Populous
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said he “won’t support” a tax election this spring to help pay for a new downtown Spurs arena “until he knows how much the facility would cost and has guarantees that the county-owned Frost Bank Center won’t be allowed to languish if the NBA franchise moves out.” Spurs execs “have been pushing” for Bexar County Commissioners Court to call a May venue tax election, but that timeline “appears unlikely” given the judge’s conditions. The county is also “still in the dark about how much the Spurs and city would contribute to the arena’s construction.” Sakai said the Spurs should kick in “substantial equity,” and that homeowners “shouldn’t be saddled with higher property taxes as a result of public financing for the arena.” Sakai also “wants the plan to include commitments to revitalize the neighborhoods around the East Side facility” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 1/7).
