Downtown San Antonio's skyline might be in for a slam dunk transformation if city officials and sports power players score their goal: a new NBA arena for the San Antonio Spurs at Hemisfair, according to the San Antonio Express-News. As the pieces come together, the University of Texas System Board of Regents greenlighting talks with the City of San Antonio about the Institute of Texan Cultures property has added a key parcel to the potential downtown sports puzzle.
The ITC's move would vacate roughly 13.5 acres, an area experts reckon sizable enough for an arena, and it's not just the Spurs dribbling towards downtown but also the owners of the San Antonio Missions considering a relocation from their deteriorating Wolff Stadium. The city is pursuing the acquisition of a federal government-owned seven-story building and adjacent vacant lots to fuse into a mixed-use development that could dance with the sounds of dribbling basketballs and roaring crowds, as per details laid out in a report by the San Antonio Report.
City leaders have been in talks with Bexar County, Spurs brass, and the San Antonio Missions owners about the concept of a downtown sports district, which could kickstart a downtown economic comeback, the city spokeswoman Laura Mayes described to the San Antonio Report, “Successful cities across the country are always looking for ways to keep their downtowns vibrant,” other sources have whispered about behind-the-scenes discussions concerning the Spurs looking to shoot hoops in a new downtown locale.
With nondisclosure agreements keeping a tight lid on details, what's clear is that the Spurs' current dwelling, the Frost Bank Center, could soon be left in the cold, “Frankly … our focus right now is the feasibility of the project finance zone legislation and how much revenue there is,” City Manager Erik Walsh told the San Antonio Report, indicating a strategic financial play is the current focus for the city officials, but whispers around the arena's potential impact on the city can't be ignored, the San Antonio Express-News sniffed out hints that the Spurs are itching to settle into a new downtown court.
