{"id":400732,"date":"2026-08-08T00:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400732\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:36:12","slug":"san-antonio-leaders-slam-mayors-push-for-spurs-arena-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/400732\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio leaders slam mayor’s push for Spurs arena vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Council members, chambers of commerce leaders and COPS\/Metro Alliance organizers are slamming Mayor Gina\u00a0Ortiz Jones for trying to put the city\u2019s proposed contribution to a new Spurs arena<\/a> and the\u00a0redirection of\u00a0job-training dollars<\/a>\u00a0to a public vote in November.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At a press conference Friday at City Hall, they said San Antonio voters have already approved the Ready to Work initiative and the city\u2019s plan to help finance the $1.3 billion arena, and that new elections aren\u2019t necessary.<\/p>\n

A stark fiscal reality looms in the background of the fight over the Nov. 3 ballot: the city is facing a $158 million budget deficit over the next two years \u2014 which Jones has cited as a reason to put redirecting Ready to Work dollars and public funding for the arena to a citywide vote.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe city manager working with our City Council and our mayor, they can close this gap, and not a single penny is needed to be removed from Ready to Work,\u201d said Father Jimmy Drennan, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and a leader with COPS\/Metro, one of San Antonio\u2019s oldest community activist groups.<\/p>\n

Southeast Side Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran said Jones\u2019 efforts are based on \u201cmisconceptions about funding sources,\u201d while North Side Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez said spending public funds on more elections would be wasteful.<\/p>\n

Some 52% of voters approved<\/a>\u00a0Bexar County\u2019s $311 million contribution to the arena last year, and 77% of voters in 2020 OK\u2019d devoting city sales taxes to Ready to Work for a four-year period.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Sukh Kaur said council members are sparring about \u201cthe democratic process\u201d rather than focusing on making difficult decisions about budget cuts. City Council is scheduled to adopt next year\u2019s budget on Sept. 17.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI trust that my residents understood when they went to the ballot box what they were voting for,\u201d said Kaur, who represents downtown and parts of the North Side.<\/p>\n

Jones disagrees. She\u2019s seeking a special council meeting to vote on placing measures on the November ballot asking voters whether the city should issue up to $489 million in bonds to finance the arena and divert remaining Ready to Work funds to \u201cqualified projects,\u201d which her office has yet to define.<\/p>\n

\"District<\/p>\n

District 8 Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, flanked by other City Council members, representatives from business groups and COPS\/Metro Alliance and Spurs Sports & Entertainment employees, held a press conference Friday in front of City Hall.<\/p>\n

Blaine Young\/For the Express-News<\/p>\n

But Jones doesn\u2019t appear to have the support of a council majority. She\u2019s trying to pressure her colleagues by persuading residents to back her proposals and urge their council representatives to side with her. At a series of \u201clistening sessions,\u201d Jones is making her case for why voters should have a say on city funding for a Spurs arena.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone should be afraid of city voters weighing in on their money,\u201d Jones told people who attended the first session Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under a draft financing deal a divided council approved last year, the city\u2019s portion was tied to the county winning voters\u2019 approval for its contribution under Proposition B \u2014 the only part of the financing requiring a public vote.<\/p>\n

There are restrictions on how the funding sources for the city\u2019s contribution can be used.<\/p>\n

The city would issue bonds and repay that debt in part with property tax revenue generated by development around the arena \u2014 Spurs Sports & Entertainment has pledged to shepherd $1.4 billion worth of new projects. Rent from developers leasing city-owned property to build restaurants, bars, hotel rooms and housing would be another source of repayment.<\/p>\n

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Rent from the Spurs\u2019 lease of the arena and Texas\u2019 share of hotel taxes would also back the bonds. The state hotel states are limited to the construction and renovation of projects that support tourism and related infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Ready to Work is funded by sales tax the city collected from December 2021 to December 2025. The job-training program has struggled to meet enrollment and job placement targets since it launched in 2022 with the aim of helping unemployed and underemployed workers earn industry-recognized certificates or bachelor\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n

