San Antonio Sports & Entertainment District

San Antonio is working on a project to improve Downtown and create a new Sports & Entertainment District in Hemisfair.

The District will complete the redevelopment of Hemisfair to serve as the gathering space for the San Antonio community, including a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs. The vision is just beginning to come into focus and will be shaped by community input.

The District would include:

• 25+ acres of mixed-use development, such as restaurants, shops and community spaces for family friendly entertainment.
• Completed Tower Park, which the is the last phase of the Hemisfair master plan.
• Reconnected East Side of San Antonio to Hemisfair through a park over IH-37.
• Expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to stay competitive and attract conferences to San Antonio, which bring visitors to support the local economy.
• New state-of-the-art downtown arena for the world champion San Antonio Spurs.
• Upgraded Alamodome to continue to host major events and concerts that support the local economy.
• Converted former John Wood Courthouse into a live events venue.
• New Convention Center Hotel next to the Convention Center.

How It's Funded

The District will be paid for primarily by visitors, not local residents. Property taxes will only be used - if voters approve - for infrastructure, such as better streets and sidewalks to make it easier to park and get around downtown.

Here's where the funding for the Sports and Entertainment District comes from:

Visitor Taxes

• Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) on hotel stays.
• County Venue Tax on hotel stays and rental cars.
• State hotel-related taxes through the Project Finance Zone (PFZ), authorized by the Texas Legislature, which allowed for the creation of a 3-mile area where state hotel taxes are captured for 30 years and can be invested in convention center facilities.

San Antonio Spurs

The NBA team will make a substantial financial contribution to the cost of building the arena, in addition to a lease for the arena facility.

Developers

Developers that build in Hemisfair will contribute property taxes and pay ground leases.

View the Funding Source Table(PDF, 57KB).

Get Involved

The City wants your feedback! You can help shape the Sports & Entertainment District by:

• Taking a citywide survey.
• Attending community workshops in all 10 Council Districts (June - July).
• Sharing your ideas about public spaces, transportation, housing, and more.

Further opportunities for public input will continue as this project come to life.

Be Part of the Process

• Register for a community workshop.
• Sign up for updates.

Share Your Feedback

Workshops

Attend one of our workshops listed below.

Memos & Summaries

Below are each of the official memos and presentations from the City Council:

• Prior Project Finance Zone Termination - May 2025(PDF, 2MB)
• Project Financing Zone Number 2 - May 2025(PDF, 5MB)
• Memo of Understanding City of San Antonio, Bexar County & Spurs - April 2025(PDF, 2MB)
• District & Memo of Understanding Summary - February 2025(PDF, 175KB)
• Ordinance Authorizing City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Memo of Understanding - February 2025(PDF, 803KB)
• Memo of Understanding City of San Antonio, UTSA & 1859 Historic Hotels - October 2023(PDF, 2MB)

Presentations

• City Council B Session Presentation - June 2025(PDF, 10MB)
• District Update & Briefing Presentation - February 2025(PDF, 8MB)
• Convention Center Feasibility Presentation - December 2024(PDF, 10MB)
• District Overview Presentation - November 2024(PDF, 98MB)