A conceptual rendering of what San Antonio sports district Project Marvel might look like in 15 years. Credit: Courtesy Image / City of San Antonio

Bexar County voters aren’t sold on plans to build a multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment complex at HemisFair, according to a new poll from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Further, the UTSA survey shows local voters aren’t enthusiastic about spending tax money on a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs — one of the components of that proposed complex, dubbed Project Marvel.

Indeed, just 41% of the 1,000 or so eligible Bexar County voters surveyed by the university’s Center for Public Opinion Research said they’re in favor of city and county officials moving forward with the $2.5 billion downtown complex.

The Project Marvel plan calls for the construction of a $1 billion arena for the Spurs, a $1 billion expansion of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center and converting the John Wood Federal Courthouse into a 5,000-seat concert venue.

The city and county are still trying to figure out how to pay for the full project, which also could include pricy Alamodome renovations, a new convention center hotel and a land bridge connecting downtown to the East Side.

More than half of those in the UTSA poll — 56% — said they either oppose the Project Marvel plan or are unsure whether it should continue. Of that total, 36% said the project shouldn’t proceed, while 20% said they were unsure.

Credit: Courtesy of UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research

Voters weren’t much more enthusiastic about using public funds to build a new NBA arena for the Spurs.

Only 42% of poll respondents are in favor of using Bexar County’s venue tax — levied on hotel stays and rental car fees — to fund a new sports facility. Forty-one percent were against the proposed funding mechanism, while 15% said they weren’t sure.

Credit: Courtesy of UTSA Center for Public Opinion Research

UTSA released it poll, conducted between Feb. 17-20, less than a week after City Council approved City Manager Erik Walsh to start negotiations with county officials and Spurs Sports & Entertainment to hash out a deal to construct the arena.

If Walsh’s negotiations are successful and a deal is reached by July, the question of using the visitor’s tax to fund a new Spurs facility could be put to Bexar County voters in time for the November election.

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This article appears in Mar 5-18, 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,...