City of San Antonio officials have “proposed a major infrastructure plan” to support a new downtown sports and entertainment district, including a new arena for the Spurs, but that “laundry list of projects would be funded, at least in part, by a municipal bond package requiring voter approval,” according to W. Scott Bailey of the SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL. The plan “could cost as much as” $250M to execute, and though the city has “secured a funding mechanism via the state,” public buy-in “may be needed for an essential part of that landmark project.” Left unaddressed, “accessibility challenges in the area could thwart development opportunities.” The infrastructure plan “includes a series of transportation-related improvements.” Asked if the project, as envisioned, is feasible without the infrastructure funding, Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said, “No. The traffic conditions that exist today when there is a large event at the Alamodome must be improved. If these conditions are not improved, several projects within the proposed district cannot continue.” City Manager Erik Walsh said that to “get an infrastructure bond package on the November ballot, the city council would have to act by August 18” (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/5).
ROUNDING UP THE FUNDS: In San Antonio, Madison Iszler noted the November ballot could “also include Bexar County’s venue tax, which is collected on hotel rooms and rental cars and could be used to pay part of the cost of the Spurs arena, upgrades to the Frost Bank Center, and renovations to the Freeman Coliseum grounds.” The Spurs arena is “expected to cost up to” $1.5B. Along with the county venue tax, city officials are “proposing paying for the facility with taxes generated by new development within a tax increment reinvestment zone; money from a ‘project financing zone’ that allows the city to collect the state’s portion of hotel tax revenue generated within three miles of the Convention Center for 30 years; revenue from leasing the arena to the Spurs and leasing other properties in the area to developers; and a contribution by the team.” It “remains unclear how much Spurs Sports & Entertainment would kick in — or how much of the bill the city would be willing to foot” (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 6/4).
