About three dozen people snacked on complimentary platters of sandwiches and guacamole cups topped with crabmeat Wednesday evening during one of the last of a series of Spurs listening sessions.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment has been hosting a series of 10 “community conversations” in the past week or so to gather input on Project Marvel, the $4 billion planned arena district first introduced in late 2024.
There are two more chances to weigh in — today, July 23, at Morgan’s Wonderland, and Monday, July 27, at the San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, 901 N. Loop 1604 West. Both meetings start at 6:30 p.m.
The conversations at the most recent session at Our Lady of the Lake University ranged from concerns about affordability, traffic and transparency to fan nostalgia for the team’s glory days and former Spurs center David Robinson, and anticipation for a new arena.
“We’ve got proponents and opponents, and then the curious,” Bobby Perez, chief legal officer and general counsel, Spurs Sports and Entertainment told the Report. “People are coming, and they’re learning and they’re participating, and so I think the feedback that we’re getting will be invaluable.”
Most who attended the session in the university library said they came just to listen and learn more about the plans for a sports and entertainment district first unveiled as Project Marvel.
They also summed up, in one word, their hopes for the Spurs’ new home downtown.
“Promise,” said downtown San Antonio resident Barbara Mycka, adding it heralds something better, something like what other cities have built.
Faces of the Spurs listening tour
Here’s what others had to say:
“When the Spurs played at Hemisfair … this really was a place the whole family would go. Those were fun times — to be able to have my son being around the game when he was little. When they moved to the Frost Bank Center, a lot of that was lost. It was a mistake to leave [downtown]. We lost a lot of what is San Antonio by breaking away from it. It would be nice to [be] able to enjoy the downtown area, the community, and everything. That’s one thing I’m very excited about. — Ravi Ganeshappa, who‘s lived in San Antonio since 1983 and attended the session to learn more about how traffic into and out of the district would be managed
“The Sisters came from France and other countries to begin what we enjoy in education, healthcare and social outreach, and if there’s any way to acknowledge that [in the district] as part of the history and the inheritance of San Antonio … right now I don’t see that anywhere. We’re old, and we would like very much to have something that recognizes the heritage, the inheritance of this city. I don’t want to die having people forget, or not know.” — Sister Rose Kruppa, a member of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a religious order that established OLLU and other San Antonio institutions
“It’s an opportunity to really change the entire environment of downtown … and give all of San Antonio a new place to be, and people who don’t normally come downtown to come downtown and experience the Spurs in a whole different way. We live very close to there and we’re big Spurs fans so we will be there a lot.” — Reagan Mycka is a downtown San Antonio resident who said he attended the session with wife Barbara Mycka to share his own vision for the district
“I’ve been hearing the same promises since I was in high school so it’s hard for me to hear another promise. But I won’t be here when it fails or succeeds, so I just want to witness the circle. I don’t want to bring things down but I’ve lost hope. I love the Spurs — I wish they had an arena but the city shouldn’t have to bear the burden.” — Leticia Vela lives in the South Texas Medical Center area and writes stories about the West Side of San Antonio
“[The district should have] affordable ‘everything,’ [including housing] because at Hemisfair they already have the stuff that they’re proposing. Like when I go downtown, they already have the shops, the restaurants, the green space. So I don’t want to duplicate what it already has. It should be affordable, so everyone can go use it.” — Newman Wong is originally from Hong Kong, works as director of institutional research and analytics at OLLU and has lived in Hemisfair for two years
“I’m excited about the arena, but I’m not excited about how they’re going to pay for it. Where is the money coming from. I got some answers [tonight] but I don’t know if those answers are final. I’m looking into it.” — Gloria Garcia is a lifelong San Antonian who resides in a Westside neighborhood
