![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-08-at-1.18.05-PM.jpg\")
District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito meets with constituents during an event last month. Credit: Facebook \/ Marina Alderete Gavito<\/p>\nDistrict 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito meets with constituents during an event last month. Credit: Facebook \/ Marina Alderete Gavito<\/p>\n
District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito pushed back at Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones\u2019 proposal that the Spurs enter a revenue-sharing agreement with the city as part of a new arena deal, calling such a move \u201cdangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
In comments to the Current, Alderete Gavito said asking the NBA team to commit to such a deal could prompt it to leave the city and might even prompt other businesses, potentially even grocer H-E-B, to vacate.\u00a0No other city demands a revenue deal from its NBA team, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes it easy for [the Spurs] to say \u2018OK, so part of my profit has to go to the city budget in San Antonio, but not Austin? I\u2019ll go to Austin,\u201d Alderete Gavito said. <\/p>\n
Jones has called on the Spurs franchise to share revenue from money generators such as concessions and naming rights for the new arena. She argues the funds would help the city cover its current budget deficit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s demand comes as voters head to the polls next month<\/a> to decide whether to increase the visitor tax to 2% to help fund a new $1.3 billion arena for the Spurs. City Council approved contributing $489 million towards the project<\/a>, which will be financed by a combination of property tax revenue from and around Hemisfair along with ground leases.<\/p>\n If the vote fails, a term sheet agreed to by the city and the Spurs would become null.<\/p>\n \u201cClosed mouths don\u2019t get fed \u2014 we need to ask for a fair share from naming rights, ticket sales and concessions,\u201d Jones said in public statement<\/a> shared two weeks ago. \u201cAn independent economic analysis would benefit the community, allowing everyone to enter this deal with the data we need to make informed decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n During her regular weekly appearance<\/a> on News4SA last month, Jones also brought up the topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith the Spurs deal, what would I like to see? Revenue sharing,\u201d she said. \u201cSo when some of the most lucrative aspects of that deal \u2014\u00a0whichever company gets to put their name on the side of that arena, it\u2019s called naming rights. Normally, that\u2019s like $10 million a year, our fair share of concessions, our fair share of parking.\u201d<\/p>\n Frost Bank currently pays the Spurs $9 million annually<\/a> to plaster its name on the team\u2019s current home arena on the East Side.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alderete Gavito told the Current the mayor\u2019s effort amounts to a shakedown of the Spurs, which would frighten off other businesses. <\/p>\n \u201cIf any city is asking businesses to help [cover] their budget deficit, we will scare any and every single business away from the city, and I think that is such dangerous rhetoric to say that we want businesses to locate here to contribute some of their revenue to the city,\u201d Alderete Gavito said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some political analysts and City Hall insiders suspect Alderete Gavito may be gearing up for a mayoral run. However, the councilwoman said her primary focus right now is on her Northwest San Antonio constituents. <\/p>\n \u201cMy only focus is doing the hard work for the residents of District 7. It\u2019s a district that I\u2019m raising my family in, and I\u2019m focused on that right now,\u201d Gavito said.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, could the Spurs even share revenues with the city?\u00a0<\/p>\n Virtually no professional sports team<\/a> in North America gives a portion of its revenue to the municipality in which it\u2019s based. The only exception is the Green Bay Packers, which is organized as a publicly owned nonprofit corporation.<\/p>\n Instead, teams in the NBA and other pro leagues engage in internal revenue sharing so they can subsidize smaller markets and lower-revenue teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Spurs organization didn\u2019t respond to the Current\u2019s request for comment about whether striking a revenue-sharing deal with San Antonio would violate NBA rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the Spurs are a small-market team in one of the nation\u2019s most impoverished metros<\/a>, the Silver and Black are by no means a poverty franchise.<\/p>\n During the 2023-24 season, the Spurs boasted the league\u2019s 13th-highest revenue, bringing in approximately $363 million and surpassing teams in more affluent markets, including the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers, according to business intelligence platform Statista<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tSouthtown, La Villita and Hemisfair business owners said they no longer trust the city to complete construction on time. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759953611_81_Construction.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Business](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759953613_190_Screenshot-2025-09-24-at-4.16.57-PM.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Spurs](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/screenshot_2025-08-26_at_11.26.52___am.webp.webp\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n