SAN ANTONIO – Nearly a decade after San Antonio partnered with the Spurs on a bid to bring a Major League Soccer team to the city, officials say the Spurs’ repayment tied to that effort is now long overdue — and the amount owed has grown to more than $2 million with interest.

Negotiations began in 2015 when the city and county entered a public facility corporation, along with the Spurs, to purchase Toyota Field in hopes of obtaining a professional soccer team. Under the agreement, the Spurs would repay $5 million if a team was not secured by 2021.

After the deal was made, MLS said San Antonio’s territory rights were sold off to another team owner, effectively ending the city’s hopes of landing a team.

The Spurs paid an initial $250,000 in 2021, but have missed $1.7 million worth of payments since then. With interest, the amount owed has climbed to more than $2 million.

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said she is glad negotiations are moving toward a resolution.

“I’m thankful that we’re, you know, finally moving toward resolution on this,” Jones said.

Jones said the county previously agreed to remove the reimbursement clause from the agreement in 2022, but the city never did. She said recovering the money could help as inflation rises and services face cuts, including Medicare and Medicaid.

“The people of San Antonio, my bosses, they really expect us to make sure that we’re being as thoughtful as possible with their resources,” Jones said.

Jones said the funding could support a range of local needs.

“Whether you’re talking about street improvements, or whether you’re talking about improvements to senior centers…this money could help us understand what we can have more of. There’s lots of things our community needs and deserves, and so we want to make sure we’re investing smartly in those things,” she said.

Spurs Sports and Entertainment Group said it has had discussions with the city and the public facilities corporation and “remain aligned with our partners on delivering a community-focused path forward for the venue.”

Jones confirmed the city attorney and city manager are working with the Spurs to ensure an agreement can be reached.