The city collected nearly $236 million in sales taxes for the program, and $124 million remains to be spent. Jones initially proposed using that money to plug the budget deficit, but later narrowed it to \u201cqualified programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

State law strictly\u00a0limits how Ready to Work dollars could be spent<\/a>: on job training, early childhood development, after-school programs, college scholarships and literacy programs.<\/p>\n

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D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu<\/p>\n

The scene outside City Hall Friday morning was similar to one that played out last August, when Jones crashed a press conference<\/a> hosted by business leaders, bar owners, hoteliers and Spurs superfan \u201cSpurs Jesus\u201d to rally support for the draft financing plan for an arena, which was headed to the council for approval.<\/p>\n

Jones attempted to pause approval of the plan, which\u00a0was largely hashed out behind closed doors by city staff and Mayor Ron Nirenberg. She said the city should collect better data on which to base a major investment and solicit more input from residents.<\/p>\n

But Jones couldn\u2019t wrangle enough votes. Council members voted 7-4 to give City Manager Erik Walsh the go-ahead to negotiate the deal<\/a> with the Spurs organization. Supporters said the arena \u2014 the centerpiece of a larger sports and entertainment district known as Project Marvel \u2014 would help keep the\u00a0NBA team in San Antonio and revitalize downtown.<\/p>\n

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The city\u2019s business establishment gathered again in front of City Hall on Nov. 5, 2025, to celebrate the passage of the county funding measures for the arena and the expansion of San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. (Voters also OK\u2019d Proposition A in November, providing tax dollars to upgrade the Frost Bank Center grounds and make way for year-round rodeo events.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a little struck by the fact, and really a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, because we came together, many of us, on these steps probably 10 or 11 months ago to celebrate the passage of Props A and B,\u201d Centro CEO Trish DeBerry said Friday. \u201cIt was not to gloat about that passage, but it was to talk about the fact we knew there were different opinions on this topic, but at the end of the day, the community had spoken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the time to move forward as uniters, and not dividers. So I am somewhat struck by the fact that we are back here again today, talking about the possibility of a second vote,\u201d DeBerry added.<\/p>\n

Roughly a year later, as council members are grappling with a budget shortfall, Jones is relying on the same playbook she did a year ago.<\/p>\n

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She\u2019s using her official social media accounts to tell residents to call or email their council member if they agree with her position that city taxpayers should have a say on the city\u2019s arena contribution.<\/p>\n

At the first of her listening sessions<\/a>, which her office billed as a chance for her to hear from residents<\/a>, she spent most of the hour-long event talking\u00a0\u2014 specifically outlining why she thinks residents should be given a say on the arena at the ballot box.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know some folks are not supportive of that. That\u2019s on them to explain to you why that is, why someone would be OK signing you up for $489 million but now is not going to give you a formal say in whether or not you actually want to do that,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Aug. 17 is the deadline to place measures on the November ballot. The council will vote on Jones’ ballot proposals during a special meeting on either Aug. 13 or Aug. 17.<\/p>\n

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While council members have been critical of Ready to Work, many aren\u2019t willing to kill it, especially because it has started funneling more participants into jobs and is part of officials\u2019 pitch to companies deciding whether to relocate to San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones shrugged off the reality that she doesn\u2019t currently have the council votes to put arena funding or Ready to Work on the ballot. After Thursday\u2019s public meeting, she told reporters she wasn\u2019t focused on \u201ccounting votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is really where the community comes in,\u201d she said. \u201cIf the city voters want this, they have to reach out to their council member and let them know where they stand on this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Council members, chambers of commerce leaders and COPS\/Metro Alliance organizers are slamming Mayor Gina\u00a0Ortiz Jones for trying…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400733,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-400732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400732","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=400732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400732\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}