Total Spurs arena cost: $1.3B+<\/p>\n
$311M from Bexar County
$489M from San Antonio
$500M + any remaining from Spurs?<\/p>\n
Soon voters will be asked to weigh in on a portion of the NBA arena\u2019s public funding, $311 million in county venue tax dollars, on the Nov. 4 ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another $489 million is expected to come from the city, which says it can spend the money without a public vote. And the remaining $500 million-plus would be paid for by the Spurs\u2019 ownership.<\/p>\n The San Antonio Report broke down the pools of public funding and how they would work.<\/p>\n Bexar County\u2019s $311 million \u2018venue tax\u2019<\/p>\n What is a venue tax?<\/p>\n The county is asking voters<\/a> to use its \u201cvenue tax\u201d to help fund the arena, increasing the tax on hotel rooms from 1.75% to 2%, and extending an already existing 5% tax on rental cars.<\/p>\n A venue tax<\/a> is a tool created by state statute that allows cities and counties to finance an array of community and sports projects through fees that fall primarily on visitors instead of residents.<\/p>\n Texas\u2019 Local Government Code<\/a> says the money can be used for arenas, coliseums, stadiums, parks, aquariums, music halls and watershed protection, among other projects, but the Texas Comptroller must certify that a project qualifies before voters are asked to approve the money.\u00a0<\/p>\n In June, the county sought permission<\/a> from the state to designate the new Spurs arena and county-owned facilities<\/a> on the East Side as venue tax-eligible projects. The comptroller approved the plan<\/a> on June 26, allowing the county to take it to voters this November.<\/p>\n What critics are saying:<\/p>\n When Bexar County pursued a venue tax election in 2008, county leaders formed a citizens advisory committee to collect feedback on the community\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n Part of the money went toward upgrades at the Frost Bank Center \u2014 the Spurs\u2019 current home \u2014 while other portions were used<\/a> for youth sports facilities, the Mission Reach eco-restoration project and renovating the Alameda Theatre, among other projects.<\/p>\n Critics say the county could have asked the state for permission to use the money on a variety of more pressing needs, pointing to the recent June flooding that left 13 people dead<\/a> as an example:<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unconscionable that you want to give this money for an arena when we have people dying from infrastructure or lack thereof. \u2026 Don\u2019t tell us this money is only for arenas. \u2026 In the early 2000s, we voted on the venue tax where there was community benefit all of us,\u201d Rena Oden, an activist with the COPS\/Metro group that opposes the program<\/a>, said an Aug. 5\u00a0 commissioners court meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What Bexar County is saying:<\/p>\n This time around, County Judge Peter Sakai said<\/a> that just weeks after plans for the new sports and entertainment district were unveiled at City Hall<\/a>, the Spurs\u2019 owners asked him to put a venue tax election on the ballot<\/a> to fund an arena with an undisclosed price. <\/p>\n Sakai balked and said the county would first need a plan to repurpose the Frost Bank Center. He also wanted to make good on the long-overdue development promises made to the East Side<\/a> when the center was first built.<\/p>\n The county eventually made a plan to use $191.8 million of the venue tax for renovations to that facility, as well as the Freeman Coliseum and the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Grounds. Those investments are expected to be accompanied by new mixed-use development<\/a> at the Willow Springs Golf Course that\u2019s still in the works.<\/p>\n The remaining $311 million would go to the Spurs arena \u2014 aimed at spurring new downtown development and preventing the team from moving to another city.<\/p>\n Unlike the city, which is using tax reinvestments, Bexar County\u2019s taxing entities will enjoy the growth in taxable value from both the East Side developments and the new downtown sports and entertainment district \u2014 money that\u2019s needed for a budget that relies heavily<\/a> on new growth. <\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure the community understands I\u2019m protecting the community first, and if I can, I\u2019m going to do everything I can to keep the Spurs in town,\u201d Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said<\/a> at a May 21 State of the County event.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n San Antonio\u2019s tax \u2018reinvestment zones\u2019<\/p>\n What is a PFZ?<\/p>\n About half of San Antonio\u2019s arena funding is expected to come from a state-sanctioned Project Finance Zone<\/a>, which allows the city to use state sales tax money from new hotels and hotel business to fund a major a sports venue or convention center.