With Frost Bank’s new tower and the shift of city offices to its old building, now dubbed City Tower, downtown offices have emptied out.

News

Boosters’ past rhetoric shows why San Antonio residents should be leery of Project Marvel

Over the years, locals have been subjected to glowing promises about plenty of other big projects that fell flat.

by Heywood Sanders October 16, 2025October 16, 2025

Over the years, locals have been subjected to glowing promises about plenty of other big projects that fell flat.

Cityscrapes

Cityscrapes: Project Marvel’s open-ended term sheet will cost every San Antonio property taxpayer

The city’s term sheet with the Spurs leaves many open question voters should be concerned about.

by Heywood Sanders September 4, 2025September 4, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: CSL’s study on San Antonio’s Project Marvel mirrors rosy reports the consultant delivers for other cities

The consulting firm serves up similar advice and positive projections to cities looking to cash in on expanding their convention centers.

by Heywood Sanders August 4, 2025September 1, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: San Antonio’s new elected leadership should call Project Marvel timeout until details become clear

Fundamental questions about the $4 billion project remain unanswered, including it feasibility, its financing and its timing.

by Heywood Sanders June 30, 2025July 29, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: San Antonio’s current mayoral election feels different, but many voters wary of same old missteps

It’s not clear that either candidate fully understands Project Marvel’s risks and the real cost of a failure to deliver.

by Heywood Sanders May 30, 2025July 15, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: Why are San Antonio’s city leaders so apparently ambivalent about Project Marvel?

If the massive project is such a win for San Antonio, why has no local leader stepped forward as its champion?

by Heywood Sanders February 19, 2025June 14, 2025

News

San Antonio residents should push county leaders to ask tough questions about Project Marvel

Commissioners ask serious questions about the project, starting with why the Spurs need an expensive new arena right now.

by Heywood Sanders January 23, 2025June 22, 2025

News

The big numbers attached to Project Marvel’s convention center expansion don’t add up

San Antonio is one of many big cities being sold on the idea of expanding its convention facilities.

by Heywood Sanders December 20, 2024March 12, 2025

News

Narrow margins for two San Antonio ballot propositions should be warning for city leaders

Props C and F passed with just over 50% approval, suggesting plenty of SA residents registered their discontent.

by Heywood Sanders November 12, 2024June 19, 2025

News

If you’re dissatisfied with San Antonio City Hall, express that at the ballot box

Voters will decide proposed charter changes at a time when local officials have faltered in looking after the public good.

by Heywood Sanders October 19, 2024November 13, 2024

News

Cityscrapes: San Antonio’s insider ballpark deal deserves public scrutiny, public vote

The deal was done behind closed doors with no community input, and there’s plenty of reason to be concerned.

by Heywood Sanders September 1, 2024November 12, 2024

News

There’s reason to doubt the numbers San Antonio leaders will use to tout a sports district

Two of the consultants tied to the city’s proposed ‘Project Marvel’ have oversold the economic impact of previous projects, including SA’s Grand Hyatt.

by Heywood Sanders August 7, 2024July 27, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: As San Antonio’s mayoral race heats up, it’s time for us to ask serious questions

It’s time to make lists of what’s vital for this community’s future and press candidates to give us real answers on what they plan to do.

by Heywood Sanders May 29, 2024July 27, 2025

News

With downtowns drying up, San Antonio owes more than empty promises about an NBA arena

Downtown office vacancy rates in big cities have reached unheard-of highs as workers who shifted to working from home during the pandemic stayed.

by Heywood Sanders March 25, 2024July 29, 2025

News

San Antonio’s airport touted a banner year, but the numbers suggests otherwise

Despite longtime pressure from city leaders for more nonstop flights, we remain a relatively poor city, and our passenger numbers reflect that.

by Heywood Sanders February 26, 2024June 28, 2025

News

DeLorean deal shows the need to develop San Antonio’s economy instead of chasing pipe dreams

Earlier this year, DeLorean officials asked to terminate a generous incentive deal the city offered to the startup.

by Heywood Sanders January 24, 2024April 15, 2025

News

As San Antonio ponders a Spurs arena, it should remember Sunset Station’s lessons

Developers tend to make a lot of promises, but revitalizing downtown isn’t as easy as many would have you believe.

by Heywood Sanders December 22, 2023January 3, 2025

News

Cityscrapes: Mayor’s charter review could improve governance — with the right changes

San Antonio could use independent review entities to serve as watchdogs for both policies and budgets.

by Heywood Sanders December 1, 2023September 8, 2024

News

San Antonio’s new flights to Europe came at a cost, and the money could be better spent

The city ponied up incentives worth $1.3 million — all for a few seasonal flights to one European city.

by Heywood Sanders October 5, 2023October 10, 2024

News

CityScrapes: San Antonio’s ‘doom loop’ shows city’s downtown missteps

Downtown’s sky-high vacancy rate for prime commercial real estate raises troubling questions, both about the future of downtown and more importantly, about how we make public policy.

by Heywood Sanders August 29, 2023December 2, 2024