San Antonio Audit Committee Meeting on Downtown Mobility and Sports District Contracts - April 14, 2026
San Antonio Audit Committee Meeting on Downtown Mobility and Sports District Contracts - April 14, 2026
On April 14, 2026, the Audit Committee of the San Antonio City Council convened at 2:02 p.m. to approve minutes and receive briefings on three major contracts related to downtown mobility and the proposed Sports and Entertainment District. The meeting concluded at 3:07 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were approved unanimously by voice vote.
Pre-Solicitation Briefing: Downtown Accessibility and Mobility Study
- Item 2 – Downtown Accessibility and Mobility Study: Staff presented a pre-solicitation briefing for a $500,000 contract (one-year term, one-year renewal option) to conduct a comprehensive downtown accessibility and mobility study. The study will evaluate vehicular and pedestrian traffic, transit, ride-share, micromobility, parking, and technology platforms, considering major developments including the proposed ballpark, sports and entertainment district, and convention center expansion. The goal is to produce actionable short- and long-term solutions. Funding would come from the parking enterprise fund. The solicitation (RFP) will be released by the end of the week, with proposals due May 18, 2026, and a target City Council consideration on June 18, 2026.
- Committee Discussion: Chair Viegran emphasized the need to study on-street parking regulations, resident-only signage, and the use of trash cans to reserve spaces. She also urged exploring technology to monetize underutilized lots on weekends. Councilmember White expressed support for the study but stressed that the cost of the sports district should not fall on citizens. He asked about avoiding duplicate work with VIA and TxDOT. Staff confirmed stakeholders (VIA, TxDOT, Centro San Antonio) are engaged, and the study will leverage existing studies. Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez asked about community engagement; staff noted the study is data-driven and technical, with public engagement handled separately through other planning efforts.
Post-Solicitation Briefing: Sports and Entertainment District Cost-of-Service and Revenue Study
- Item 3 – Cost-of-Service and Revenue Study: Staff presented a post-solicitation briefing on a $316,350 contract (with a $34,000 contingency, total estimated $350,000) for a study to model the cost of services (traffic control, security, emergency services, maintenance) and identify new revenue opportunities for the proposed Sports and Entertainment District. The contract would be funded by the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Redemption and Capital Fund. The evaluation committee recommended Vendor A, which scored 64.95 points (out of 100) based on experience, proposed plan, price, and local/SBE/veteran preference points. One of four responses was deemed non-responsive for failing to meet minimum requirements. The contract is expected to be presented to City Council on April 30, 2026.
- Committee Decision: The committee voted to move the item to the full Council as an individual consideration item (not consent) due to its high profile and to allow full Council discussion of the evaluation, particularly the lack of local preference and SBE participation among top scorers. Councilmember White noted the study focuses only on cost-of-service impacts and new revenue opportunities, not pledged revenues already analyzed.
Post-Solicitation Briefing: Executive Program Manager for Sports and Entertainment District
- Item 4 – Executive Program Manager (EPM): Staff presented a post-solicitation briefing on a contract for an Executive Program Manager (EPM) to oversee and coordinate all components of the Sports and Entertainment District. The contract would have a five-year base term with five one-year renewal options (total up to 10 years). The initial phase (Phase 1, through March 2027) is estimated at $6 million. Funding would come from capital project funds (once projects are active) and the HOT Redemption and Capital Fund in the interim. Eight firms responded; Vendor A scored 68 points (out of 100), significantly ahead of other vendors, driven by broader leadership experience on comparable districts. The committee moved the item to full Council as an individual consideration item.
- Committee Discussion: Chair Viegran requested a visual map of the EPM's responsibilities to avoid confusion about the district's boundaries (not including the Tower of the Americas). Councilmember White expressed concerns about the lack of local vendor participation and the need for a public dashboard tracking hiring, job creation, and contracts. He also questioned accountability, noting the EPM could avoid blame if issues arise. Staff explained the EPM reports to the city, establishes governance, and monitors contractors; the city retains decision-making authority and can terminate for poor performance. Councilwoman Mesa Gonzalez stressed the importance of community engagement, noting the projects are new (unlike the airport). Staff agreed the EPM will track engagement, not conduct it directly. Committee member Taino requested a broader roadmap showing how all the solicitations fit together, including timing, phasing, and future work.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved unanimously.
- Downtown Accessibility and Mobility Study: Pre-solicitation briefing received; no vote required.
- Cost-of-Service and Revenue Study: Approved to move to City Council as an individual consideration item (April 30, 2026 A session).
- Executive Program Manager Contract: Approved to move to City Council as an individual consideration item (April 30, 2026 A session).
- Staff will provide a visual map of the Sports and Entertainment District, a roadmap of all related contracts and studies, and a summary of future work to the full Council.
- The full Council will discuss local vendor participation, the public dashboard, and accountability measures when considering these contracts.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we're gonna go ahead and begin. Then time is now 2 02 p.m. on April 14th, 2026, and the meeting of the audit committee is now called to order. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Councilmember White. Cit Citizen Member Taino. Citizen Member Pacheco. Chair Viegran. Here, Madam Chair, we have quorum. Great. I'll be allowing members uh of this members, speakers, two rounds of comments per item. We have three minutes the first round and three minutes the second round. Um first item on the agenda is approval of the minutes. Are there any corrections to the minutes? No. Can I get a motion and a second to approve the minutes? I've got a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Motion carries. Madam Clerk, are there any members of the public signed up to speak? We have no members of the public signed up to speak. All right. Uh we have individual items. We have one pre-solicitation and two post-solicitation briefings. Uh, Madam Clerk, please read the caption for item two. I'm sorry, am I going too fast? Item two is a briefing on the release of a solicitation for one contract to provide the city of San Antonio with a downtown accessibility and mobility study for an estimated total value of $500,000 for one year with one option, one one year option to renew. All right. Can we get the staff presentation? So uh good afternoon, uh Chair and Committee members. Uh bear with me this afternoon. I think the allergies are getting the best of me, so I'm gonna try to hopefully my voice makes it all the way through here. But um, this is a pre-solicitation uh briefing on a downtown proposed downtown accessibility and mobility study. Um we want to engage a consultant to do this study to look at vehicular and pedestrian traffic scenarios. If we think about the current state of downtown, and we have events, sometimes we have challenges moving vehicles and people in and out of downtown. If you add into that the proposed ballpark here on the northwest end of downtown, a proposed sports and entertainment district on the southeastern part of downtown, that would include a number of venues. Both of those developments would include a lot of mixed use development. So we really want to step back and look at how we move vehicles and people in and out of downtown. And this is what this study would look at. Um initially, when we talked about this back in January, it was styled more as a parking feasibility study. We've really broadened it. Um really parking is just one of those solutions that we would be looking at in a broader mobility context. We really want to look at transit, we want to look at um ride share, we want to look at micromobility, we want to look at all of those options to come up with comprehensive solutions in terms of how we manage uh this traffic within a downtown um footprint. You know, at the end of the day, we really want to try to comprehensively align our built infrastructure. So we are um as it relates to the downtown sports entertainment district looking at some of the needed physical infrastructure improvements that we need to make. Some of that would support our partners like VIA to help buses get in and out to support park and ride, um, but other uh infrastructure improvements downtown as well. We're in the process of updating those assumptions and our planning around that and plan to come back to council in um uh late summer, probably in the August September time frame.
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