On Tuesday, however, Sakai said his decision to ask voters to designate roughly two thirds of the county\u2019s venue tax capacity<\/a> to the project in this Nov. 4 election \u2014 and one third to converting the East Side facilities for a new use \u2014 came down to his belief that the keeping the team in San Antonio has benefits beyond what can be seen in a traditional financial analysis<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat needs to be determined is the value of the Spurs,\u201d Sakai said. \u201cThe value of the Spurs as a major employer, who creates a lot of jobs and economic development. We need to put value to them as a corporate citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes that with federal cuts coming<\/a> to the social safety net, the county will be leaning hard on San Antonio companies<\/a> to help make up for that money, and can\u2019t afford to lose any of them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re headed toward those dark times \u2026 major employers such as the Spurs, USAA, Valero, on and on, those big, major corporations that give much, we\u2019re going to have to really tap them and say, \u2018What can we do for the least of us?’\u201d Sakai said.<\/p>\n The Spurs haven\u2019t actually said whether they would consider moving to another city if Proposition B doesn\u2019t pass to help fund a new arena. <\/p>\n Before Sakai took the stage, San Antonio Report Publisher Angie Mock asked Holt directly about the prospect moments earlier in the first of two CityFest panels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not focused on that \u2026. we\u2019re focused on this election,\u201d Holt said. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be investing so much time and energy in the campaign<\/a>, and then so much investment dollars in the actual project, if we didn\u2019t think that it was absolutely the right thing for the Spurs and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n A different perspective<\/p>\n Like Sakai, Jones said the data points weighing heavily on her calculations are also related to the impending federal cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, children\u2019s health care and food stamps.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is hard for me to not think about these things, the very strong financial headwinds that are coming our way, as we also think about this generational investment,\u201d said Jones, who voted against<\/a> the city and county\u2019s deal with the Spurs as currently structured \u2014 and who maintains San Antonio should drive a harder bargain<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city already faces a budget deficit<\/a> that\u2019s projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, and Jones said that tying up the property taxes the new arena district would generate in a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone<\/a> means that long-term, the city will ultimately have to spend less elsewhere to make up for it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is money that stays in that same area, that would help to finance the arena,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s important, but we also should understand, that is money that is then not coming into the general fund to help us pay for other things.\u201d<\/p>\n Holt, meanwhile, contended that not enough attention has been paid to the additional sales tax the sports and entertainment district would contribute to city and county coffers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been, unfortunately, too little explanation of the [ways] the community will benefit from this directly,\u201d he said on the first panel.<\/p>\n Jones, who took the stage after Holt and Elliott, said a more fulsome explanation of costs surrounding the arena project is also needed.<\/p>\n She noted new uncertainty surrounding some funds the city penciled into its original plans for the sports and entertainment district, such as a land bridge shown<\/a> in Project Marvel renderings.<\/p>\n That idea was dependent on a Biden-era Reconnecting Communities grant<\/a>, and Jones said the city has already paused on some federally funded projects that it\u2019s no longer sure it will be reimbursed for by the new administration.<\/p>\n A SAWS water chilling plant<\/a> is also moving to make way for a convention center expansion at the heart of Project Marvel, and more than $200 million from a future city bond election is already earmarked for Marvel-related infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are other things that also go along with a revitalized downtown that also have a price tag, even if it\u2019s not specific to the arena,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a part of the entire plan, and I think that\u2019s how we have to think about this, writ large, even though it\u2019s complex.\u201d<\/p>\n If Proposition B passes, City Manager Erik Walsh indicated he\u2019ll have what he needs to move forward with the city\u2019s own $489 million investment in the arena, which doesn\u2019t require a public vote after the City Council approved<\/a> the framework in August.