It would have been the first full update since January<\/a>, with 37 detailed presentation slides outlining how the district study and executive program manager consultants were selected. It also included some updates on progress toward acquiring federal and UTSA-owned properties for the development.<\/p>\n But that briefing was pushed off to June after council members joined Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) in agreeing that such an update should be given during a future B Session of the council, which has more time for such updates. (The previous staff update was provided during B Session on Jan. 14<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Jones again pushed for the update to occur before the vote, saying it was necessary for \u201ctransparency.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important that we share the information,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThere may be questions about why we would not talk about the overall picture, or taking action on contracts related to the projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) said the entire council had met with city staff during the past two weeks and had been fully updated on progress with the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMayor, we\u2019re all informed on it,\u201d Whyte said. \u201cSo [I] appreciate your call for transparency. We are all calling for transparency. We\u2019re going to have a B session in front of the world. We can talk about all this. We\u2019re just not going to do it today.\u201d<\/p>\n Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2) said there was no point in going through the same slides twice, first in the update briefing and again to discuss the consultant contracts. \u201cIt\u2019s a little redundant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When the mayor then began to pose questions about the contract items on the agenda, Viagran interrupted, calling a point of order, and the council voted to halt that discussion.<\/p>\n A subsequent vote to delay the update presentation to June then passed with all council members voting in favor, besides the mayor\u2019s \u201cno\u201d vote.<\/p>\n Jones did not seem to raise any specific issues with the contracts or awardees, despite voting against them.<\/p>\n Contract with Accenture<\/p>\n After voting to delay the update, the council moved on to discussing the two Project Marvel contract items.<\/p>\n The largest is a $6 million contract for an executive program manager selected to oversee development of the district and ensure its success.\u00a0<\/p>\n An evaluation committee chose the global firm Accenture<\/a> for the job from among seven other bids. Accenture is a professional services company that works with businesses and governments to implement technology, optimize operations and leverage AI to drive innovation and performance, according to its website.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among its many clients is the San Antonio airport\u2019s Terminal Development Program, the ongoing project to build new terminals and expand and improve the San Antonio International Airport.<\/p>\n For Project Marvel, the executive program manager team is expected to coordinate and manage activities within the district, including infrastructure improvement projects, construction and improvements to venues and mixed-use development.<\/p>\n They also will be responsible for creating and updating an online dashboard for the project to keep the public informed on its progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re almost like an extension of city staff, but they bring a specific expertise,\u201d said Ben Gorzell, the City\u2019s chief of financial and administrative services.<\/p>\n Accenture\u2019s proposal beat out Project Control of Texas, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Hill Building Group, Brailsford & Dunlavey, MOCA systems, Broaddus & Associates and WSP USA.<\/p>\n \u201cThe firm\u2019s proposed plan is what made it stand out,\u201d Gorzell said. \u201cYou had to have a strong proposed plan, a really good understanding of the work we were looking for, and [Accenture] had a well-detailed map of the data, methodologies and work that they were going to be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n The contract with Accenture requires that at least 14% of the total contract value be performed by certified small businesses.<\/p>\n Contract with MuniCap<\/p>\n The council also voted to award the Maryland-based MuniCap a one-year contract to come up with the projected costs of service impacts, perform revenue forecasting and identify new revenue opportunities for the district. <\/p>\n That contract is valued at $350,000.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purpose of the district study is to outline the anticipated cost and potential sales tax, for example, for the district,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cIdeally, on the cost side, we want to better understand what potential cost impacts there are for having a whole bunch of people go to that part of downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n The study comes as San Antonio city leaders are proposing the first property tax rate increase in 33 years<\/a>, in part due to a decline in the base taxable value on existing property in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019re also considering raising other taxes and fees<\/a> to increase the capacity of the city\u2019s 2027 bond package, much of which is already earmarked for infrastructure needs surrounding Project Marvel.<\/p>\n At a financial forecasting meeting Wednesday, some council members expressed concern that such a fast-growing city was seeing a decline in its taxable property values, as other large Texas cities were headed the other direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some said that\u2019s evidence the city desperately needs to be growing its economy through efforts like Marvel.\u00a0<\/p>\n But others, including the mayor, blamed the large tax incentives San Antonio has given developers and businesses that kept taxable value off the rolls, including Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ)<\/a> like the one used to fund the Spurs arena<\/a>, which remove property tax dollars from some of the city\u2019s wealthiest zip codes out of the general fund.<\/p>\n The outcome of the MuniCap\u2019s cost impact study will almost certainly fuel further debates about the final financial agreement the city comes to with the Spurs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to own a billion-dollar arena, and there will be annual profits from the naming rights of the arena that will benefit from city-owned land and city development downtown,\u201d McKee-Rodriguez said Wednesday. \u201cThere will be public safety needs in a new downtown \u2026 so I would love for one of my colleagues to explain why we can\u2019t ask for revenue-sharing for an agreement that we are spending almost half-a-billion dollars [on].\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile Gorzell said the study would help shed light on some of the revenue-generating components of the arena that didn\u2019t get as much attention when the council was approving the term sheet last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second part of the scope is revenue forecasting. This is going to be for revenues that are not pledged to the bonds \u2026 these are going to be more general fund revenues like, for example, the sales tax,\u201d Gorzell said. \u201cThat was touched on in the economic impact analysis last year, but that was kind of a broader look, [this will be] getting more granular. What does that look like in terms of a projection in the general fund?\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor vs. the council<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Jones has been overruled by the majority of council when it comes to Marvel.<\/p>\n In August with the Spurs until the city could get an independent economic analysis of the public funding components. But Walsh said enough other council members were on board, and only the interim council member for McKee-Rodriguez\u2019s district, Leo Castillo-Anguiano, Teri Castillo (D5) and Ric Galvan (D6) joined the mayor in voting against a measure allowing the city manager to negotiate terms surrounding the plans for Project Marvel.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CityCouncilMeeting_ProjectMarvelUpdate_VeteranHousingVouchers_19_05.07.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Deputy City Manager Maria Villagomez listens as the council discusses whether or not to hear an update on the sports and entertainment district at a meeting on Thursday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CityCouncilMeeting_ProjectMarvelUpdate_VeteranHousingVouchers_29_05.07.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Ben Gorzell Jr., the City of San Antonio\u2019s chief of financial and administrative services, presents to the council. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n