SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio voters could be asked to approve between $220 million and $250 million worth of infrastructure work to help prepare the area near Hemisfair for a flood of visitors due to Project Marvel.
City council members were briefed Wednesday on the latest developments on the proposed multi-billion-dollar sports and entertainment district.
A new Spurs arena, estimated at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, has attracted the most attention, but the city’s plans also include expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center, renovating the John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse into an events venue, upgrading the Alamodome, building a land bridge over Interstate 37, private development and more.
With all the projects, the city said the nearby infrastructure needs an overhaul. Part of Wednesday’s briefing included a potential $220 million to $250 million bond to help fund a variety of projects over five years:
- Traffic signal improvements
- Expansion or addition of highway ramps
- A 2,500-space parking garage at the Alamodome
- A pedestrian bridge across Interstate 37
- Upgrades to Cesar Chavez Boulevard
- Enhancements to traffic flow at the I-37/César E. Chávez Boulevard intersection
The presentation included another 10 years of infrastructure work, but no price tag was attached.
“We know that we have needs for upgraded infrastructure. We know we need better parking. We need better transit in downtown San Antonio,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting. “So, all of that needs to happen. I’m confident that voters and future elected officials will see the wisdom in moving forward with all of this.”
A citywide vote on the proposed bond could happen as soon as November, but it would be up to the incoming City Council to call an election by Aug. 18.
City Staff said the November ballot could also include bonds for affordable housing and improvement projects in neighborhoods near Hemisfair.
Staff said they don’t anticipate the bond would require raising the tax rate, but council members would need to consider how it might impact other potential bonds, including the next five-year bond program set for 2027.
As for the Spurs arena, the city envisions a mix of public and private funding sources, though top executives and Nirenberg have stressed that funding sources will depend on the development that arises from the district.
“I will tell you this: we are not going to pay for an arena using property tax — residential property tax," Nirenberg said during a Tuesday Q&A session during KSAT’s 6 O’Clock News. “That’s not on the table. It wouldn’t be on the table. There are other ways to do this through, you know, visitor and business revenues that are generated from the business that would not be there unless the Spurs were to come downtown.”
City staff’s vision for funding a new arena revolves around five possible streams of public and private dollars:
- PFZ: A newly created “project finance zone” allows the city to capture a share of hotel-related, state tax dollars over 30 years from within three miles of a “Convention Center Complex.” The city can then spend the money on projects within that complex: the expansion of the Henry B. González Convention Center, improving the Alamodome and building a new Spurs arena.
- TIRZ: Similar to a PFZ, a “tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ)” sets aside new, city property tax revenue from development or higher values within a specific area. The money is then used to fund more projects within that same area. The proposed stadium sits in the city’s Hemisfair TIRZ, where the Spurs are looking to bring on a developer partner. City staff say they’ll be looking for guarantees from the developer on the revenue from their projects.
- Venue Tax: A Bexar County tax on hotel stays and car rentals that was used to fund the Spurs’ current home, the now-Frost Bank Center. County Judge Peter Sakai, though, has said the county needs to use the tax to keep up its own facilities before helping the Spurs build a new home.
- Leases: These would include the Spurs leasing the new arena, but also private developers leasing nearby land for their projects.
- Spurs: Private money from the team, which Forbes values at $3.85 billion.
To date, there has not been any public discussion of exactly how much each of these funding options could provide for a new arena.
More recent Project Marvel coverage on KSAT:
