San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones sought to call a strategic time-out on the full court press mounted by the Spurs and the Project Marvel Sports & Entertainment District but ran into a procedural block.
During a marathon city council meeting Wednesday night, Jones proposed calling for a vote on whether to pause the negotiations. However, she was told by City Attorney Andy Segovia that city council votes are not possible in council sessions where possible council action is not posted on the agenda ahead of time. This rule is in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Regardless, a majority of her colleagues on the city council said they didn't see the need for a pause, and they would like to move forward with negotiations.
Details of the deal to develop Project Marvel remain murky and there are outstanding questions about the benefits of the downtown redevelopment.
The San Antonio City Council was briefed on two economic impact reports for the Project Marvel Sports & Entertainment District as well as a public engagement report that contained community feedback about the proposed district from an online survey and in-person town halls on Wednesday.
The new Spurs arena has an estimated cost of between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion, and the Spurs have offered to contribute $500 million of that cost. The city is considering contributing between $350 million and $500 million, and Bexar County is expected to contribute up to $311 million.
The topic attracted intense public input. More than one hundred speakers participated in the public comment segment of the meeting. The vast majority of the speakers voiced their support for the entertainment district. However, there were also community members speaking out against developing the new Spurs arena.
Mayor Jones will join The Source on Thursday at noon.
Guest:
Gina Ortiz Jones is the mayor of San Antonio.
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 episode will be recorded on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
