I have lived in San Antonio long enough to remember when the Spurs were still playing at Hemisfair Arena and David Robinson was a Navy Midshipman. I’ve watched this city rally behind its team through championships, rebuilding years, and everything in between. Like most locals, I love the Spurs. Indeed, for many years I held season tickets. But loving the team doesn’t mean giving them a blank check, especially when that check is being written with public money.
Project Marvel, the $3 billion downtown redevelopment plan centered around a brand-new $1.5 billion arena, sounds exciting. It promises jobs, growth, tourism, and a revitalized urban core. But here’s the thing: we’ve heard that pitch before. And as someone who’s been paying attention for the last couple of decades, I believe we need to look a little harder at who really benefits, and how these returns on our continued investment are distributed.
The Spurs’ Track Record with Public Dollars
Let’s rewind. The Spurs were bought in 1993 for about $75 million [1]. Today, they’re worth nearly $4 billion [2]. That’s a phenomenal return, 50x for the team’s ownership group if you’re keeping score. Good for them, as their willingness for investment risk deserves our heartfelt applause. But let’s be clear, they haven’t done it alone. The public has been a very generous partner each step of the way.
In 2002, the Frost Bank Center was built for around $186 million, with the lion’s share funded through public money [3]. Then came a $110 million renovation about a decade later, again mostly on the public’s dime [3]. In return, the Spurs pay roughly $1.3 million a year in lease payments to the county [3]. That payment is a rounding error in the team’s revenues. In fact, it’s barely the NBA’s minimum salary. Certainly, this lease payment doesn’t begin to return the amount directly invested on the team’s behalf.
Now layer in the fact that the team keeps nearly all revenue from ticket sales, concessions, parking, naming rights (reportedly worth around $9 million a year [4]). It becomes clear, the taxpayers built the stage, but the team takes the box office.
What’s New in Project Marvel?
Under Project Marvel, the city plans to redirect hotel occupancy tax revenue through a Project Finance Zone (PFZ), which doesn’t require voter approval [5]. But for the bigger piece, nearly $450 million from an extended venue tax, the public will get its say in the form of a ballot measure [6]. That vote is coming, and we need to go into it with our eyes wide open.
No one is saying the Spurs shouldn’t grow. No one is saying they shouldn’t dream big. But let’s be honest, if any other billion-dollar private corporation came to the city asking for nearly $1 billion in direct cash and other tax subsidies, we’d demand a serious public ROI. Why should it be different for a basketball team?
A Smarter Way Forward
There’s a better model out there, one where the team finances its own new home and the city supports infrastructure around it. That’s how it was done in Munich, where FC Bayern privately financed the Allianz Arena and paid off the stadium loan 16 years ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the city invested in roads, transit access, and utilities to support the development [7]. Bayern reaps the profits, and the city keeps its focus on public-serving infrastructure. That’s a win-win.
Tottenham Hotspur followed a similar path, privately financing its £1 billion stadium with a £400 million loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and other financial institutions [8]. Chelsea FC is exploring redevelopment of Stamford Bridge and recently agreed to purchase adjacent land to support the club’s privately funded rebuild [9].
Why not grant the Spurs a favorable but fair long-term lease in the Project Marvel zone and provide them with the typical tax abatement subsidies? Let them fund the construction of their own arena and associated projects, such as hotels, parking, and entertainment venues, like any other business would. It’s not as if the team, with decades now of success, isn’t fully capable of managing a true private-public development project. The city has already heavily invested in Hemisphere Plaza and plans to spend more than $1.5 billion expanding the nearby Convention Center, redeveloping the Wood Courthouse, and upgrading area streets, utilities, and other improvements that benefit everyone downtown.
And for what it’s worth, some have long argued that San Antonio missed a bigger opportunity years ago. What if the city had bought and operated the Spurs like Green Bay did with the Packers, or how we run CPS Energy here in San Antonio? Both are community-owned models where the public shares in the profits, not just the bills. That’s a different conversation, sure, but one worth remembering as we debate this next chapter.
Let’s be clear, this isn’t about punishing the Spurs or begrudging their success. It’s about fairness. It’s about recognizing that San Antonio, already facing a significant budget deficit, could instead use this nearly $1 billion in public tax dollars to more fully serve the public interest, not just continue to pad the value of an already wildly profitable franchise.
We’ve supported this team with our collective love and treasure for decades. Maybe now’s the time to ask them to support us back, not just in spirit, but in a truly shared financial responsibility.
Sources
The Guardian – Chelsea Agree to Buy Land Next to Stamford Bridge
Los Angeles Times, 1993 – McCombs Sells the Spurs for $75 Million
Forbes 2024 NBA Team Valuations – San Antonio Spurs
SportsPro Media – Frost Bank Naming Rights Deal
Visit San Antonio – New Revenue Source for Spurs Arena
San Antonio Express-News – County Weighs Venue Tax Vote