SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs’ parent company confirmed conversations about a new “economic development project” in a letter sent Monday to the state attorney general’s office, according to a report.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s letter was obtained and first reported on by the San Antonio Express-News. The Spurs organization sent the letter to Ken Paxton’s office in an attempt to block an open records request made by the Express-News, the paper reported.
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The paper said it had requested communications between SS&E, the City of San Antonio, and the University of Texas at San Antonio regarding the current location of the Institute of Texan Cultures, which has been speculated as possible location for a new arena.
In the letter, the organization discussed its hope to secure a “possible purchase, lease, and/or development of real property that involves SS&E, the city (of San Antonio), and additional third parties.”
SS&E nor the city have publicly revealed a location for the “project.”
The Spurs called Hemisfair Arena home for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993.
In February, the University of Texas System Board of Regents — which owns the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures at 801 East César E. Chávez Boulevard — voted on a plan to possibly lease or sell the museum site to the City of San Antonio.
UTSA announced it will move the museum’s current contents to the first floor of the Frost Tower and eventually demolish the museum’s current location, which could be where the Spurs decide to call home with the city’s and other parties’ cooperation.
The Spurs have played their home games at the Frost Bank Center location since the 2002-03 NBA season — and have another eight years remaining on their lease — but discussions centered around moving out of the arena have been happening for quite some time.
In July 2023, a source told KSAT about the existence of conversations between the Spurs and the city about the feasibility of a move downtown.
One month later, through an open records request, KSAT obtained emails and text messages regarding the potential move back downtown between SS&E members and city officials.
More related coverage on KSAT.com