{"id":23651,"date":"2025-10-27T23:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/23651\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T23:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T23:12:12","slug":"pro-spurs-pac-has-spent-more-than-7m-to-boost-props-a-and-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/23651\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-Spurs PAC has spent more than $7M to boost Props A and B"},"content":{"rendered":"

A PAC supporting the new downtown Spurs\u2019 arena has now spent more than $7 million on its campaign to support Propositions A and B on the Nov. 4 ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most of the money came from the San Antonio Spurs LLC, but the group is also now getting help from businesses like Pearl Real Estate Company and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors as well.<\/p>\n

The last campaign finance reports before the election were due Monday, covering money raised and spent from Sept. 26 through Oct. 25. The Spurs-aligned Win Together PAC<\/a> reported raising and spending about $5 million in that span, counting in-kind donations \u2014 on top of the $2 million it had already<\/a> raised previously.<\/p>\n

Final totals from this election won\u2019t be known until January, when semi-annual reports are due.<\/p>\n

The aggressive campaign is a reflection of just how much the team has on the line in this Nov. 4 election. As it stands, Prop B is the only public vote they need in a bid to secure about $800 million in city and county money<\/a> for the overall $1.3 billion arena.<\/p>\n

If it fails, local leaders have signaled they\u2019ll keep negotiating. But the team\u2019s owners would have to decide which compromises are worth it as they make plans to leave the Frost Bank Center, which they\u2019ve deemed incompatible with the team\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"\"A banner in favor of Props A and B is posted outside the District 2 council office polling location on the East Side on Wednesday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody asks [whether the Spurs will leave San Antonio if Prop. B fails],\u201d Spurs Sports & Entertainment Chairman Peter J. Holt said at last week\u2019s San Antonio Report CityFest event<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re not focused on that \u2026. we\u2019re focused on this election. We think it\u2019s really important, and we wouldn\u2019t be investing so much time and energy in the campaign \u2014 and then so much investment dollars in the actual project \u2014 if we didn\u2019t think that it was absolutely the right thing for the Spurs and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spurs plan to put up $500 million for the arena\u2019s construction, while the county would contribute $311 million from fees on hotels and rental cars<\/a>, known as Prop B.<\/p>\n

The city plans to chip in $489 million from a state tax reinvestment deal, plus property taxes and rent San Antonio would collect from the new sports and entertainment district \u2014 part of an agreement city officials made<\/a> contingent on Prop B\u2019s passage.<\/p>\n

As of the beginning of the month, public polling indicated support<\/a> for the measure was underwater, with 40% in favor to 45% opposing.<\/p>\n

That was before much of the PAC\u2019s advertising had started, however, and the team now has other deep-pocketed allies coming to its aid.<\/p>\n

The Texas Realtors\u00a0Political Action Committee, for example, has been sending mailers stressing the benefits of the new downtown arena \u2014 as well as renovations to turn its exiting East Side home in to a year-round rodeo district \u2014 which were not reflected in campaign finance reports as of Monday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cA thriving city means healthier real estate values, more business for our members and stronger neighborhoods for our clients,\u201d said Ed Zapata, who chairs the San Antonio Board of Realtors. <\/p>\n

Last week City Attorney Andy Segovia gave the green light<\/a> for city officials to campaign around Props A and B, so long as they don\u2019t use city money to do it.<\/p>\n

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, who had previously been cautious about engaging in campaign activity, filmed an ad for the Spurs\u2019 Win Together PAC<\/a> this week. <\/p>\n

The move comes as he faces a potential primary challenge from former Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who has also been helping the PAC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Early voting runs though<\/a> Oct. 31, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 4<\/p>\n

The campaign against Proposition B<\/p>\n

The main opposition to Proposition B has so far come from the COPS\/Metro Alliance, which opposes public dollars for private development. <\/p>\n

The group\u2019s political arm, called the Defending Public Money for Public Good PAC, has spent a grand total of about $220,000 \u2014 $210,000 on the most recent report<\/a> and $10,000 on a previous report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the 50 years the group has been doing this kind of work, COPS\/Metro\u00a0Alliance leader Sonia\u00a0Rodriguez\u00a0said the money spent by private investors like the Spurs has skyrocketed, while their own strategy remains largely the same.<\/p>\n

\"\"No Project Marvel signs are shown outside a polling location during early voting. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can put together a little bit of money to run a campaign, but you know, the Spurs can be $6 million to $7 million, and that\u2019s really hard to try to compare ourselves to,\u201d she said. \u201cThe best way we\u2019ve been able to operate, to get to where we are with this, is one by one, person by person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said they\u2019ve had members going out every day to public events and churches to talk about the complicated public-private financing model.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we\u2019ve had a conversation, we have very rarely had anybody say to us that they support it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Spurs have also been trying to reach voters who still have questions about the deal through a phone-banking and door-knocking initiative they said had reached 100,000 households by Thursday of the first week of early voting.<\/p>\n

Early voting<\/a> continues through Oct. 31, and a much\u00a0longer list of polling sites<\/a>\u00a0will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 4.<\/p>\n

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