San Antonio mayor asks council to send proposed $489 million arena contribution to voters
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is asking San Antonio City Council to place the city’s proposed contribution of up to $489 million toward a new Spurs arena and related Project Marvel development before voters in November 2026.
The request, reported Aug. 3, would require action by the council before an Aug. 17 deadline to call the proposed election. As of Aug. 3, the ballot measure had not been finally called or approved, and its final language, financing structure and any required legal or election approvals remained unsettled.
The potential vote would concern the city’s role in financing a downtown arena project, rather than a completed funding commitment. City Council, not the mayor alone, would have to take the next procedural step to place the matter on the ballot.
Prior council action was nonbinding
The proposal follows City Council’s 7-4 vote in August 2025 to approve a nonbinding term sheet advancing the arena project. That action did not call the current proposed election.
Jones has sought additional analysis of the project’s cost, financing and taxpayer consequences, according to current local reporting. The arena’s current projected cost has been cited at $1.3 billion in project reporting.
The proposed city contribution is part of Project Marvel, which the City of San Antonio describes as a downtown sports and entertainment district. The project includes a proposed new arena for the San Antonio Spurs.
How the city describes the proposed contribution
City materials say San Antonio may contribute up to $489 million to the arena project. The city says the contribution would not come from the existing General Fund or from direct local taxpayer funding. Instead, the city has described a structure relying on project-related revenue mechanisms and lease arrangements.
Those statements describe the city’s potential financing approach, not a final approved arrangement. The project is not described as fully funded or guaranteed to proceed.
What happens next
If council members want to send the contribution question to voters in November 2026, the reported deadline to call the election is Aug. 17. A council decision would determine whether San Antonio voters directly decide the city’s proposed financing role in the arena and entertainment-district development.
Until council takes that action, the referendum remains a request from the mayor rather than a scheduled election.
Sources
- San Antonio Sports & Entertainment District, City of San Antonio
- Project Marvel and what’s happened since the last vote, SanAntonioUSA community post
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