There’s an old story in San Antonio civic circles about why AT&T moved its headquarters to Dallas. Rumor has it that it wasn’t about taxes or the business climate, it was a decision swayed by the CEO’s spouse. She thought there was nothing to do here. So they packed up and left.
Is that story true? Who knows. But what is true is that we’re constantly competing, not just for companies, but for the attention and affection of the people who run them. That’s why the Project Marvel debate isn’t just about basketball. It’s about momentum.
The conversation around Project Marvel has been one of the most fascinating civic debates I’ve seen in years. First, I wrote a parody piece, half joke, half plea, on why we should do whatever it takes to keep the Spurs. Then an anonymous author submitted a powerful counterpoint arguing the Spurs should pay for their own arena. It sparked something rare in this city: an honest public dialogue about who we are and what kind of city we want to be.
But it was the article The Billion Dollar Assist that really challenged my thinking.
I’ve always believed we should do whatever it takes to keep the Spurs. But I’ll admit, I didn’t know where the organization stood. And when there’s silence, it’s easy for the public to assume the worst, that they’re not willing to invest or that they’re holding out. But that doesn’t always mean they aren’t stepping up.
When I watched a recent interview with Spurs Chairman and CEO Peter J. Holt Jr., I was deeply encouraged. In it, he says plainly, “We are prepared to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.” Hearing that directly from ownership felt like the kind of leadership this moment calls for. That alone gave me more clarity and confidence than anything else I’ve seen in this entire debate. (Watch the full interview here.)
Let me take it a step further. Even if the Spurs hadn’t said that, even if they did a complete heel turn and said, “This is a business decision. We love you, but it’s just numbers now. Give us the money or we’re gone,” I’d still be here making the same argument.
The city of San Antonio must do whatever it takes to keep the Spurs here.
Let me explain why.
My real argument isn’t about transparency or money. It’s about energy.
No one wants to move to a city with no energy. No one’s picking a place with nothing going on. This is a game of talent attraction, and it’s a game of perception. Are we exciting? Are we building? Are we chasing something great? Or are we playing not to lose?
I’ll be honest. I don’t think you can quantify the impact of a stadium on talent attraction. There’s no spreadsheet cell for “chose San Antonio because of cool things happening downtown.” But I don’t think you can quantify falling in love either. Or the way a kid feels the first time they look up at the Manhattan skyline and thinks, “This is where people go to chase something bigger.” That spark, that emotional rush of ambition, is impossible to measure. But it’s also impossible to forget.
That’s what I call a soft metric.
You can’t measure it with a ruler or plug it into a budget. But it’s real. It’s emotional infrastructure. And just because it’s hard to measure doesn’t mean it’s not critical.
Soft metrics are how people choose where to build their lives. They’re why people stay in a city or why they leave. They’re the unspoken reasons, the feelings, the pride, the sense that, “my city is going somewhere.”
When I think of San Antonio, I think of thousands of graduating seniors every year from UTSA, Trinity, St. Mary’s, Incarnate Word, Our Lady of the Lake, Texas A&M San Antonio, all deciding whether to stay or go. How do we make them want to stay? One answer is simple. Make this a place worth staying for.
Whether you’re a basketball fan or not, the Spurs are a big part of that equation.
Years ago, I had a conversation with a friend who asked, “Why do so many people on the West Side and South Side love the Spurs, even when they can’t afford to go to the games?” The answer came to me instantly.
Because this is the one shared experience in our city where everyone gets to feel like they’re on the winning team.
Not figuratively. Not symbolically. Actually.
There’s a power in that. Especially in a city where it’s easy to feel like we’re fighting an uphill battle. The Spurs are one of the few institutions that remind us what winning feels like. In a place where we often feel like we’re playing from behind, they’ve become a symbol of hope, pride, and possibility. They carry San Antonio’s name into national conversations, not as a footnote, but as a contender. They show us what it means to be part of something bigger, something respected, something worth rooting for.
Being a Spurs fan is like holding a passport that says, “I’m from somewhere that matters.”
And that, too, is a soft metric.
We’re not just building a basketball stadium. We’re reinforcing a symbol. We’re choosing to show future citizens and outsiders alike that we believe in our trajectory. That we have ambition. That we’re willing to invest in something bold.
So yes, I’m excited that the Spurs have confirmed their commitment to invest. But even if they hadn’t, I’d still argue this is a fight we have to win.
Because in the economy of civic ambition, the soft metrics matter more than we admit.
And in this one rare arena, pun intended, we’ve already proven we can win.
Citations:
- An Open Letter from Austin to San Antonio: Please Keep Arguing So We Can Steal the Spurs – Voice of San Antonio, May 2024
https://www.voiceofsanantonio.com/articles/an-open-letter-from-austin-to-san-antonio - A Billion-Dollar Assist: Who’s Really Benefiting from the Spurs’ New Arena? – Voice of San Antonio, May 2024
https://voiceofsanantonio.com/a-billion-dollar-assist-whos-really-benefiting-from-the-spurs-new-arena/ - AT&T moving headquarters to Dallas from San Antonio – Chron, June 28, 2008
https://www.chron.com/business/article/at-t-leaving-san-antonio-for-dallas-1758611.php - Peter J. Holt Jr. Interview on Project Marvel – YouTube, June 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyCq7PIUPQQ