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Should Bexar County tax dollars help pay for Project Marvel?

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The question about whether Bexar County voters support using and possibly raising an existing tax to help pay for a downtown arena for the San Antonio Spurs could appear on the November ballot.

Some officials with the Spurs were hoping to see the Project Marvel issue on the May election, according to news reports. But questions at the Bexar County Commissioners Court may have pushed that possible date back on the calendar.

To get the question on the May 3 ballot the county would have to make the decision by February 14. Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said there are just too many unanswered questions about the plan and how much the city of San Antonio and the Spurs organization are willing to contribute. There isn’t even an official price tag for the sports complex although unofficially it’s expected to cost $4 billion.

There are also outstanding questions about what would happen to the current home of the Spurs, The Frost Bank Center, if the team moves out of that county-owned facility.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents both Hemisfair and the Frost Bank Center, said he doesn’t want the center to become another Astrodome which is long past its glory days, abandoned, decaying and a source of urban blight.

The county and the Spurs are considering dedicating and possibly raising the venue tax for the project, but that move would have to pass with voter support.

In 1999 in order to fund the Frost Bank Center, Bexar County voters passed the county’s current venue tax. It is comprised of a 5% tax on short-term car rentals and a 1.75% hotel occupancy tax. Then in 2008 voters approved using the fund to pay for improvements to the San Antonio River as well as sports and performing arts facilities.

If the voter approved using the venue tax for Project Marvel, then it will likely be 100% dedicated to the downtown sports complex.

Calvert is asking for public input. He has scheduled two town hall meetings on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.

Guest:

Tommy Calvert was elected Bexar County Commissioner for Precinct 4 in 2014 and is one of five chief executives of county government. He ran unopposed in 2018 for his second four-year term. He is the youngest and first African American County Commissioner in Bexar County. He represents over 500,000 residents in Precinct 4 of the 2 million who call Bexar County home. Precinct 4 stretches from Cibolo in the northeast, south to Elmendorf, downtown to the Alamo to IH-10 and Hildebrand to Beacon Hill, and the entire eastern portion of the county.

"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org.

This interview will be recorded on Thursday, January 23, 2024.

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David Martin Davies can be reached at dmdavies@tpr.org and on Twitter at @DavidMartinDavi