Downtown San Antonio Spurs arena could be one step closer to reality

In a vote on Thursday, the University of Texas Board of Regents gave the City of San Antonio the exclusive option to buy or lease the 13½-acre downtown property where UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures sits inside Hemisfair, News4SA reports.

Although the board hasn’t discussed details of the vote publicly, the agenda for its Thursday meeting said the transaction was for a “potential downtown revitalization project,” leading many to believe the land could be the future site for a new downtown Spurs arena, reports the Express-News.

San Antonio city leaders first approached Spurs officials about building a new downtown arena in January 2023, as reported by the Current. Since then, rumors have swirled that a downtown Spurs arena could be in the works to replace the East Side’s aging Frost Bank Center.

Even if the city plans to build a new basketball arena downtown, the Spurs won’t be moving in for a while. The earliest the team could break its lease at the Frost Bank Center isn’t until 2026. Even then, an early departure would come with an $84 million penalty.

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This article appears in Feb 21 – Mar 5, 2024.