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San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh announced on Thursday that the city will intensify public outreach efforts on Project Marvel, the multibillion dollar sports and entertainment complex proposed for downtown.
At the heart of Project Marvel would be a new arena for the Spurs, who would be moved from their Frost Bank Center home on the East Side, and makeovers for the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and Alamodome.
Ten two-day meetings are planned in each of the 10 city council districts in June and July, according to city officials. Exact dates are expected to be released soon, and meeting locations will include community centers.
A community survey is in the works too. Residents who don't want to attend one of the meetings or make their comments known now can do so at saspeakup.com/sportsdistrict.
Walsh said residents should know Project Marvel needs their input.
"I know that there may be folks who think this is done," he said. "It's far from it. There's a lot of work that needs to be done and the public engagement part, as you heard council talk earlier in the year, is an important element in that."
Assistant San Antonio City Manager Lori Houston said residents have a lot of questions about Project Marvel that could be addressed during the meetings.
"We've heard concerns about parking and infrastructure," she said. "We've heard concerns about affordable housing. We've heard concerns about funding, how is this all going to be funded?"
Walsh said the funding framework for Project Marvel should become clearer in early June when staff is scheduled to brief the full city council on the issue.
Walsh said there are five potential revenue sources centered around the proposed arena, which are a venue tax that must be approved by voters, Spurs development revenue, lease revenue from the Hemisfair area, and revenue from a project finance zone.
Walsh agreed with a comparison by TPR that Project Marvel is on the same scale of the Hemisfair 68 project that brought the World's Fair here that year.
He also agreed the revenue from Project Marvel would be like that of an "Alamodome on steroids." The dome currently hosts most major downtown sporting events and other entertainment, including concerts.
The dome most recently hosted the NCAA Final Four games in April, which filled indoor and outdoor downtown venues with visitors with fan related events and a music festival. They envision much the same for Project Marvel.
