.
“The Spurs are not just a business, the Spurs belong in spirit to the people of San Antonio,” Sanchez said. “The team’s greatest strength is its community of extraordinary fans, and those fans should not be treated as just another source of money to protect wealthy owners from paying the full cost of their own investment.”
The TIRZ funding allocation did garner support from volunteers and patrons attached to the Spurs and the nonprofit cultural organizations, as well as local business leaders.
Brett Finley, president and CEO of Metro SA Chamber of Commerce, reminded council and the audience that the arena term sheet that was agreed upon between the city and the Spurs in 2025 called for using TIRZ money to secure the future venue site. He also said the Midtown TIRZ continues to extend fiscal support for various projects that ultimately benefit the wider community.
“Extending the Midtown TIRZ provides the appropriate long-term framework,” Finley said. “Midtown TIRZ has demonstrated the value of this economic development tool. The investments supported through the TIRZ generate benefits that extend well beyond its physical boundaries.”
What comes next?
The Spurs are contributing toward the purchase of federal properties along Cesar Chavez Boulevard near the Tower of the Americas to accommodate Project Marvel development.
Council is now slated later this month to receive findings in a feasibility study of needs at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, another component of Project Marvel.
Council is also due to receive later this month recommended improvements at the Alamodome, which the city envisions as a major element of Project Marvel development.
In time, as city officials devise a public engagement process toward planning a projected 2027 bond package, they must figure out how to address infrastructure needs citywide, particularly road, drainage, sidewalk and lighting requirements around Project Marvel development.
