Bexar County residents prepare to vote on Project Marvel, including a proposed Spurs arena funded partially with a hotel and car rental tax, says CEO RC Buford.
SAN ANTONIO — The future of downtown San Antonio and the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo is a key topic as Bexar County residents prepare to vote on “Project Marvel” in November. This initiative includes a proposed new downtown San Antonio Spurs arena, part of Proposition B, and the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on public funding for the project.
Spurs CEO RC Buford recently appeared on San Antonio Sports Star’s “The Blitz with Jason Minnix and Joe Reinagel.” He emphasized that the ballot initiative will include a venue tax that applies to car rentals and hotels, which is mostly shouldered by tourists.
Buford stated, “I think the biggest misconceptions that we believe are that residents in San Antonio will have new taxes that they’ll be responsible for, and there are no new taxes ….this is hotel and motel tax only.”
According to the term sheet approved by the San Antonio City Council, the Spurs have committed significant funds to the proposed arena, including covering potential cost overruns and contributing to San Antonio’s continued growth.
Buford further explained, “I think the other thing we hope people will understand is the Spurs are putting in a huge financial commitment, $500 million in the arena, plus any cost overruns, as well as a commitment of $2 billion for downtown development total throughout the Hemisfair Park.”
Additionally, Buford highlighted that he believes Project Marvel (Proposition A) could also benefit the east side of San Antonio, with specific attention to the Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center grounds, converting it to a year-round rodeo district.
“The county propositions A and B, which we’re voting for, will give a big uplift to the east side through the work that the rodeo is prepared to do on the Freeman and the Frost Bank Center grounds.”
Essentially, voters in Bexar County need to vote yes on Prop B ($311 million for a new downtown Spurs arena) to use the venue tax to extend an existing tax on rental cars and increase the county’s hotel tax to help fund the project, spread across contributions from the county, city, and Spurs.
Also in the term sheet is language stating that the Spurs would not relocate for 30 years if the arena is built.
However, when asked about the Spurs staying in San Antonio on The Blitz, Buford did not answer directly.
“We’re focused on this November election and doing everything we can to bring the Spurs back to downtown.”
For more in-depth discussion, Locked On Spurs has interviews from both sides of the Project Marvel debate, which are worth watching.
From local business leaders such as April Ancira of Ancira Motor Group and the former Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg, to the CEO of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, Cody Davenport, and those against it, such as COPS/Metro, all have been on to discuss the matter.
What do you think about Project Marvel? Let us know on X at KENS 5 and JeffGSpursKENS5.