‘Project Marvel’: City emails show early plans for $3-4B sports and entertainment district in downtown San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – What will it cost to build a new Spurs arena and an entertainment district in downtown San Antonio? Emails from the city show an ambitious price tag as the city tries get the Spurs back to their roots at Hemisfair.

In fact, the project has an impressive code name — Project Marvel — and it has big price tag as well, an estimated $3-4 billion to transform the southeast part of downtown.

Records obtained by KSAT from an open records request show that in June 2023, City of San Antonio Asst. Manager Lori Houston emailed several real estate and consulting companies saying the city was “exploring the development of a sports and entertainment district.”

In a specific email to a commercial real estate firm, Houston wrote on behalf of the city saying, “we are in the feasibility phase for a $3-4 billion sports and entertainment district.”

In an another email thread from Houston to Johnson Consulting, the CEO of the company wrote back saying they “just finished working with USTA on all of their sports facilities so we are fairly dialed in.”

Houston and the city then emailed a series of non-disclosure agreements to those companies and records show a virtual meeting was planned for June 23, 2023.

The NDA’s is where the code name Project Marvel first appears. The city requested any information related to Project Marvel remain confidential.

And it certainly would be a marvelous project. KSAT reported months ago the city is eyeing the Hemisfair and the Institute of Texan Cultures as a potential site for a new arena, which would likely cost about a billion dollars.

In a statement to KSAT in April, Houston wrote the city’s interest in that site included expanding the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, major upgrades to the Alamodome and a potential land bridge over I-37.

Many questions remain, including where would that potential $4 billion go, and how Project Marvel would be funded.

KSAT reached out to the city for those answers and received a statement from Houston:

“The city remains focused on redeveloping downtown San Antonio. A sports and entertainment district would be a welcome addition. However, nothing has been decided, nor would it be before the city briefs the council and receives input from the community.”

The Spurs have not commented on anything related to Project Marvel. Their lease at the Frost Bank Center runs through 2032 and they have not shown any indication of leaving the East Side facility before then.