<\/p>\n But Jones, who was elected midway through the negotiations, said regardless of the Nov. 4 election results, she doesn\u2019t consider that agreement to be the final offer from either the city or the team.<\/p>\n She wants the city to consider paying for some of the entertainment district infrastructure with state money it will receive from a Project Finance Zone<\/a> instead of a city infrastructure bond<\/a>, and keep negotiating over who gets the profit from arena naming rights, concessions and parking.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are several project agreements that, should Proposition B pass, we still need to finalize,\u201d she said. \u201cThe term sheet is non-binding at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n Though she remains one of the biggest skeptics<\/a> of the $800 million public funding agreement<\/a>, Jones also said Tuesday that if Prop B fails, the city would continue working toward a deal to help fund a downtown arena \u2014 if the team wants to pursue it.<\/p>\n Spurs\u2019 closing pitch<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s discussion comes as the only public polling on Proposition B, from UTSA, showed its support underwater.<\/a><\/p>\n Holt said the vote is \u201cgiving me gray [hair],\u201d but he believes the measure will pass.<\/p>\n To sweeten the deal, he made an eleventh-hour announcement about plans to turn the team\u2019s former\u00a0practice facility in the South Texas Medical Center into a multipurpose community center. <\/p>\n The Spurs moved into a new practice facility at the Rock at La Cantera<\/a> in 2023, which received $32 million in tax incentives<\/a> from the city and county. <\/p>\n Holt and Elliott said repurposing the old facility for children is an example of the Spurs\u2019 longstanding commitment to the community, which goes far beyond what other NBA teams typically offer.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably the business-savvy thing to do would be just to sell that building off and make some money off of it,\u201d Holt said. \u201cBut we\u2019re going to reinvest $10 million into that and make that a community center for teaching coaches and teaching kids the right way to not only show up in sports, but show up in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Elliott recalled the team\u2019s original owners\u2019 push for players to be role models, dating all the way back to when he moved here from Arizona as a rookie in 1989.<\/p>\n \u201cEarly on, [Red McCombs] sent me and [then-Coach Gregg Popovich] on a little shuttle bus throughout South Texas to drum up support, and then when I got back during the season \u2026 if we had a day off, the Spurs were asking us to go to an elementary school, a junior high school, high school, a youth center to talk to kids \u2026<\/p>\n It was apparent that Red and Charlene [McCombs] wanted to use the Spurs as an instrument to better the community,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n CityFest continues Wednesday and Thursday with free panels discussing what\u2019s next for San Antonio\u2019s East Side<\/a> and the small businesses that bring a sports and entertainment district to life<\/a>. Please RSVP to attend.<\/p>\n Watch the full event:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CityfestTobin10-21-2025-237.jpg\")
From left to right, San Antonio Report Editor in Chief Leigh Munsil, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones discuss the Spurs downtown arena project during the San Antonio Report\u2019s CityFest 2025 keynote at the Tobin Performing Arts Center on Oct. 21, 2025. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CityFest_MainEvent_ProjectMarvel_SanAntonioMayor_GinaOrtizJones_BexarCountyJudge_PeterSakai_02_10.21.jpeg\")
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones talks about the Spurs downtown arena project during the San Antonio Report\u2019s 2025 CityFest at the Tobin Performing Arts Center on Tuesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CityfestTobin10-21-2025-174.jpg\")
San Antonio Report Publisher Angie Mock, San Antonio Spurs Owner and Managing Partner Peter J. Holt and former Spurs player Sean Elliot talk about the Spurs\u2019 legacy and the team\u2019s future. Credit: Vincent Reyna for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"YouTube](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761160891_411_hqdefault.jpg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With early voting underway, Spurs Chairman Peter J. Holt, former NBA Spurs forward Sean Elliott, Bexar County Judge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12961,2112,6361,3025,82,84,83,8357,92,3028,3440],"class_list":["post-16162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-city-fest-2025","tag-gina-ortiz-jones","tag-peter-j-holt","tag-peter-sakai","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-sean-elliott","tag-top-story","tag-typedaily","tag-wc-1000-1500"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}