The University of Texas Regents amended a previous decision about the future of the ITC site, and San Antonio’s role in shaping it.
SAN ANTONIO — At the same time as San Antonio City Council approved the financial framework for a $1.3 billion Spurs arena – a central Project Marvel component – the city further staked its position in eventually acquiring the plot of land the venue is expected to be built on.
The University of Texas Board of Regents last Thursday voted to give the City of San Antonio the exclusive option to buy the 13.59-acre piece of land currently home to a Texas Pavilion structure in the midst of being torn down. That structure, located along East César E. Chávez Boulevard in the heart of the city, had served as the home of the UTSA-operated Institute of Texan Cultures for 59 years before the museum closed in 2024, its collection set to open in a temporary space at Frost Bank Tower in early 2026.
The city and Spurs are eyeing that land, which sits adjacent to Hemisfair and just across the highway from the Alamodome, for the NBA team’s next home. The regents’ action supersedes a spring 2024 vote that gave city officials first dibs on either buying or leasing the land, according to a press release.
“This action charts the path forward for the university’s continued investment in the future of downtown while fulfilling our commitment to advancing and reimagining the Institute of Texan Cultures museum,” Veronica Salazar, UTSA’s chief enterprise development officer, is quoted as saying in the release.
The framework of the term sheet approved by City Council last week stipulates that the city would pay up to $489 million for a new arena, the county $311 million and the Spurs half a million dollars (as well as cost overruns). But that agreement is contingent on Bexar County voters approving a venue tax election on Nov. 4 that would pave the way for the county’s contribution.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who failed in her push for a “strategic pause” in order to get more data on Project Marvel’s economic impact, suggested after the Thursday council meeting that she’d try for a second public referendum on the Spurs arena, although voter approval on revenue bonds (which the city’s arena contribution would be paid through) is not required in Texas.
“I still see value in the independent economic study. I think that will be important to inform our project agreements moving forward and I think, as well, you heard me say there at the end giving my colleagues, managing their expectations, that by ordinance the City Council can put revenue bonds to a public vote,” Jones said Thursday.
According to the term sheet, the Spurs estimate it would take 57 months to develop and build an arena expected to have between 17,000 and 18,500 seats. The Conservation Society of San Antonio fought to preserve the Texas Pavilion building, having unsuccessfully sued to prevent it from being torn down earlier this year, citing its historical and cultural significance.
It remans to be seen, meanwhile, where the ITC’s next permanent location will be.