Those who caught Thursday’s unveiling before City Council of Project Marvel — a proposed $4 billion downtown sports district that would include a new Spurs arena — were likely left with more questions than answers about what it will entail.
Indeed, other than a few renderings and a low-budget promo video, what Project Marvel actually is appears open to much interpretation. City staff, including Assistant City Manager Lori Houston, remained mum through the presentation on who ultimately will pay for the expansive, and expensive, project.
Here’s what we do know after the briefing:
- The plan includes construction of a new Spurs Arena and renovations to the aging Alamodome.
- It also calls adding 150,000 square feet to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, building a new 20,000-square-foot University of Texas at San Antonio School of Hospitality and turning the empty John H. Wood Federal Courthouse into a 5,000-seat concert venue.
- And it would erect another convention center hotel, adding 1,000 more hotel rooms downtown.