OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Special Session on Downtown Sports Entertainment District, August 6, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, August 6, 2025
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, August 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
1:20

Good afternoon.

1:21

The time is now 1 03 p.m.

1:24

on Wednesday, August 6th, and the City of San Antonio special session is called to order.

1:29

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

1:32

Councilmember Cor.

1:33

Councilmember Castillo Anguiano.

1:42

Here.

1:44

Councilmember Via Gran.

1:47

Councilmember Mungia.

1:48

Present.

1:49

Councilmember Castillo.

1:51

Councilmember Galban.

1:53

Here.

1:53

Councilmember Aldarete Gavito.

1:55

Here.

1:56

Councilmember Meza Gonzalez.

1:58

Present.

1:59

Councilmember Spears.

2:00

Here.

2:01

Councilmember White.

2:02

Here.

2:02

Mayor Jones.

2:03

Here.

2:04

Mayor, we have quorum.

2:05

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

2:06

Before we start, I'd like to welcome our interim district to Councilmember Castillo Angiano to his very first meeting.

2:13

Welcome.

2:20

Okay, uh, we've got a full agenda.

2:22

We've got a full house as public comment has been has been allowed.

2:27

So this is a special meeting on the proposed downtown sports entertainment district with a focus on the economic impact analysis and community engagement report.

2:35

Um and I asked last week for the city manager to push that meeting.

2:40

We'd received quite a few um well several documents, very lengthy, and I wanted to give my colleagues sufficient time to review those.

2:48

So we pushed that to this meeting today.

2:50

Um so thank you to everybody for for being flexible.

2:53

Um those documents have been publicly available.

2:56

I will note yesterday we received and city manager will correct me, uh, but yesterday we received um the uh economic impact report that the Spurs consultant provided.

3:09

Um so that also is is publicly available, but again, um we received that yesterday.

3:18

So Eric uh please proceed with the staff presentation.

3:21

Thank you, Mayor.

3:22

Uh good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

3:23

So three components as the mayor laid out.

3:26

Uh first we'll kick off with Mario Pena from Able City, transition to John Katz from CSL, and then uh Ben Gorzel has a few slides to um talk to the council about the structure that we have discussed several times.

3:41

Um look for some direction from the council in terms of next steps.

3:46

Mario, turn it over to you.

3:49

Sure, thank you.

3:51

Thank you, Merrick.

3:53

Um my name is Mario Pena.

3:55

I'm uh one of the founding partners of Able City.

3:57

Uh and we were hired to uh lead uh design um a a large scale community engagement plan uh to reach as much of San Antonio as possible uh within these last summer months.

4:13

Um is my presentation up should I thank you.

4:23

All right.

4:25

So really first and foremost, um I want to thank Mayor Jones and the rest of the council for making space for this to happen during these summer months.

4:39

Um and and the team at Able City, and I'm sure I speak for all of the staff at the city of San Antonio that we work very closely with to roll this out.

4:48

Um we really want to thank the residents, the advocates, um, all the participants, the business sector that came out.

5:03

So their time is really really valuable to us, and we really we we want to make sure that we give them as much respect for their sharing their views as possible.

5:12

And so that's the goal of the of the engagement plan.

5:20

Okay, so the purpose.

5:22

So we always work sort of in a two-sided world.

5:28

We call it co-learning.

5:31

And the idea behind a community engagement plan like this is we want to make sure that there's space for community to learn the facts.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████25%
Sports and Entertainment District█████████████████████21%
Public Engagement█████████████13%
Budget███████7%
Community Engagement██████6%
Affordable Housing████4%
Downtown Master Development████4%
Procedural███3%
Tourism██2%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Special Session on Downtown Sports Entertainment District, August 6, 2025

The San Antonio City Council held a special session on August 6, 2025, from 1:03 PM to approximately 10:00 PM, focused on the proposed downtown sports entertainment district. The meeting included staff presentations on community engagement, economic impact, and financing, followed by extensive public testimony and council deliberation. No formal vote was taken, but council members gave direction on next steps.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Nearly 80 individuals and groups spoke, representing residents, business owners, labor unions, community organizations, and the Spurs organization. Positions were sharply divided: many business leaders (e.g., Greater San Antonio Chamber, Hotel Association, construction and real estate groups) voiced strong support, citing economic benefits, job creation, and the need to retain the Spurs. Opponents, including residents from districts 1, 2, 5, 7 and coalitions such as No Project Marvel, raised concerns about transparency, displacement, rising property taxes, use of public funds for private development, and the lack of an independent cost-benefit analysis. Several speakers highlighted the need for affordable housing, climate equity studies, and guarantees of living wages and worker protections. The Spurs organization, including executives and community team members, emphasized their financial commitments, guarantees for surrounding development, and long-standing community investment.

