SAN ANTONIO – Ideas that can change the shape of a city as large as San Antonio are rarely made public out of thin air. They typically begin with a discussion, or a series of discussions, before seeing the light of day.
In the nine months since the City of San Antonio’s plans to reshape downtown became public knowledge, some questions — such as “What would be new?” and “What would be renewed?” — have been answered. Other questions — such as “How will it be paid for?” — remain unclear.
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How the city’s private discussions first became public
In September 2024, through an open records request, KSAT 12 first reported on previously top-secret discussions held between the City of San Antonio and real estate and consulting firms, about “exploring the development of a sports and entertainment district.”
What KSAT also found in those 2023 records is the first mention of an estimated price tag for the potential sports and entertainment district.
Records show City of San Antonio Assistant City Manager Lori Houston emailed the real estate and consulting firms that the city was “in the feasibility phase for a $3-4 billion sports and entertainment district.”
Houston later emailed those companies a series of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). In the NDAs, which KSAT also obtained in September 2024, the informal name of the plan was referenced for the first time: Project Marvel.
What makes up Project Marvel?
The district, which has been proposed to revamp the Hemisfair portion of downtown, would include:
- a new San Antonio Spurs arena
- expanding the Henry B. González Convention Center
- renovating the John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse into an events venue
- upgrading to the 32-year-old Alamodome
- building a land bridge over Interstate 37 connecting the western part of the district to the Alamodome
- private development
Some initial hurdles needed to be cleared before other larger ones could be addressed down the line. One of those hurdles included the 163,000-square-foot U.S. General Services Administration building in the southeastern quadrant of Hemisfair.
Earlier this year, the GSA building was put up for sale.
Another hurdle was the Institute of Texan Cultures building, along César E. Chávez Boulevard near I-37, located in the heart of Hemisfair.
The 67-year-old building was owned by the University of Texas at San Antonio. In October 2024, the Conservation Society of San Antonio petitioned for the Texas Historical Commission to designate the ITC building as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). The designation meant that the building can’t be altered or demolished without the commission’s approval.
In November 2024, the city released its first conception of what Project Marvel could look like when it reaches the finish line.
In December 2024, UTSA received approval from the commission to tear down the ITC building. In the meantime, everything inside the former ITC structure was relocated to the Frost Tower.
Despite the Conservation Society of San Antonio’s initial objection and successive lawsuits to pause and prevent demolition, organization president Lewis Vetter admitted there was not more it could do.
“Even if we were to succeed in our appeal, there is little left to save,” Vetter said in a May 16 statement to KSAT. “It is already gone.”
Demolition of the facility began in April 2025. In June 2025, KSAT shot drone video of the ongoing demolition at the ITC building.
Reaching an ‘understanding’
The Spurs currently call the Frost Bank Center, which opened in 2002, home. The team’s lease at the Bexar County-owned arena expires in 2032.
After San Antonio city council members OK’d the start of negotiations in February, the city, team and county entered into an agreement in April 2025 (described as a “memorandum of understanding”) that expressed their shared effort to bring Project Marvel to completion.
“This agreement to pursue a downtown sports and entertainment district that includes the Spurs represents a shared commitment to the future of our community,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement announcing the partnership.
“I am happy that we have worked together to finalize this MOU. We are looking forward to a potential November venue tax election to allow voters to voice their opinion on the new Spurs arena, which is the only component of Project Marvel involving Bexar County,” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said in the news release.
Spurs CEO RC Buford called it an “exciting project” to boost the economy and “position San Antonio for long-term success.”
“This process allows us to purposefully evaluate how an arena in the heart of a thriving entertainment district can drive new economic opportunities, local business growth and increased tourism revenue, all of which benefit our entire region,” Buford said in a statement, in part.
Paying for Project Marvel
The proposed Spurs arena, considered the center of the new district, would likely be the most expensive piece of the puzzle, but several other pieces could cost in the nine or 10-figure plateau, as well. Below are estimates from the City of San Antonio:
- new Spurs arena (between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion)
- Henry B. González Convention Center expansion (between $700 million and $900 million)
- adjacent hotel to the convention center (at least $750 million)
- John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse’s renovation into an events venue (between $100 million and $150 million)
The four known projected price tags top out at approximately $3.3 billion, but how much Alamodome upgrades and a land bridge across Interstate 37 would cost is unclear.
How everything would be paid for has not been hammered out completely and is somewhat convoluted.
In May 2025, San Antonio City Council voted to create a new Project Financing Zone (PFZ), but it is unclear what role it will play in the overall funding of a Spurs arena at Hemisfair.
A PFZ was first created in December 2023 to help fund improvements to the Henry B. González Convention Center and the Alamodome.
The state comptroller’s office previously estimated a PFZ around the convention center could bring in nearly $2.5 billion over 30 years. City staff are also working on an updated projection, but they expect their more conservative forecast will likely be closer to around $2 billion.
The money wouldn’t be just for the arena. City Manager Erik Walsh previously said the convention center is the “first priority,” while the Alamodome improvements are “down the road.”
“I will tell you this: we are not going to pay for an arena using property tax — residential property tax," Nirenberg said during a June 3, 2025, 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.”
The city’s larger vision for funding a new Spurs arena revolves around five possible streams of public and private dollars:
- PFZ: This would allow 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 said 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. 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.
Where Project Marvel currently stands
What remains a concern is how the new district would directly impact residents in the Lavaca neighborhood, which is located south of Hemisfair. Some appear to have mixed feelings about it.
Aside from the new facilities and projected upgrades, the city said nearby infrastructure upgrades are also needed.
During a June 4, 2025, briefing, a potential $220 million to $250 million bond that residents could vote on would fund a variety of projects over the next 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 César E. Chávez 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,” Nirenberg told reporters after the June 4, 2025, 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, 2025.
More recent Project Marvel coverage on KSAT: