San Antonio has Multibillion-Dollar Plan for Sports District

San Antonio’s plans for a downtown sports and entertainment district that could include a new stadium for the San Antonio Spurs are moving closer to reality.

The project could cost $3 billion to $4 billion to build, and the San Antonio City Council is expected to talk about the hush-hush project’s conceptual plans, feasibility studies and potential funding sources for the first time publicly this week, the San Antonio Express News reported.

The plan has been in the works for over a year, at least, and is code-named Project Marvel, the outlet found via open records requests. The development could include an expanded convention center, upgrades to the Alamodome, a new downtown event venue, a convention center hotel and potentially a $1 billion arena for the Spurs, on the site of the Institute of Texan Cultures, at 801 E César East Chávez Boulevard.

City officials have been speaking to Spurs executives about a potential stadium for almost two years.

Details surrounding the project have largely been kept hidden, with city staff working with out-of-town developers, real estate companies and consultants at least since April 2023. The city required all involved parties to sign nondisclosure agreements, intending to leave the public in the dark about the district’s potential economic and social impact.

The city would receive public input before proceeding with the plans, according to a meeting agenda.

The Spurs are building a $511 million “human performance campus,” potentially with a restaurant and medical office, at 1 Spurs Way, near The Rim, an upscale neighborhood near Interstate 10 and Texas 1604 Loop. Mixed-used developments based on pro sports stadiums or practice facilities are increasingly in play. The Dallas Cowboys personified the trend when The Star at Frisco, a mixed-use development surrounding the team’s practice field, opened in 2015.

Another major project slated to reshape San Antonio’s real estate landscape is Oxbow Development Group’s $129 million apartment project in the Pearl District, which aims to expand the area with 700 apartments, a hotel, office space, retail and restaurants.

— Andrew Terrell