San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ attempt to put the Spurs arena funding back on the ballot for a second vote is facing opposition from city council members. The $1.3 billion NBA arena planned for Hemisfair relies on funding from the Spurs, the City of San Antonio, and Bexar County.

Funding Plan

The Spurs would pay at least $500 million, the city would pay up to $489 million, and the county up to $311 million. The city’s proposed financing is tied to special tax capture districts and lease payments from the arena and related development.

Mayor Jones proposed a discussion about putting a vote on the city’s share of funding onto the November ballot, saying that ‘since they pay twice, City voters deserve to vote twice.’ However, six council members have spoken against the idea, citing that the vote would not help close the looming $158 million budget deficit and that the November vote on the county funding had already settled the arena issue.

Council Members’ Concerns

Council members expressed concerns that another election would take money and energy while ‘repeating work we’ve done.’ They also stated that the $489 million had ‘absolutely nothing’ to do with the city’s budget deficit and could not be used to fix streets and sidewalks or address public safety issues.

Spurs Sports and Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford released an open letter defending the funding plan and saying that ‘now is the time to move forward together.’ The city still needs to negotiate a final deal with the Spurs, which top city staff hope to do by the end of the year.

Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.