Public support for Project Marvel has remained largely unchanged over the past nine months since a bitterly fought local election over county funding, according to a new UTSA poll, as Spurs Sports & Entertainment begins rebranding the project ahead of a citywide public listening tour.
The survey, conducted June 9-16 by the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Public Opinion Research, found 47% of San Antonio residents believe the city should move forward with Project Marvel, while 35% oppose it. Another 12% said they were unsure and 8% said they had no opinion.
Those findings are similar to UTSA’s October 2025 poll of 660 likely Bexar County voters, which found 45% supported Project Marvel and 40% opposed it.
Just weeks later, Bexar County voters narrowly approved Proposition B, giving the project its first major public endorsement by authorizing an increase in the county hotel occupancy tax to fund the county’s $311 million share of a proposed $1.3 billion downtown Spurs arena. The measure passed with 52.1% of the vote and represented the only public vote on funding for Project Marvel.
While the latest survey polled significantly more San Antonio residents, with 1,064 respondents, making the October 2025 and summer 2026 polls not directly comparable, the results suggest public opinion has changed little despite months of political debate, last fall’s venue tax election and the Spurs’ return to the NBA Finals.
The poll arrives as the project enters a new stage focused on public engagement.
Beginning July 13, Spurs Sports & Entertainment will host 10 community conversations across San Antonio, inviting residents to learn more about the planned downtown sports and entertainment district, ask questions and provide feedback on the future arena and surrounding development.
The listening tour follows another major milestone this week, when the City of San Antonio completed its acquisition of the Union Square federal building near Hemisfair, one of the key properties needed for the planned redevelopment.
At the same time, project leaders are also moving away from the “Project Marvel” name.
During the “A View from The C-Suite”, business forum Wednesday hosted by Texas Public Radio and the San Antonio Report, Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO Robert Canterbury Buford confirmed the organization is moving away from the “Project Marvel” name.
After Silver Ventures CEO Bryant Ambelang referred to the project by its longtime code name, Buford interjected, “We don’t say that anymore.” When Ambelang jokingly asked what the project should be called instead, Buford replied, “We’re not there yet.”
The exchange reflects a broader shift already underway.
Recent public announcements, city statements and the upcoming listening tour describe the effort as a downtown sports and entertainment district rather than Project Marvel, emphasizing the broader redevelopment surrounding the planned Spurs arena.
Later, Buford sought to reframe the project as more than a new home for the Spurs.
“Downtown San Antonio is going through a renovation, a rejuvenation like very few places I’ve ever seen,” he said, pointing to investments surrounding Hemisfair, UTSA’s downtown campus and other nearby developments. Buford said the plan includes roughly $2 billion in development outside the arena, arguing the project is intended to create a broader downtown district rather than simply build a new stadium.
The listening tour begins Monday as the project enters its next phase, shifting from voter approval and land acquisitions to conversations with a public that, according to the poll, still includes a sizable number of undecided residents.