The San Antonio Report’s annual CityFest event this month will take on the hottest topic in Bexar County — the proposed downtown San Antonio Spurs arena and entertainment district, or Project Marvel.
The 2025 CityFest lineup features a ticketed keynote luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 21 with Spurs owner Peter Holt and legendary NBA player Sean Elliot discussing the team’s impact on San Antonio through the years, followed by two of the biggest decision-makers on the downtown arena project, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, who will unpack the financial and community implications of the project.
Sponsorships for the luncheon are available, see more information on on the CityFest website or email events@sareport.org.
That conversation will take place just as early voting gets underway Oct. 20 in Bexar County’s $503 million venue tax election.
The election represents local voters’ first opportunity to weigh in on plans long debated behind closed doors, and perhaps their only chance to weigh in on public funding for a new downtown Spurs arena through a Nov. 4 ballot measure known as Proposition B.
Voters will also be asked to consider a major redevelopment of the Spurs’ current Eastside home, listed on the ballot at Proposition A, which would turn the Frost Bank Center, Freeman Coliseum and surrounding grounds into a year-round stock show and rodeo district.
On Wednesday during CityFest, the San Antonio Report will host a panel discussion with James Nortey of San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside, Father Jimmy Drennan of the COPS/Metro Alliance, Cody Davenport of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and Bexar County Manager David Smith on what’s next for San Antonio’s East Side if the Spurs move back downtown.
On Thursday, Hemisfair-area business owners Johnny Hernandez and Jody Bailey Newman will participate in a panel with City Manager Erik Walsh about the impact the proposed project will have on their businesses and the surrounding neighborhoods, followed by a fun and free happy hour.
Pre-register to attend the East side panel event and small business event here.
