{"id":152954,"date":"2026-02-06T00:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/152954\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:39:08","slug":"san-antonio-councilman-marc-whyte-defends-spurs-owners-6-billion-trump-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/152954\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte defends Spurs owner\u2019s $6 billion Trump donation \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"San Antonio District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte speaks to reporters during a prior press conference. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Conservative Councilman Marc Whyte took to the airwaves Wednesday to rail against Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones for calling out Spurs part-owner Michael Dell for donating more than $6 billion to a Trump White House plan. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo really go out in public and say those things as the mayor did is really distasteful,\u201d Whyte said during a call-in appearance on talk radio station WOAI 1200.<\/p>\n

Whyte is referring to Jones\u2019 viral comments<\/a> at a Monday town hall about Dell\u2019s willingness to cough up $6.25 billion for President Trump\u2019s youth savings account initiative while expecting San Antonio and Bexar County to cover a substantial share of the cost of the new Spurs arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder if he was able to do that because the city gave up \u2014 and the county gave up \u2014 so much money for the arena,\u201d Jones said at the event. \u201cBecause if you can give $6 billion for these accounts, you could have paid for your own arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Dell\u2019s donation came less than a month <\/a>after Bexar County voters narrowly approved $800 million in public financing for a new arena for the Spurs at Hemisfair as part of the broader Project Marvel sports-and-entertainment district.<\/p>\n

In Dell\u2019s defense, Whyte said the Austin-based tech billionaire is a \u201cman of great means, and can spend his money as he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Whyte: \u201cIf you want Michael Dell to pay for a whole new arena, let me tell you where the Spurs will not be, because if that was the case, it is very likely then that he could take this team and put it wherever he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dell, whose net worth is around $100 billion, reportedly owns a 10% stake in the team.<\/p>\n

Whyte said that regardless of whether Jones wants the arena, it\u2019s nearly impossible to stop it from moving forward.<\/p>\n

Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018I wonder if he was able to do that because the city gave up so much money for the arena,\u2019 Jones said of billionaire Michael Dell.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tDespite that bid, City Council has yet to acquire the 13 acres of land where the new basketball arena for the Spurs is expected to be built. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"San\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe conservative duo\u2019s meeting comes as ICE\u2019s enforcement tactics in Minneapolis have fanned national tensions. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t