The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has confirmed plans to demolish a relic of the 1968 World’s Fair, the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) building, in order to pave the way for a modernized museum - and possibly a new arena for the Spurs. According to a report by the San Antonio Express-News, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy discussed the "albatross" that the current museum building has become, citing its deteriorating condition and the prohibitive costs associated with its maintenance.
The ageing Texas Pavilion has become a shadow of its former self with Eighmy stating, "We’re spending a lot of money for no one to visit the museum." As visitor numbers have waned in the pandemic's wake, the university looks to effectively re-home the museum either near the Alamo or at UTSA’s Southwest Campus. The move, as audiences have learned from the San Antonio Express-News, could draw increased foot traffic and provide a fresh start. UTSA will be soliciting development proposals for the 13½-acre museum site, which the Spurs are eyeing as well to potentially call home.
The future new home of the ITC has yet to be cast in stone, but options are between a lot near the Crockett Hotel in downtown San Antonio and a block at UTSA’s Southwest Campus. The latter offers a cheaper alternative since UTSA already owns the land. A news release obtained by MySA highlighted these two locales, marking the continued evolution of UTSA's urban presence.
The university intends to raze the old museum structure by the summer of 2025, with temporary operations expected to begin in the Frost Tower early 2025. Express-News sources quoted Eighmy saying, "We want to get on with the business of having the ITC that our community deserves." Meanwhile, the Spurs organization and city officials choose to remain tight-lipped on potential relocations, though UTSA's bold move offers a clear hint at the city's downtown revitalization ambitions.
While UTSA forges ahead with its plans, not all community members are on board. The Conservation Society of San Antonio has been working to have the Texas Pavilion put on the National Register of Historic Places due to its historic significance. The building's austere brutalist architecture and its ties to HemisFair '68, not to mention being a project of trailblazing Mexican-American architect William "Willie" M. Peña, give it a distinctive cultural legacy. Yet, despite the emotional ties, Eighmy summed it up by stating, “Unfortunately, we cannot afford to bring it up to speed so we can inhabit it and operate out of it, never mind getting it accredited. It’s throwing good money after something that obviously has an emotional connection for some in our community. We have to make a hard decision: what is best for having a vibrant, immersive, engaged ITC for the next 50 years that tells the stories that need to be told?”
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