SAN ANTONIO – Add another $5 into your Fiesta budget.
The San Antonio City Council voted 7-4 Thursday morning to approve a contract amendment allowing a $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes at Market Square during some of the busiest times of the 10-day event, which has traditionally been free.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) and Councilman Ric Galvan (D6) voted against it.
“It will deter folks from going, enjoying the culture, the music and the community that ultimately has built and shaped the City of San Antonio,” Castillo said.
The city said Fiesta de los Reyes, which brings in more than 250,000 visitors, is the largest single Fiesta event. Though entry has traditionally been free, the organizer — nonprofit Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation — makes money from sponsorships, booth rentals and drink sales.
The Consejos said they also need an entry fee to cover the costs of enhanced security that began last year after a fatal shootout in 2024 and another shooting in 2023.
Interim Executive Director Elaine De Los Santos told KSAT the extra security measures, which included closing off the perimeter and screening attendees with private security, came with a price tag — as did the insurance they got for an active shooter policy.
Instead of being able to raise money for scholarships — about $85,000 in 2024 — De Los Santos said her group ended up losing approximately $143,000 on the 2025 event.
“All of our money goes back to the community,” she said after Thursday’s vote. “And so, we feel that a $5 fee is not unreasonable, for it to be shared. And we feel that $5 to keep your family safe is, you know, justifiable."
Opponents to the fee worried about who it would be keeping out.
“This would fundamentally change the nature of Market Square,” Thelma Gonzalez, who owns a business in the Farmers Market Plaza at the western edge of Market Square, told council members. “It risks reduced foot traffic, harming small businesses and limiting access to families who have visited this space freely for decades."
The basics
Fiesta de los Reyes runs from Friday, April 17, through Sunday, April 26, typically between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m., apart from an extension to midnight on the Saturday of the Fiesta Flambeau Parade.
The new $5 gate fee would be charged to attendees 13 or older arriving after 6 p.m. on most weekdays and after 1 p.m. on weekends and the Friday of the Battle of Flowers parade.
If someone enters before those times, they can stay in the event for free.
Visitors can buy tickets ahead of time through the event’s website.
How much?
According to a City Council agenda memo, this year’s total ticket revenue is expected to be approximately $400,000.
The Consejos will get all the revenue up to $250,000. The city and nonprofit would split the revenue above that point.
For 2026 and 2027, the city would get a 25% cut. That share would increase for 2028 through 2030 to include a 50% cut for ticket revenue above $350,000.
The group pays the city a minimum of $135,000, plus 75 and 25 cents, respectively, for each beer or non-alcoholic beverage sold.
Fiesta began on Thursday, April 16.