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ACCESSIBILITY
San Antonio unveils renderings of proposed downtown sports & entertainment district
by Matt Roy | Stephanie Esquivel | Mariza Mendoza | SBG San Antonio Staff Reports
Thu, November 21st 2024 at 10:30 AMUpdated Fri, November 22nd 2024 at 10:24 AM
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An artist rendering of what the proposed Sports & Entertainment District would look like in Downtown San Antonio. (PHOTO:Populous)
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TOPICS:
San AntonioProject MarvelSports and Entertainment District$4 billionSpurs arenaTourismEconomic viabilityAlamodome
SAN ANTONIO - A multi-billion dollar plan to remake and reinvent downtown San Antonio has finally been announced and shown the the public.
The official announcement of the Sports and Entertainment District in Downtown San Antonio.
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San Antonio Assistant City Manager Lori Houston presented on Thursday the plans for "Project Marvel" to the city council.
RELATED:Project Marvel: A bold downtown plan set to be a 'game changer' for San Antonio
After months of speculation, the idea of a Downtown Sports and Entertainment District is coming to fruition.
"These kinds of visions are not necessarily for tourists -- this is what makes downtown the place to be for residents locally," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. "It enhances and activates our downtown in a way that really we haven't seen since Hemisfair was first brought to fruition."
Council members were presented the rendering of the proposed district on what it could look like.
RELATED:Unveiling Project Marvel: $4 billion Spurs arena and entertainment district
The project, in total, could cost upwards of $4 billion and could elevate San Antonio as a major destination city to draw tourism, economic viability, and world-class events such as the NCAA Final Four.
The project will include both expansions to existing buildings and the creation of a new ones.
An artist rendering of what the proposed entertainment venue would look like in Downtown San Antonio. (PHOTO: Populous)
First, the expansion of the convention center and a complete overhaul of the Alamodome. The much-talked about new Spurs arena would be at the site where the Institute of Texan Cultures currently resides.
"It is hugely complicated, there are eight or nine major projects, some of them overlapping," City manager Erik Walsh said.
A land bridge would be build over Highway 281, connecting the Alamodome to the new Spurs Arena. The plans also include turning the old federal courthouse into a 5,000 seat multipurpose center.
"Project Marvel" is set to modernize the Spurs' facilities. Despite this, Spurs are set to continue playing at the Frost Bank Center until their lease ends in 2032.
In a statement, Peter J. Holt, the managing partner for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, said:
San Antonio is a city on the rise, and our community deserves a world-class, accessible city center that unites us and delivers unforgettable experiences. A centrally located entertainment district anchored by the Spurs could help bring that vision to life, benefiting fans, families and the entire San Antonio region. While there have been preliminary conversations, today’s session marks an exciting first step in understanding how the Spurs and the City of San Antonio, alongside many other important community partners, can collaborate on a transformative project for our shared future.
And R.C. Buford, CEO for the Spurs, said:
“We’re thrilled to see the city’s interest and are looking forward to developing a collaborative process that includes input, dialogue and consensus from across our entire community. A new arena in downtown San Antonio represents a generational opportunity to shape the future of our community – fostering economic growth, celebrating our city’s identity and creating a vibrant gathering place for all.”
This will all be coming in phases to council, the first being the convention center, which will be presented in December. The rest of the projects in the district will follow suit. That's when the full price tag will be revealed.
Plans for proposed Sports & Entertainment District in Downtown San Antonio. (PHOTO: Populous)
According to the plans, the timeline for implementing this aggressive expansion will go in stages with some construction taking is 1-5 years with others taking upwards of 15 years to complete.
Most of the city council was impressed and pleased with the plans presented on Tuesday. But there were some detractors.
District 10 councilman Marc Whyte is adamant that the bill for this should not be put on the back of taxpayers. " I want to be really really clear about something today. We cannot, we should not have the cost of this project fall on the backs of the citizens of San Antonio," said Whyte.
And District 2 councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez says before the Spurs leave the East Side, they and the city need to invest dollars in it.
The Alamodome and the Frost Bank Center are both in McKee-Rodriguez' district. He says when the Frost Bank Center was originally built, there was promises of development. None of that happened.
"How you leave a community is more important than how you found it," McKee-Rodriguez said. "And if and when the Spurs leave the Frost Bank Center, they need to leave my community in a much better position than we are in today.."
VIEW RENDERINGS OF CITY'S SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
Click here to view the PDF file.
TRANSFORMING DOWNTOWN
The Project Marvel initiative is still in the feasibility phase, with details about funding and timeline under discussion.
UIW professor Dr. David Vequist, who specializes in public and private partnerships worldwide, says that Project Marvel carries a hefty price tag of between $3 and $4 billion. City officials say taxpayers won't be responsible for paying for the cost of the new arena, but Professor Vequist says there are other things to consider.
"Attract more affluent people to move into those regions or people to have a little bit more money which could potentially increase the tax revenue a little bit, but it's primarily going to help the developers the most," says Vequist.
This initiative will be coming to the council in phases. The first is the expansion of the convention center, which will include more ballrooms, meeting spaces, and much more. The project also envisions such things as more housing, restaurants, and a new land bridge.
Dr. Vequist adds that the city should make sure the current infrastructure is up to date with the city's current needs before adding to it.
"CPS, which is owned by the City of San Antonio, was saying they were having problems making all the necessary investments they had to make because of financial issues," he said. "So it makes you wonder if some of the city investments and infrastructure can be prioritized differently."
Project Marvel: As excitement grows, residents worry about the impact on their neighborhoods
People who live in neighborhoods surrounding the area where Project Marvel has been proposed have several concerns about how the project will affect their day-to-day lives and if they will be able to afford to stay in these neighborhoods.
“Love to be able to walk to different things and be able to be within walking or biking distance to all different kinds of pf entertainment opportunities.”
A homeowner who wants to stay anonymous says being close to major landmarks is one of the reasons he chose to move downtown almost twenty years ago, but says the added foot traffic from events happening downtown can also bring a lot of headaches.
“The neighborhoods that are two, three, four blocks away from the activity, where people ate trying to park, the trash is not picked up. We pick it up.”
Another possible outcome would be rapid inflation on property values in the surrounding neighborhoods, according to Spencer Skubik who is an Associate Broker at Becker Properties.
“It’s going to have a dramatic effect on the properties there, both commercial and residential. You’re going to have an influx of people trying to get down there, move down there, own property there.”
With higher property values come higher property taxes which could price people out of surrounding neighborhoods, according to Associate Professor at Trinity University, Christine Drennon.
“Contribute to our like the tourism, convention center type of workforce, which we know to be lower-wage jobs, then there is really, there's going to be an additional need for affordable housing in that area.”
Drennon says when new developments are built, the City of San Antonio will have to ensure affordable housing is worked into the plans.
“They set aside a particular number of units or a particular percentage of the new development for affordable housing.”
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Both Drennon and Skubik tell me it’s too early to tell just how much property values will go up because the success of Project Marvel will have a lot to do with it.
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