SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council is pushing forward with negotiations for a billion-dollar downtown sports and entertainment district, despite Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’s call for caution.
Bobby Perez, General Counsel for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, said, “I’ve heard direction from at least seven members to say go finalize it and bring it back August 21.”
The proposed agreement between the NBA team and the city has garnered support from more than half of the council members.
However, Mayor Jones and at least three other council members remain skeptical of the projected multi-billion dollar economic impact forecasted by city-hired consultants.
“This is a generational investment, we should go into this eyes wide open,” said Mayor Jones. “We do not have that economic analysis, we don’t have their assumptions, we don’t have their data sources, so I think it is insufficient at this point to move forward.”
Despite the mayor’s inability to halt a formal vote, her directive for City Manager Erik Walsh to cease negotiations was disregarded. Walsh stated, “So, mayor, just based on the council conversation, while we figure out what we do in terms of posting that, I’m going to move forward in negotiating with the Spurs on the language based on the conversations from this evening.”
The council’s decision underscores a significant divide in city leadership over the potential economic benefits of the project.