Bexar County Commissioners yesterday voted 4-1 to “order a November referendum to decide the fate of funding for multiple venue projects, including a potential new arena for the Spurs,” according to W. Scott Bailey of the SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL. If approved, it could generate roughly $500M in “visitor tax revenue to fund the renovation of the Spurs’ current home, Frost Bank Center and the redevelopment of the Freeman Coliseum grounds.” It would also “free up significant funding toward the construction of a new downtown home” for the team that “could anchor a larger vision branded Project Marvel.” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said that the investments “could spur new economic activity and keep the Spurs firmly planted in San Antonio long term.” Bailey noted if voters approve the arena portion of the November referendum, the county “will contribute 25% of the cost of a new arena, or no more than” $311M to the project. The remainder “would fund the Frost Bank Center and coliseum ground improvements.” Plenty “hangs in the balance as voters will likely have the final say in whether the Spurs return to downtown and if existing East Side infrastructure will get new life” (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/5).
ALL SIGNS POINT UP: Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Jeff Webster and Centro San Antonio President & CEO Trish DeBerry write for the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS that a downtown sports and entertainment district, anchored by a new Spurs arena, “isn’t just a good idea” –- it is the “game-changing move that will define the city’s next chapter.” Downtown San Antonio has “long been the soul” of the city, but “revitalization efforts have been piecemeal.” A sports and entertainment district “changes that.” It creates a “unified, catalytic development – a destination that combines basketball, music, retail, dining, green space and residential life.” The Spurs, one of the “most respected franchises in professional sports, belong downtown.” Their presence would “draw not just basketball fans but year-round activity from tourists, families and business travelers.” A new downtown arena would “serve as a daily engine of energy and commerce – hosting concerts, conventions, esports and civic events” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 8/6).
