{"id":328853,"date":"2025-10-24T10:09:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/328853\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:09:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T10:09:13","slug":"panel-talks-construction-new-businesses-near-downtown-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/328853\/","title":{"rendered":"Panel talks construction, new businesses near downtown arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

The San Antonio Spurs want to build a downtown arena and entertainment district<\/a>. The City of San Antonio wants to upgrade the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Alamodome.<\/p>\n

If <\/strong>the full, multi-billion dollar vision of downtown improvements, also known as Project Marvel, comes to pass, what would that mean for the Hemisfair area and the residents and businesses <\/strong>there now, and in the future?<\/p>\n

A panel of local business owners and City Manager Erik Walsh discussed the ramifications of construction, new businesses and infrastructure needs in the Hemisfair area at the last event of the San Antonio Report\u2019s CityFest 2025<\/a> at the Magik Theatre on <\/strong>Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s designed to be a broad plan that encompasses from Alamo Street to Cherry Street,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cIt\u2019s got to be done thoughtfully. It should be done logically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walsh was joined by Johnny Hernandez, who owns multiple Mexican restaurant concepts across the city, and local business owners Jennifer Beckmann of 210 Urban Winery in Hemisfair and Jody Bailey Newman of the Friendly Spot in Southtown.<\/p>\n

Those business owners said they\u2019re in support of the customers and attention a new <\/strong>downtown Spurs <\/strong>arena would bring, but they\u2019re curious about what can be done to help businesses through construction, as well as what kinds of new businesses would accompany the proposed sports and entertainment district that could surround that arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continuously refer to this as the sports and entertainment district, and we are, by nature, the Hemisfair district. We have spent many years creating Hemisfair,\u201d Beckmann said. \u201cHow do we stop the growth of what has now taken close to 10 years to build, this cultural center, and say we\u2019re going to become Sports Park? The evolution is needed, yes, but we have to find a balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walsh laid out a timeline for the project, which has changed since its inception. A proposed land bridge over U.S. Interstate 37 that\u2019s front-and-center in the Marvel rendering is off the table for now due to a lack of federal support, he said, but such federal funding is \u201ccyclical,\u201d and could come back into the picture down the line.<\/p>\n

When asked about the land bridge in a keynote CityFest panel on Tuesday, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said the city has already started pausing on<\/a> federally funded projects that may no longer be feasible under the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge developments like that take time,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cWe feel there\u2019s a 60-month timeline to design and build that [arena].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"San Antonio Report Managing Editor Laura Garcia, left, addresses the panel with a question during the CityFest 2025 closing event at the Magik Theatre on Thursday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

Improvements to the western side of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center would allow it to stay competitive with similar venues<\/a> across the state, he added, and could happen at the same time.<\/p>\n

Street refurbishments in the Hemisfair area have already caused issues for local businesses<\/a>, dragging on longer than anticipated and making it hard for customers to get to front doors, several panelists noted to San Antonio Report managing editor Laura Garcia, the panel\u2019s moderator.<\/p>\n

Hernandez was confident in city leadership and their ability to navigate those challenges on future projects, he said, but the other small business owners shared some of their concerns and needs during the likely years of construction still to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that has to be thought through to have a light footprint,\u201d Beckmann said. \u201cHow do we do this with a light impact. \u2026 There\u2019s no small business that can survive years of impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckmann and Bailey Newman emphasized that businesses still need easy access. They also discussed what kinds of businesses would go into a sports and entertainment district.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be sure that there are things in place that eliminate national chains,\u201d Beckmann said. \u201cWill you have things in place to eliminate competitive businesses from a direct district? That\u2019s not yet been answered. These are things that we\u2019re hoping to have more clarification on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Requests for information<\/p>\n

Local business owners aren\u2019t the only ones asking about what a prospective arena would look like \u2014 earlier on Thursday, a local hospitality workers union released a statement asking how much part-time workers at the arena would be paid.<\/p>\n

Walsh noted that a non-binding term sheet between the Spurs and the city lays out the team\u2019s contributions and promises if it is to receive public funding. That term sheet includes full-time workers\u2019 wages, but little about local businesses.<\/p>\n

What businesses go into and around the arena could largely be up to the Spurs, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf and when we get to that point, we\u2019ll go through that public process,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cNone of that has been decided, none of that has been discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those discussions could take place after the Nov. 4 election<\/a>, he added, when voters will have a chance to vote for or against <\/strong>Bexar County\u2019s portion of public funding for the new arena. Proposition B would allocate $311 million of the county\u2019s venue tax revenue to help build a downtown arena, and city leaders have indicated a desire to keep negotiating with the Spurs regardless of the outcome of the countywide vote.<\/p>\n

A final point that all the panelists touched on was parking. Parking in downtown is challenging <\/strong>already, even without a new arena hosting basketball games, Walsh said. It won\u2019t get easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we can have any of these conversations without talking about parking,\u201d Beckmann said.<\/p>\n

If cheap parking starts to disappear, she asked, could permits or local subsidies be introduced?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The panel was the final event in the San Antonio Report\u2019s 2025 CityFest<\/a>, which focused on the negotiations, possibilities<\/a> and ramifications<\/a> of a downtown Spurs arena as voters weigh the issue in the Nov. 4 election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch the full event:<\/p>\n

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