One resolution calls for City Council to pause on approving the nonbinding term sheet for a new Spurs arena. The other item would lead to finalizing the agreement.
SAN ANTONIO — With the San Antonio City Council on the verge of deciding the immediate direction of Project Marvel, the Spurs organization is keeping hopeful in the governing body to vote in favor of a nonbinding deal that’s been months in the making and the center of intense debate.
“We’re not an out-of-town group and we’re committed to San Antonio,” said Bobby Perez, the Spurs’ chief legal counsel. “The urgency that has been kind of discussed, yes we do think that the voters deserve to know all the facts and so that’s why we’re asking for passage on Thursday of the term sheet.”
City Council will consider two resolutions related to the nonbinding term sheet with the Spurs on a potential new arena.
One resolution deals with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ desire for more data on the financial framework of a new arena downtown before proceeding any further. Council members are asked not to approve the term sheet until an independent economic impact study is completed. Spurs and council members have the opportunity to gather community feedback.
“I think we deserve an independent study from somebody that has no connection to the Spurs ownership team. People deserve independent information and they deserve enough time to hear from their voters to provide the feedback,” Jones said on Monday.
The second resolution if approved, would green light the city manager to move forward with finalizing the agreement with the Spurs.
Perez expressed confidence in the CSL-conducted report already presented to the city council, stressing there’s zero bias in the analysis that he said has been validated.
“I think an additional report is another data point and we’ve been walking through this exercise for well over 15-24 months and we’ve learned quite a bit and we believe from our perspective we have enough information to make decisions and set the deal up that is fair to the community so the voters can decide,” Perez said.
According to the draft term sheet, the Spurs have committed a total of $2.1 billion, which includes a $500 million contribution for the arena, and funds allocated for private development guarantees, overrun costs and community benefits.
The draft term sheet indicates the city would contribute the lesser of 38% of the cost for the downtown arena or $489 million by way of bonds and repaid through various revenue mechanisms.
Partial funding for construction of the arena would also be generated through a Bexar County venue tax increase, which will be voted on in November.
“One of the things that we will continue to underscore is that funding source is a visitor funded source and also it’s a restricted source. You cannot use it for streets, roads, sidewalks, police or fire,” Perez said.
The upcoming City Council meeting could dictate the momentum of the overall venture of Project Marvel. Dozens of people are expected to voice support and opposition once again beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
“It kind of goes back to getting the message out to the voters so they can be the ultimate decider and we think this week is the week to do that,” Perez said.