San Antonio City Council Makes Pivotal Decision Regarding Spurs' Downtown Arena

SAN ANTONIO — Settled by a 5-6 City Council vote Monday morning, the City of San Antonio's proposed $489 million contribution toward a new downtown arena for the San Antonio Spurs will not be placed on this year's November election ballot.

Spurs legend Sean Elliott was among several speakers to face San Antonio mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and the council during its special session. His pitch likened the city and its future to the Spurs, who are fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.

"No one expected our young Spurs ... to make a run all the way to the NBA Finals," Elliott said. "They epitomize the spirit of this city. They were tough. They played with grit and heart. They believed in each other and they defied the odds. You could feel that everywhere."

He continued: "I've never been more excited about where San Antonio is headed."

A public vote directly aimed at approving the city's share, which is not legally required, was pushed by Jones, who has publicly opposed the initiative since taking office in June 2025.

There will be no secondary vote on the city’s $489 million contribution to the #Spurs’ new downtown arena this fall.

Between this and the initial vote to not place a strategic pause on talks between the team and city last fall, it’s clear the majority is in favor of doing what…
— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) August 17, 2026

Jones initially cited the lack of a secondary economic study on sports and entertainment district's financial impact on San Antonio as her main concern with "Project Marvel," despite the existence of a CSL study completed under former mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Like the vote held on Monday, Jones' request at the time for a strategic pause on talks between city manager Erik Walsh and the Spurs on a term sheet for the downtown arena was swatted by City Council in a 7-4 decision last August. Both parties then moved forward.

“I will always fight to ensure our community has more of a say in how their money is spent," Jones said in a memo posted to social media on Monday, "not less. They deserve that.”

Per the term sheet, the breakdown of costs surrounding the new arena — part of Project Marvel's larger effort that also includes expanding the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and renovating the Alamodome — is planned to be split three ways, as follows:

San Antonio Spurs: $500 million and all cost overruns
City of San Antonio: lower of $489 million or 38 percent
Bexar County: lower of $311 million or 25 percent

Last November, voters passed both Proposition A, which approved an increased venue tax to provide funding for a reimagined Eastside coliseum district near Frost Bank Center, and Proposition B, which increased hotel and rental car tax rates to fund Bexar County's share.

The city, meanwhile, plans to issue revenue bonds backed by four revenue streams: rent from the Spurs, ground-lease payments from private developers, property-tax revenue captured within the Hemisfair Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and state hotel-related tax revenue captured through the Project Finance Zone to cover its share.

Per departing Bexar County judge Peter Sakai, funding from those bonds cannot be used to offset the city's budget deficit, which Jones cited while lobbying for San Antonio voters having a say on the city's contribution toward the publicly-owned downtown arena.

While voters won't specifically vote on the city's share, they will need to approve the disbursement of a bond that will fund necessary renovations to the surrounding area.

Logistical details for such a vote are expected to be discussed by City Council in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the Spurs are grateful for Monday's vote of confidence.

“Today’s decision allows San Antonio to move forward on a path that was established through years of work, public discussion, City and County action and last year’s vote," Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said via press release. "We can now turn our full attention to delivering on that shared vision and the transformational opportunity ahead for our city."

"Now is the time to build on that energy," Elliott added, "Real opportunity to revitalize the Eastside, hotels, restaurants, small businesses. That’s right there within our reach."

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