Discussion Items

  • Staff Presentations: Mario Pena (Able City) presented community engagement results, reporting over 1,400 in-person attendees and 2,500 survey respondents. Key themes: transparency, protections against displacement, traffic/parking concerns, and desire for walkability/local identity. John Katz (CSL International) presented an economic impact analysis for the convention center, Alamo Dome improvements, a new music venue, and mixed-use development; the analysis did not include a separate independent assessment of the Spurs arena. Ben Gorzel presented the proposed financing structure for the arena, including contributions from the Spurs ($500M+ cost overruns), Bexar County ($311M from venue tax, subject to November voter approval), and the city (estimated $350M-$500M, financed via rent, TIRZ, ground leases, and project finance zone).
  • Council Questions and Debate: Council members requested clarifications on guarantees (Spurs confirmed commitment to $1.4B in surrounding development), revenue sharing (Spurs stated it was not financially feasible under the current structure), and risks. Several members pressed for independent analysis, displacement impact assessments, and community benefits agreement details. District 1 and 5 representatives voiced skepticism about the rushed timeline and lack of data. Others, particularly from districts 3, 8, 9, 10, argued the city had sufficient information to move forward with a term sheet. Mayor Jones emphasized the need for a strategic pause and independent economic analysis before any commitment.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal vote taken (item not posted for action).
  • Mayor Jones directed city staff to pause negotiations until an independent economic analysis is completed, addressing: highest and best use of public land, ability to support two arenas, anticipated bond values, utility costs, ROI comparison for convention center/Alamo Dome, and independent assessment of Spurs arena claims.
  • City Manager Eric Walsh stated staff would pursue an independent analysis and also begin negotiating term sheet details with the Spurs (excluding dollar amount) to define guarantees, development timelines, and community benefits framework.
  • Council consensus to continue public engagement, with some members requesting separate ballot propositions for infrastructure bonds and housing bonds.
  • The meeting adjourned with direction to bring back a report on the independent analysis and a proposed term sheet timeline.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. The time is now 1 03 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6th, and the City of San Antonio special session is called to order. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Councilmember Cor. Councilmember Castillo Anguiano. Here. Councilmember Via Gran. Councilmember Mungia. Present. Councilmember Castillo. Councilmember Galban. Here. Councilmember Aldarete Gavito. Here. Councilmember Meza Gonzalez. Present. Councilmember Spears. Here. Councilmember White. Here. Mayor Jones. Here. Mayor, we have quorum. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Before we start, I'd like to welcome our interim district to Councilmember Castillo Angiano to his very first meeting. Welcome. Okay, uh, we've got a full agenda. We've got a full house as public comment has been has been allowed. So this is a special meeting on the proposed downtown sports entertainment district with a focus on the economic impact analysis and community engagement report. Um and I asked last week for the city manager to push that meeting. We'd received quite a few um well several documents, very lengthy, and I wanted to give my colleagues sufficient time to review those. So we pushed that to this meeting today. Um so thank you to everybody for for being flexible. Um those documents have been publicly available. I will note yesterday we received and city manager will correct me, uh, but yesterday we received um the uh economic impact report that the Spurs consultant provided. Um so that also is is publicly available, but again, um we received that yesterday. So Eric uh please proceed with the staff presentation. Thank you, Mayor. Uh good afternoon, Mayor and Council. So three components as the mayor laid out. Uh first we'll kick off with Mario Pena from Able City, transition to John Katz from CSL, and then uh Ben Gorzel has a few slides to um talk to the council about the structure that we have discussed several times. Um look for some direction from the council in terms of next steps. Mario, turn it over to you. Sure, thank you. Thank you, Merrick. Um my name is Mario Pena. I'm uh one of the founding partners of Able City. Uh and we were hired to uh lead uh design um a a large scale community engagement plan uh to reach as much of San Antonio as possible uh within these last summer months. Um is my presentation up should I thank you.

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