Amid growing excitement about the arrival of the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick last month, City Council members were briefed individually by City Manager Erik Walsh before breaking for their July recess about the possibility of a new downtown sports district that would include a new arena.
According to multiple council members familiar with the discussions, however, such a project could still be many years in the future, depending on how public funding factors into the equation.
The Spurs’ lease on the AT&T Center, owned by Bexar County and located on the East Side, ends in 2032. As of Wednesday, multiple county commissioners said they have yet to hear from the Spurs about potential changes to that agreement.
Meanwhile, the city’s next municipal bond — one potential funding source for the complex — would likely be put to voters in 2027.
Talk of the Spurs returning to downtown, where they played for 29 seasons, ignited when the team landed the top pick in the NBA draft, 19-year-old Victor Wembanyama.
Consternation about the team’s request to play some of its games in Austin, despite promises from the team’s chairman that the Spurs’ ownership group would not seek to relocate the team to another city, gave way to renewed optimism about the team’s on-court fortunes — including the possibility of showcasing Wemby in a sparkling new downtown arena.
“What’s been on people’s mind is, what are the possibilities? What is the land that the city owns? What are the assets that we have, what can we work with?” said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), who represents the city’s East Side.
“I imagine that if people are weighing all options, people are definitely thinking about the fact that there’s a bond, people are thinking about what increment and what funding sources we have available,” he said. “I imagine these conversations are happening right now because there’s interest in that happening as soon as the lease is up” on the AT&T Center.
The two newest NBA arenas are in San Francisco and Milwaukee — and downtown.
The Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center, which opened in 2019, cost $1.4 billion to construct and was privately financed by the team. The Milwaukee Bucks’ home, Fiserv Forum, was completed in 2018 for roughly $524 million, including $250 million of state and local funds as the city faced the potential loss of its NBA team.
A dual complex?
In San Antonio’s case, there’s significant overlapping business interest between the city’s NBA team, the Spurs, and its minor league baseball team, the Missions.
The new sports complex would attempt to facilitate both teams side by side, potentially at the current site of the Alamodome or Institute of Texan Cultures, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Walsh did not respond to a request for comment about the city’s discussions with the Spurs. In an interview last month with News Channel 4’s Don Harris, Mayor Ron Nirenberg noted “funding models have changed dramatically in the sports world over the last 30 years.”
Councilman Marc Whyte (D10), who supports the idea of a new dual sports complex, said the project doesn’t necessarily need bond money to move forward.
The AT&T Center, for example, was funded by an increase to the hotel and rental car tax that voters approved in 1999.
“As far as I’m concerned there hasn’t been any specific timeline laid out. This is in the exploratory process,” said Whyte, who has met with both city and business people involved in the discussions.
“If it’s going to move forward I would like to see it happen sooner than later,” he added. “Wemby starts playing in a few months; 2032 is nine years from now.”
East Side development
McKee-Rodriguez said there are still many questions that would need to be answered about how a move by the Spurs back downtown might impact the city’s East Side, for which the AT&T Center was expected to be an economic boon when the arena opened in 2002.
“I think there are going to be conflicting feelings. … What are we going to do about the promises that were made [to the East Side]?” he said. “Is this the city and the county and the Spurs saying that [East Side development] didn’t happen, so it’s never going to happen? Or is there an opportunity to get a win out of this?”
McKee-Rodriguez believes there is.
He said the AT&T Center could be revamped to better accommodate the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. It could also become more of a concert venue, as opposed to a sports complex, he said.
“I think it’s all about making sure that something tangible happens for the East Side at the same time that something tangible is happening in making that move downtown,” McKee-Rodriguez said.
Commissioner Tommy Calvert (Pct. 4), who has been an outspoken advocate for development on the East Side, declined to comment for the story.
