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Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford released an open letter to the San Antonio community last week, four days after Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones asked the City Council to discuss placing the city's $489 million contribution to a new downtown Spurs arena on the November ballot.
More than $2 billion comes from the Spurs and partners, with all cost overruns covered, after years of planning by the city, county, Rodeo, and Spurs.
"Last November, the people of Bexar County made their voices heard," Buford wrote. "They approved a shared vision that invests in a new downtown home for the Spurs, strengthens the East Side and creates new opportunities across our community. We committed to respecting that vote, and we will."
About 52% of Bexar County voters approved the venue tax measure on Nov. 4, 2025, funding the county's $311 million in taxes on hotel stays and rental cars. Bonds cover the city's $489 million. Four revenue streams support them: the Spurs' lease of the publicly owned building, private developers' lease of nearby city land, property tax revenue inside the Hemisfair Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, and hotel-related state taxes in a Project Finance Zone. None required a public vote. Spurs Sports & Entertainment is covering at least $500 million of the $1.3 billion arena plus overruns.
In a July 31 memo to her colleagues, Jones proposed a council discussion about ordering a citywide vote in November. City residents live in Bexar County too. The memo said city voters deserve to vote twice because they pay twice.
Visitor-based revenue collected at the Texas state level pays the city's share, Buford wrote, and state law restricts it to venues and tourism-related projects. Streets, schools, and public safety cannot draw on it.
"That is not a burden placed on local families," Buford wrote. "It is a way to keep visitor dollars in San Antonio, leverage billions in private investment and create new revenue that can support the services our community depends on."
An economic analysis in the letter estimated $164 million in net spending to the City of San Antonio during the 2026 playoffs. City tax revenue came to $3.4 million, including $1.4 million for the general fund.
The Spurs are funding a $75 million community benefits program, with the city and county managing it. The money goes to workforce development, future generations, and small businesses. Local hiring and vendor goals come with it.
Local entrepreneurs will welcome new customers and young people will see new career paths, Buford wrote.
"The vote has taken place," Buford wrote. "The commitments have been made. The work is underway."
The deadline to order a November election is Aug. 17. Jones would need at least five of the 10 other council members to agree, and six of them told KSAT they are against the idea: Sukh Kaur (D1), Phyllis Viagran (D3), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8), Misty Spears (D9), and Marc Whyte (D10). Whyte called the memo tremendously misleading. The $489 million has nothing to do with the city's budget gap, he said. Kaur said a second election would spend money and energy repeating work the council has already done.
Jones has tied the proposal to the city's $158 million budget deficit. Without action it is projected to reach $264 million. Appearing on KSAT's Q&A on Tuesday, Jones said there is still time.
City staff want a series of agreements with Spurs Sports & Entertainment finalized by the end of the year. In June the city was still waiting on a study of the project's potential costs and revenue opportunities. The city has already spent $31 million from the Spurs organization to acquire federal properties in the Hemisfair area for development around the arena site.
The arena is scheduled to host the team beginning in 2030. San Antonio lost the 2026 NBA Finals to the New York Knicks, then signed Tobias Harris in free agency in July. Frost Bank Center hosts the 2026-27 season.
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More than $2 billion comes from the Spurs and partners, with all cost overruns covered, after years of planning by the city, county, Rodeo, and Spurs.
"Last November, the people of Bexar County made their voices heard," Buford wrote. "They approved a shared vision that invests in a new downtown home for the Spurs, strengthens the East Side and creates new opportunities across our community. We committed to respecting that vote, and we will."
About 52% of Bexar County voters approved the venue tax measure on Nov. 4, 2025, funding the county's $311 million in taxes on hotel stays and rental cars. Bonds cover the city's $489 million. Four revenue streams support them: the Spurs' lease of the publicly owned building, private developers' lease of nearby city land, property tax revenue inside the Hemisfair Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, and hotel-related state taxes in a Project Finance Zone. None required a public vote. Spurs Sports & Entertainment is covering at least $500 million of the $1.3 billion arena plus overruns.
In a July 31 memo to her colleagues, Jones proposed a council discussion about ordering a citywide vote in November. City residents live in Bexar County too. The memo said city voters deserve to vote twice because they pay twice.
Visitor-based revenue collected at the Texas state level pays the city's share, Buford wrote, and state law restricts it to venues and tourism-related projects. Streets, schools, and public safety cannot draw on it.
"That is not a burden placed on local families," Buford wrote. "It is a way to keep visitor dollars in San Antonio, leverage billions in private investment and create new revenue that can support the services our community depends on."
An economic analysis in the letter estimated $164 million in net spending to the City of San Antonio during the 2026 playoffs. City tax revenue came to $3.4 million, including $1.4 million for the general fund.
The Spurs are funding a $75 million community benefits program, with the city and county managing it. The money goes to workforce development, future generations, and small businesses. Local hiring and vendor goals come with it.
Local entrepreneurs will welcome new customers and young people will see new career paths, Buford wrote.
"The vote has taken place," Buford wrote. "The commitments have been made. The work is underway."
The deadline to order a November election is Aug. 17. Jones would need at least five of the 10 other council members to agree, and six of them told KSAT they are against the idea: Sukh Kaur (D1), Phyllis Viagran (D3), Marina Alderete Gavito (D7), Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8), Misty Spears (D9), and Marc Whyte (D10). Whyte called the memo tremendously misleading. The $489 million has nothing to do with the city's budget gap, he said. Kaur said a second election would spend money and energy repeating work the council has already done.
Jones has tied the proposal to the city's $158 million budget deficit. Without action it is projected to reach $264 million. Appearing on KSAT's Q&A on Tuesday, Jones said there is still time.
City staff want a series of agreements with Spurs Sports & Entertainment finalized by the end of the year. In June the city was still waiting on a study of the project's potential costs and revenue opportunities. The city has already spent $31 million from the Spurs organization to acquire federal properties in the Hemisfair area for development around the arena site.
The arena is scheduled to host the team beginning in 2030. San Antonio lost the 2026 NBA Finals to the New York Knicks, then signed Tobias Harris in free agency in July. Frost Bank Center hosts the 2026-27 season.
Continue reading...
