Next year, San Antonio voters will get another chance to weigh in on Project Marvel, the multibillion-dollar sports and entertainment complex planned at Hemisfair.
City Council on Thursday unanimously agreed to put a $442 million bond package before voters that includes downtown infrastructure upgrades tied to the massive project.
Voters will decide whether to approve the package — the city’s smallest in more than two decades — in May 2027. The proposition includes $35 million for infrastructure improvements at Hemisfair that city staff deem necessary for Project Marvel to move forward.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on Thursday proposed an amendment to reallocate that $35 million toward other improvements, saying that the city could identify other funding sources for the Project Marvel improvements.
“There are many, many expenses to which this $35 million can go,” Jones said.
However, the mayor’s amendment failed on a 6-4 vote.
By putting a $442 million bond before voters, San Antonio taxpayers will be spared another near-term property tax rate increase — something that would have been necessary if the bond exceeded that sum.
However, significant aspects of Project Marvel were scaled back this week, no date has been set for arena construction to begin and negotiations between the city and Spurs Sports & Entertainment continue to drag on. Whether those developments have changed voters’ attitudes toward the megaproject remains to be seen.
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