The four-member Bexar County Soccer Public Facility Corporation board voted unanimously Thursday to accept a $2.6 million payment from the Spurs organization, a penalty for failing to bring a Major League Soccer team to San Antonio.
The money will go toward upgrades to Toyota Field, including new scoreboards and LED boards, a facility assessment and future improvements.
In 2015, Spurs Sports & Entertainment agreed to reimburse the city and county $5 million of the $18 million they put toward Toyota Field’s $21 million purchase price if the Spurs owner didn’t bring an MLS team to the city.
SS&E owns San Antonio FC, which plays in a league below the MLS.
The county let SS&E off the hook for half of the $5 million reimbursement in 2022.
The city always intended to collect its share of the money to fund stadium improvements, Assistant City Manager Alex Lopez told the San Antonio Express-News.
The PFC is the city-county entity that owns Toyota Field, which San Antonio FC leases for $100,000 a year.
The Spurs organization had missed payment installments due over the past four years, something Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones learned about early this year. City Manager Erik Walsh described the overdue payments as “an outstanding issue that we need to resolve” at a Jan. 14 meeting — and Jones thereafter made it her mission to get SS&E to pay up.
She frequently referred to the owed money at town halls, council briefings and on television appearances, and even wrote SS&E managing partner Peter J. Holt a May 15 letter asking him to make the penalty repayment.
“Payment in accordance with the contract would remind everyone of the strength of the City’s relationship with the Spurs owners — a relationship built on mutual respect,” Jones said in the letter.
She had wanted the PFC to transfer the money to the city’s general to help pay for city services, but that was never considered.
SS&E released a statement after the vote.
“This agreement directs meaningful investment back into the space through capital improvements that will enhance the fan experience, support future events and strengthen the venue as a long-term community asset,” said Jose Lizardo, who works for San Antonio FC as senior director of Toyota Field.