SAN ANTONIO – Pause or push ahead.
Two different paths forward on a funding deal for a new Spurs arena are up for a vote at a 9 a.m. San Antonio City Council meeting on Thursday.
The NBA arena, planned for the southeast corner of Hemisfair on the site of the former Institute of Texan Cultures building, is a key piece of the city’s larger plans for a sports and entertainment district, Project Marvel.
KSAT will livestream the city council meeting in this article and on KSAT Plus. Delays are possible; if there is not a livestream available, please check back at a later time.
Discussions between city officials and the Spurs have been ongoing for years. Project Marvel was formally unveiled last November.
However, the arena talks have picked up steam since the new council has taken their seats.
Here’s a recent timeline of the Spurs arena talks:
New city council sworn in
June 18: The final members of the 2025-2029 San Antonio City Council were sworn in following the June 7 runoff election. The council includes five new members: Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, Councilman Edward Mungia (D4), Councilman Ric Galvan (D6), Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8) and Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9).
Mungia, who won his May 3 election outright, had his first council meetings two weeks earlier at which the outgoing council was briefed on Project Marvel.
Spurs commit to $500M of arena cost
July 24: Ahead of the council’s July 25 meeting, Spurs Sports & Entertainment Chairman Peter J. Holt sent a letter to City Manager Erik Walsh, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, and the city council, offering to spend $500 million, plus cost overruns on the arena’s construction.
The offer also included a guaranteed $500 million in adjacent development and $60 million in additional community incentives.
New council receives first briefing
July 25: The new city council was briefed publicly for the first time on a potential Spurs arena deal, including the first public look at funding details. Council staff said the city could contribute between $350 million and $500 million, paid for with a combination of lease revenue and tax capture zones.
CSL report posted
July 30: An economic impact analysis on several portions of Project Marvel by CSL International was posted on the city’s website. The city-commissioned report looked at expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center, improving the Alamodome, turning the former John H. Wood Jr. federal courthouse into a concert venue and various mixed-use developments.
CSL did not directly look study the possible effects of a new Spurs arena. Instead, it summarized the summary findings from a report by a different consultant hired by the Spurs called Stone Planning.
Experts who reviewed the CSL report called it “useless“ and said reports like these are often used to justify projects someone already wants to pursue.
D2 interim councilman begins
Aug. 1: Leo Castillo-Anguiano began his temporary term filling in as District 2 councilman for Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, while the latter is on parental leave. Castillo-Anguiano became the sixth new member of the 11-member city council.
Stone Planning report posted
Aug. 4-6: Shortly before a city council briefing, the economic impact analysis of a new arena is posted on the city’s website, performed by a consultant for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, Stone Planning. Though the report is dated January 2025, Mayor Jones later said council members had only received it on Aug. 5. An SS&E spokeswoman later told KSAT they had been sharing highlights of the report with city staff since May.
County puts arena funding on Nov. 4 ballot
Aug. 5: Bexar County Commissioners voted 4-1 to put the county’s share of funding for a new arena onto the Nov. 4 ballot. Voters would be asked to use the county venue tax — a combination of tax on short-term car rentals and hotel stays — to help pay up to $311 million or 25% of the arena’s cost, whichever is cheaper. Voters will also be asked about raising the hotel portion of the venue tax.
Nine-hour Spurs arena meeting
Aug. 6: Council members were briefed on economic impact analyses by CSL and Stone Planning as well as Able City, which conducted community engagement meetings in each district.
Jones and Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) highlighted the relationship between CSL and the Spurs. CSL is a subsidiary of Legends, whose majority owner Sixth Street Investments, is an investor in the Spurs.
City staff said there was an “ethical wall” between Sixth Street and CSL.
Though the mayor tries to push for a “strategic pause” on negotiations with the Spurs and the larger Project Marvel until a new, “independent” report is done, a majority of council members indicated they want negotiations to continue. City Manager Erik Walsh told Jones he will look into what another report would entail, but negotiations would continue.
Mayor news conference
Aug. 11: Jones reiterated her call for a “strategic pause” and points to another report CSL did to examine the potential impact of a new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Funding vote tentatively set
Aug. 15: In an email to council members, Walsh said the city was close to finalizing a term sheet with the Spurs. He also said city staff planned to present it to council members on Thursday, Aug. 21 in a closed-door, executive session.
Based on council discussion, he said, council consideration could happen as early as Aug. 27.
Mayor and council move up dueling votes
Aug. 17: Jones asked Walsh to add a resolution stating that the city council will not move forward on a proposed term sheet with the Spurs until the city receives an independent economic impact study.
The resolution also requires each council member to host at least two in-person meetings with constituents to discuss the findings before moving forward.
A few hours later, Walsh told Jones and the council that five council members had asked to have a vote on the term sheet.
Mayor Jones later named Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) Councilman Edward Mungia (D4), Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) and Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) as the five members, which the council members or their staff have all since confirmed.
Draft term sheet made public; Mayor Jones holds news conference
Aug. 18: The draft of the non-binding term sheet was made public. The draft estimated the total cost to be approximately $1.3 billion and completion by the 2032-2033 NBA season.
The term sheet estimates at least $500 million contributed by the Spurs, up to $489 million by the City of San Antonio and up to $311 million from Bexar County.
The term sheet also details additional surrounding developments, community benefits, wages and leases. The term sheet can be read in full here.
Two items were added to the City Council’s Aug. 21 agenda including:
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Mayor Jones’ resolution for an independent economic impact study in order to move forward on the proposed term sheet
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A resolution directing City Manager Erik Walsh to move forward and complete negotiations with the Spurs on the terms for the new proposed arena
Jones also held a news conference where she discussed Project Marvel.
Spurs legal officer discusses arena deal ahead of council vote
Aug. 19: Bobby Perez, the chief legal officer and general counsel for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, described the arena’s funding as visitor-funded and not from San Antonio residents.
Regarding concerns raised by Jones about the project potentially exceeding $489 million, Perez said the term sheet caps the city’s visitor funds at $489 million and the county’s at $311 million.
The draft term sheet increases Spurs Sports and Entertainment’s community benefit package to $75 million and includes a lengthy lease agreement.
He said any additional funds needed to complete the arena would come from the Spurs.
“We’re willing to make that over $2 billion investment into this project,” Perez said.
Mayor hijacks Project Marvel support rally
Aug. 20: At a rally by business groups in favor of passing the term sheet, Jones walked through the crowd, accepted the microphone from one of the speakers and spoke for more than 10 minutes.
She repeated her calls for a pause and encouraged people to speak to their council members for support of her resolution.
“The Spurs have never said, ‘Hey, City Council, if you don’t vote on a term sheet on Thursday, we’re leaving.’ They’ve never said that,” Jones said in response to a question on whether the Spurs will leave.
“I’ve been known to crash a party or two,” Jones said when KSAT asked if she had been invited to the rally.
Council to consider draft term sheet
Aug. 21: The term sheet is expected to be reviewed by city council.
More recent Project Marvel coverage on KSAT:
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