Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with all eyes on two headlining ballot measures.
SAN ANTONIO — Just a couple weeks shy of a full year since San Antonio leaders publicly introduced their dream of a downtown sports and entertainment district, voters will approve or fail a funding plan for its most talked-about project: a $1.3 billion Spurs arena in the heart of the city.
Tuesday is Election Day in Bexar County, where registered voters are weighing in on district bond packages, over a dozen Texas constitutional amendments and races in smaller communities. Schertz, Converse and Windcrest will elect mayors; North East ISD is hoping voters approve a nearly half-billion-dollar bond package to modernize and renovate existing facilities.
But the headlining ballot measures are Bexar County Propositions A and B, which would give the green light to the county to allocate a combined hundreds of millions of dollars to the futures of both the San Antonio Rodeo & Stock Show and the Spurs.
More than more than 148,000 early votes were counted in Bexar County, according to the elections department, including in-person and mail-in ballots. That’s good for an 11.5% turnout—nearly double the percentage of early voter turnout in the May election, when the position of San Antonio mayor was up for grabs for the first time in nearly a decade.
That early voter turnout figure is one indication of just how many eyes will be on Tuesday’s results. One way or another, they’ll help determine the future of entertainment in the Alamo City.
Here’s what to know before you head to the polls.
What Props A & B do
Proposition A would provide $192 million for upgrades to the Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center grounds, potentially laying the groundwork for year-round rodeo attractions. At a September town hall, San Antonio Rodeo CEO Cody Davenport said upgraded facilities could help attract year-round activity, such as an annual county fair, Future Farmers of American conventions or even professional bull-riding.
Among the ideas to build on the current rodeo property: Three new and modified “flex” buildings to include courts for pickleball and volleyball; modifications to Expo Hall 1; and a new welcome gate emphasizing the property’s rodeo identity.
“We have the capability to go out in the industry, bring in people from the western industry, and host events that are happening across the nation right now,” Davenport said.
Proposition B would allocate up to $311 million to the construction of a new Spurs arena in Hemisfair; that number represents the smallest slice of the funding pie. But approval of Prop B would effectively trigger the other funding sources as laid out in a term sheet approved by City Council in August, including $498 million from the city and half a billion dollars from the Spurs (who would also be responsible for cost overruns).
Thus far, this is the only scheduled public referendum on the headlining component of San Antonio’s efforts to develop a downtown sports and entertainment district, code-named Project Marvel.
Where would that money come from?
Officials with the rodeo and Spurs have been adamant in saying that tourists, not residents, would pay for the arena.
What they mean by that is that the propositions, were they to pass, would increase the local hotel room rental tax from 1.75% to 2%. It’s those dollars, as well as money from an existing 5% rental car tax, that the funds for rodeo improvement and an NBA arena would flow from.
The Spurs and rodeo have partnered on a public awareness campaign to boost support for the measures, emphasizing in mailers and at rallies that there will be “no cost to San Antonio homeowners or renters” and that it’s tourists who will foot the bill. The Win Together PAC, associated with the Spurs, has raised at least $7.017 million and spent about $5.5 million through Oct. 26, according to campaign finance reports filed with Bexar County.
The grassroots community organization COPS/Metro and other opponents have continued to call foul on using “public funds for private profit,” pointing out there still hasn’t been an independent cost/benefit analysis of a downtown arena, despite Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones pushing for one over the summer.
What to remember before going to the polls
Registered voters will be able to cast their ballots at one of any 285 polling sites operating across Bexar County on Tuesday.
Elections Administrator Michele Carew said she’s expecting “anywhere between 50,000 and 75,000 ballots,” which she said would amount to a “record-breaking” election after nearly 150,000 made their voices heard early.
“When you are looking at odd year elections, we have already surpassed 2023, 2021 and 2019,” Carew said. “We already surpassed that on the seventh day of early voting.”
Carew believes this year’s propositions are drawing more voters to the polls.
“Historically, constitutional amendment elections have low turnout,” she said. “But with Proposition A, Proposition B and the school bond elections, a lot of that has been bringing in voters.”
As for what to remember before you head to the polls:
- Review a sample ballot.
- Know the races and propositions before you arrive.
- Leave your phone in the car; you won’t be allowed to have it out while voting.
- Bring valid photo identification. Voters must present one of seven acceptable forms of ID, such as a Texas driver’s license, passport or military ID.
- Because the Spurs and San Antonio Rodeo are on the ballot this year, clothes or apparel reflecting either brand isn’t allowed inside polling sites.
Carew also urges patience. The two busiest early voting sites were Brook Hollow Library and Lions Field.
“Just know that the clerks and judges inside are doing everything they can to process you quickly,” the county’s elections head said.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday across Bexar County. Those in line when polls close will be allowed to cast a ballot.
Bookmark and return to this page to find out the results Tuesday evening.