<\/p>\n It works by drawing a three-mile radius around an approved project, and then the city collects the growth in the state\u2019s hotel-related taxes<\/a> in that area over the course of 30 years to repay bonds issued for the project.<\/p>\n In this case, San Antonio designated the Alamodome and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as its PFZ projects, and state lawmakers approved their plan in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the county pumped the brakes on the use of its venue tax, the city amended its list of PFZ projects<\/a> to a single \u201cconvention center district,\u201d allowing the money to be spent on the Spurs arena as well. The state comptroller\u2019s office approved the change. <\/p>\n What supporters say: <\/p>\n Texas\u2019 five largest cities are all using PFZs to fund major projects with money that would be going to the state\u2019s general fund \u2014 San Antonio should get its fair share.<\/p>\n The money can only be used for projects<\/a> like arenas and convention centers, and the convention center and Alamodome desperately need expensive upgrades to remain competitive venues.<\/p>\n By putting some of the money toward the arena, San Antonio is leveraging state funds to bring in private development to that entire important piece of downtown.<\/p>\n \u201cProject finance zone money is use-it-or-lose-it, so we might as well use it and invest in ourselves and invest in our city,\u201d Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito (D7) said at an Aug. 21 council meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What critics say: <\/p>\n Project Finance Zones lean heavily on growth projections that are often somewhat rosy.<\/p>\n \u201cAccurately predicting those revenues is critically important,\u201d Houston Chronicle columnist Chris Tomlinson wrote<\/a> in a recent op-ed about such projects, because cities are obligated to repay the bonds \u201ceven if the expected tax revenues never materialize.\u201d<\/p>\n As in many cities, San Antonio\u2019s financial analysis was performed by a firm that specialized in this kind of work, but has business ties to the project<\/a>. <\/p>\n By the analyst\u2019s own telling, his projection makes many assumptions<\/a>, like the number of new hotels and number of tickets that will be sold for events, to determine how much revenue a reinvestment zone will produce.<\/p>\n For that reason, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been<\/a> pushing the city to get a second opinion from an independent analyst with more detailed figures.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been very clear that I want the Spurs here. I want a good deal. And I think we can confidently work with our community if we have confidence in the data,\u201d Jones said at an Aug. 18 press conference. \u201cIf it corroborates what [the Spurs] put forward, then wonderful. If something is different though, then we owe it to our community to explain what that discrepancy is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n San Antonio\u2019s new model for TIRZ funding<\/p>\n What is a TIRZ?<\/p>\n Another big portion of the city\u2019s funding<\/a> is expected to come from a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) \u2014 which allows a city to collect the growth in property taxes from a specific area to be reinvested within that zone.<\/p>\n State statute<\/a> allows cities to create a TIRZ in areas that are unsafe, deteriorated or causing public health problems, and then target the area for improvements. <\/p>\n Doing so sets a baseline for the taxable value of property within the zone, and the taxes collected off of any new development, as well as rising values on existing properties, all go to a fund for streets, sidewalks and other improvements. <\/p>\n A TIRZ can also include property taxes from other taxing entities, like school districts and the county, depending on how they\u2019re set up.<\/p>\n San Antonio has many such zones<\/a> throughout the city, and for the arena project it plans to use money from the Hemisfair TIRZ<\/a>, which largely overlaps<\/a> with the proposed 25-acre sports and entertainment district<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hemisfair TIRZ is expected to terminate in 2037<\/a>, but the city says it will be extended to whatever date is needed to provide the necessary funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n Money from another zone that includes area around the Pearl and Broadway corridor<\/a>, called the Midtown TIRZ, could be used to purchase the land for the arena, City Spokesman Brian Chasnoff said Friday. The city is still exploring its options to purchase that roughly $60 million piece of property from UTSA.