SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs have pledged at least $1 billion towards a new downtown arena and entertainment district, as part of the city’s ongoing Project Marvel discussions, according to a letter from Chairman Peter J. Holt obtained by KSAT.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) investors and future development partners “are willing to invest over $1 billion in this effort,” Holt said in the letter dated Thursday, July 24.
Holt, the team’s managing partner, sent the letter to City Manager Erik Walsh, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and City Council ahead of discussion around the arena during a special session on Friday afternoon.
The arena is projected to cost between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion.
The price tag for the Spurs’ proposed investment would include:
- $500 million and guaranteed coverage of cost overruns for a new arena
- $500 million in adjacent downtown development
- $60 million in additional community incentives
Holt said the figures are money the organization proposes spending “in addition to, not in place of, our investment in the arena and surrounding infrastructure.”
The numbers are the first time that hard figures have been laid out for funding connected to the arena from the Spurs.
Holt then clarified the specifics of the $60 million draft community incentives package, which includes the following proposals:
- Allocating 30% of the arena and district construction contracts to locally-owned, San Antonio companies
- On Spurs game days, SS&E would underwrite VIA Park & Ride for up to 2,000 single-game primary ticket buyers
- SS&E would make 500 tickets available for every Spurs home game at $25 or less
- SS&E proposes underwriting a new policy targeting early childhood education and child care challenges in the community
“Our assessment continues to support a $500 million allocation to a new downtown arena funded by the state’s hotel motel funds and other sources guaranteed by SS&E, and we request that amount to create a path for the future investment in downtown San Antonio at more than $1 billion,” Holt said in the letter.
Holt said the organization recognized the work still needed to be done for the project, such as “making the case” to the community about the project’s needs and local economic benefits.
During a series of two-day community planning workshops held in each of the 10 city council districts, East Side residents expressed apprehension about the project’s goals.
Some residents pondered Project Marvel’s necessity, citing concerns such as the failed growth materialization around the Spurs’ current home on the East Side, the Frost Bank Center.
“We remain fully committed to working in partnership with the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, and the public to explore this opportunity together with transparency, trust and a shared vision for our community’s future,” Holt said in the letter.
See below to read the letter in full:
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