The most ambitious project likely in the city’s modern history needs a boss and it’s about to hire one.
Next week, San Antonio City Council is scheduled to approve a $6 million contract for an executive program manager (EPM), a consultant firm that will oversee development of the sports and entertainment district and ensure success of the project.
The council also will vote to confirm selection of an outside firm to study the costs and revenue opportunities related to Project Marvel, a contract worth $350,000.
Officials first debuted wide-scale plans for the sports and entertainment district in November 2024 and pushed the plans for funding with voters a year later.
The $3-4 billion project will bring in a new Spurs arena, upgrades to the convention center and mixed-use residential and retail development to the southeast quadrant of downtown, in and around Hemisfair.
An evaluation committee selected the global firm Accenture Infrastructure and Capital Projects for the executive program manager job from among seven bids.
Accenture is a professional services company that works with businesses and governments to implement technology, optimize operations and leverage AI to drive innovation and performance, according to its website.
The company’s major clients include Best Buy, Prada, Vodafone, BBVA and Air France-KLM, and its clients in the sports world include the NFL, the Golden State Warriors (NBA) and the ESPN Edge Innovation Center.
Led by Chairperson and CEO Julie Sweet and CEO of the Americas John Walsh, the Fortune 500-ranked Accenture has over 700,000 employees across 120 countries.
Accenture’s proposal beat out Project Control of Texas, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Hill Building Group, Brailsford & Dunlavey, MOCA systems, Broaddus & Associates and WSP USA.
As leader of the project, the EPM is expected to coordinate and manage activities within the sports and entertainment district related to infrastructure improvement projects, construction and improvements to venues and mixed-use development, state city documents.
The contract with Accenture is for the first year of the project, and is renewable annually until September 2031.
The work will be funded through the Hotel Occupancy Tax Redemption and Capital Fund and the capital budgets for projects within the sports and entertainment district.
Also on the council agenda for a decision May 7 is an ordinance awarding MuniCap a one-year contract to provide project costs of service impacts, perform revenue forecasting and identify new revenue opportunities for the district.
Funding for the study also will come from San Antonio’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, a tax on hotel stays that provides revenue for tourism, the arts and convention facilities.
The Maryland-based MuniCap is a public finance consulting firm specializing in public financing for real estate development that’s provided support for projects that include The Bridge District in Washington, D.C., Seaport in San Diego and Beltline in Atlanta.
They beat out Oliver Wyman of New York and Baker Tilley Advisory Group of Chicago, according to the city’s evaluation matrix.
The study is expected to provide projected cost of service impacts for traffic, security, emergency medical services, fire response, park maintenance and other core services.
A spokeswoman for the Spurs said Wednesday that the organization plans to announce their project leads for the arena — architects, project managers, financial advisors — in another week or two.
