San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks to reporters after a recent town hall. Credit: Jacob R. Lopez

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is calling for a citywide vote on Project Marvel as a looming budget deficit and lower-than-expected revenue cloud the city’s economic outlook and its ability to issue bonds.

Late Friday, Jones sent a memo to City Council, City Manager Erik Walsh and City Attorney Andy Segovia, calling for the city’s $489 million contribution toward a new basketball arena for the Spurs at Hemisfair to be added to the November ballot. The NBA arena is considered a centerpiece of Project Marvel, a proposed $4 billion sports-and-entertainment district intended to reshape much of downtown.

“The economic environment has changed significantly,” Jones wrote in the memo. “As the city is faced with a $158 million budget deficit in the FY 2027 budget, and the potential need to raise property taxes not once but twice, I think it’s only fair to let city voters have a formal vote on their money this November.”

Contrary to how some media outlets have depicted Jones’ request, she isn’t calling for a “do-over” on last year’s Project Marvel vote.

Nor is it the first time the mayor has called for a citywide referendum on the matter.

In November, Bexar County, in a 52%-48% vote, narrowly approved raising the county’s hotel occupancy tax to help cover the county’s $311 million contribution to the Spurs arena.

Although the city’s $489 million contribution was contingent on that ballot proposal, San Antonio voters never publicly approved the city’s share.

What’s more, a large number of the county’s “yes” votes came from outside city limits, meaning a city-only vote could result in a different outcome.

The possibility of a second vote on the Spurs arena comes amid significantly scaled-back plans for the broader Project Marvel vision. Major aspects of the project, including a new convention center hotel, a land bridge and Alamodome renovations, have either been shrunk or scrapped altogether since the county’s vote last November.

Meanwhile, City Manager Walsh hasn’t begun negotiating with Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) on a finalized term sheet for the arena. The parties aren’t expected to finalize a formal deal until December, he told reporters during a meeting in June — suggesting there’s time to hold a citywide referendum and cut another deal with the franchise.

Jones is encouraging residents who aren’t happy with the scaled-back plans — or who worry about how the arena project may affect the city’s budget deficit — to call and email their council members to ask for a citywide vote.

The deadline for City Council to call a November vote is Aug. 17.

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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,...