Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai gives a speech after winning the race of take the county’s top elected office. Credit: Sanford Nowlin

Even though the San Antonio Spurs want to get financing for a new arena on the ballot in time for the May 3 election, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai told reporters Tuesday that the odds look slim.

Sakai’s comments came after Bexar County Commissioners Court met Tuesday in a closed-door session to discuss possible financing mechanisms for the NBA team’s proposed $1 billion arena project, according to an Express-News report.

Spurs Sports & Entertainment has pressed the court to put changes to the county’s visitor tax on the May ballot, according to the daily. Under the plan, voters would decide whether the county can boost the visitor tax to 2% to help fund a new downtown arena.

In his comments to reporters, Sakai said county commissioners won’t add the tax question to the ballot until the Spurs and the city can provide a finalized cost for the arena and give the public a chance to provide input.

Sakai also said the city and other power brokers must ensure the Frost Bank Center isn’t abandoned and will still hold events once the Spurs move out, according to the Express-News.

Further, the judge said local leaders must develop a plan to revitalize the economically disadvantaged area around the Frost Bank Center before the court is willing to put financing for a new Spurs facility in front of voters.

That means the Spurs and city officials would need to assemble details on the new arena, the future of the Frost Bank Center and East Side revitalization by the end of next week — a hurdle they appear unlikely to clear.

If the county is put the visitor tax on the May ballot, the plan would need to go to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s office by the end of next week for consideration. Hegar’s office would need to approve the use of public dollars no later than Feb. 14.

If SS&E and the city can’t make that timetable work, the next time Bexar County could hold a venue tax election would be in November, according to the daily.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...