San Antonio City Council strikes down call for Spurs arena vote

Following a contentious two weeks that saw Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones at odds with some local leaders, San Antonio City Council waved off a proposal that would have sent a $489 million piece of Spurs arena funding to voters in November.

The tight 6-5 vote came after more than two hours of public comments from both sides of the issue. Marina Alderete Gavito, Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, Sukh Kaur, Misty Spears, Phyllis Viagran, and Marc Whyte voted against the measure. Jones was joined by Teri Castillo, Ric Galvan, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, and Edward Mungia in support.

At issue was the city’s contribution to the funding structure for the $1.3 billion arena, which also includes a 311 million from Bexar County and $500 million from the Spurs, with the franchise handling cost overruns. In August 2025, council approved the term sheet in a 7-4 vote, and Bexar voters approved the county’s contribution the following November.

In calling for a public vote in late July, Jones argued that the city's financial picture has drastically changed since last fall, pointing to an affordability crisis, a bond capacity coming in lower than projected for 2027, and a two-year $157.7 million budget deficit. With a property tax increase on the table, she argued that San Antonians should have a separate vote from the wealthier northern Bexar County voters.

City Manager Erik Walsh pushed back on that framing in a council memo sent Friday, August 14. Stating that he wanted to correct "misinformation" before the vote, he wrote that “the city's arena contribution would not be funded with proceeds from a general-obligation bond election, existing General Fund revenue or residential property taxes."

Legally, the city’s share does not require a public vote. The revenue bonds

The city's share doesn't legally require a public vote, since the revenue bonds behind it are designed to be repaid through Spurs lease payments, private development lease revenue, Hemisfair-area property taxes, and hotel tax from the state instead of general fund dollars or residential property taxes.

Still, infrastructure needed to create the sports and entertainment district along Cesar Chavez Boulevard will have to be covered, in part, by a bond program. Walsh has said council will get an update on the broader project in October, including a cost and revenue study, a downtown access and mobility study, and progress on a public-facing tracking dashboard.