<\/p>\n What city leaders say: <\/p>\n Though the city has spent big on parks and other improvements around Hemisfair, development has been slow to come, so the Hemisfair TIRZ hasn\u2019t produced<\/a> much money for improvements. <\/p>\n Last year it generated $650,000 \u2014 the lowest figure of all the city\u2019s TIRZ districts. That doesn\u2019t include a new hotel that\u2019s currently under construction and will come onto the tax roll over the next few years.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s negotiated deal with the Spurs<\/a> would not only add a new arena to the zone\u2019s taxable value \u2014 but the team has also promised another $1.4 billion<\/a> in surrounding development over a 12-year period.<\/p>\n Spurs\u2019 ownership would also help the city purchase roughly $30 million in nearby properties to be developed for housing and businesses within the zone.<\/p>\n Big-picture, the city says this would allow it to fund the arena using property taxes that wouldn\u2019t exist without the team\u2019s investments\u00a0 \u2014 similar to how the Missions Minor League Baseball team is financing<\/a> its new stadium in northwest downtown.<\/p>\n \u201cThe structure of our contribution to the arena was predicated on not using existing city resources or funds. This is that structure,\u201d City of San Antonio Chief Financial Officer Ben Gorzell said at an Aug. 21 council meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What critics say: <\/p>\n Researchers at Rice University\u2019s Baker Institute<\/a> say that TIRZ designations do a great job of encouraging development, but they often become some of the most valuable property in the city, creating what is essentially a regressive tax on areas outside the zone.<\/p>\n New housing and development within the zone requires city resources, like police and fire, but the growth in property tax revenue is being directed toward special projects within the zone, instead of boosting the general fund for the entire city.<\/p>\n In San Antonio\u2019s case, TIRZ money would go toward the arena, while city officials plan to call a separate infrastructure bond next year \u2014 potentially on the ballot in May \u2014 to pay for the roads and sidewalks in the surrounding arena district.<\/p>\n \u201cTraditionally, that is what the TIRZ would pay for,\u201d said John W. Diamond, a tax and finance expert at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. \u201cThis is like the whole process on steroids \u2026 to develop an area with TIRZ money and then turn around and take out a bond to have the city then pay for the infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the TIRZ is overseen by a board whose members are appointed by city leaders, it also allows the city to direct large sums of money without seeking permission from voters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re using a TIRZ, that is public dollars. It\u2019s a mechanism which essentially absorbs funds that otherwise would go to the city\u2019s general fund, and we know that\u2019s the fund that services things like public safety, streets, sidewalks, drainage,\u201d Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), on an Aug. 12 episode of ENside Politics<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What else the Spurs are offering:<\/p>\n The city will own the arena and lease it to the Spurs for an initial rent of $4 million per year<\/a>, rising 2% each year after.<\/p>\n That money will also be used to help the city repay its arena bonds, as will the revenue the city makes from leasing new property around the arena district to private developers.<\/p>\n The deal helps keeps the team from leaving San Antonio for another city, requiring the Spurs to continue to play home games here for the next 30 years.<\/p>\n The team will also put $2.5 million per year, up to $75 million, toward a Compared to other teams in similar-sized media markets, Spurs owner Peter J. Holt\u00a0said covering half of the arena\u2019s cost was almost unheard of \u2014 on top of all of the other investments the team is making.<\/p>\n \u201cThis commitment shows our belief in the city the county and having a fruitful partnership that benefits all,\u201d Holt said at<\/a> an Aug. 5 commissioners court meeting.<\/p>\n\n
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Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai speaks during a County Commissioner meeting at the Bexar County Courthouse. Credit: Bria Woods \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n\n
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San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks at a press conference about Project Marvel outside of City Hall on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Hemisfair_Tower-of-Americas-Image-13.jpg\")
Drone image of the Tower of Americas overlooking downtown San Antonio in August 2025. Credit: Cooper Mock for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n\n
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community benefit agreement that the city can spend how it sees fit.<\/p>\n