Roundtable: Project Marvel, San Antonio & the Spurs
So during this offseason, it’s not just about player movement, roster players, signings, all that good stuff. No, right now it’s about project marvel. You are locked on Spurs, your daily San Antonio Spurs podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back to Lockdown Spurs, another locked NBA network. I’m your host Jeff Garcia, Spurs writer Ken 5 San J. Glad to have you back. Hope you’re having a great Friday. TJF everybody and uh getting ready for that weekend ahead. But uh one more work day just today and we’re in the clear. Uh yeah, so we appreciate you all coming here. Uh you guys are being the everyday. Subscribe wherever. Get your favorite podcast, iTunes, Spotify, Ken Spy Plus app, YouTube, you know what to do. So what are we talking about today? You can see on your screen. We’re going to be talking about Project Marvel. I’ll give you a quick summation about that. We’re going to be getting into the ins, the outs, what is it all about, all that good stuff in just a few minutes. I’ll sum it up in just uh uh two seconds here. And as always, today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. You want to go check out the Game Time app right now. Again, go visit Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use code lock NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Going to bring in our guest. Who’s this? Look at this guy. Let me let me guess. He’s going to have Sweep the League all over his screen. Let me see. There he is. He is Rudy Cop with a sweep the league. Uh as you can’t tell, right? Hey, I don’t even have to set it up for you. Everybody just look at the background of Rudy right there. You want to go to sweep the league on YouTube. Go sign up right now. It’s not just sports, everything under the sun. And uh we’re going to be discussing Project Marvel in just a bit. Rudy, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to join us here dealing with some technical issues. And uh make sure everybody to follow him on XS Sweep League. How you doing, Rudy? I’m good, man. Thanks for having me. And can’t we talk about Project Marvel? It’s it’s a hot subject in San Antonio. It definitely is. But, you know, there’s one guy that can foot the bill and pay for it all right now and we don’t have to worry about it. You know, Spurs fans just sit back. The Spurs themselves can kick back and be like, “All right, Matt’s got it.” Yeah. Look who’s back. Everybody join us again for the second time this week. He’s trying to do his best Kellen Johnson appreciation right there. Oh, there he is. It is Matt Guzman. Well, did you You’re inspired by Kell, aren’t you? That’s right. Yeah. He and I He and I twin. Funny story real quick. While I was in Vegas, I saw a couple Spurs fans sitting along the bowl at Tonison Center and one of them said, “Wait, are you Matt?” And I was like, “Yeah, that’s me.” He says, “Where’s your Cowboy hat? You didn’t bring.” And I he actually he was actually very upset that I didn’t have my hat. So I thought maybe I should start wearing it to games, but I haven’t I haven’t gotten that far yet. I’m not sure. So, you know, you should start wearing them here in lockdown spurs. I could. You know what? I I could. Yeah, that that idea. Yeah. Yeah. We see you put it on then you and Keller are going to make that instant bond. That’s true. Maybe for me. Yeah. Exactly. And by the way, thank you for putting the bill for Project Marbor. We appreciate that. So discuss I mean it was it was you and your bet that you sent me with to Vegas. So hype. Yeah. All right. Uh everybody again uh we’re having a round table discussion about project Mars. You’re probably why it’s pretty big topic. So in a nutshell, a very quick and dirty summation of it, Project Marble is basically this huge endeavor to re basically transform downtown San Antonio into a massive sports entertainment district that includes a new basketball arena for the Spurs. Basically, for those that don’t know, San Antonio Spurs do not play in downtown San Antonio. They are miles and miles away from uh the center, the heart of San Antonio in the east side of San Antonio. And it’s just it’s it’s a pain of the you know what to get there, right? And there’s nothing around there. There’s no shopping. There’s no bars. There’s nothing. Spurs try to make experience after games. They have like kind of a backyard thing, back court thing. Not the same. Once the game’s over, everybody books it. So to resolve that and among other things, you know, redo the Alamo Dome, create new shopping centers, sports bars, etc. Just re redo downtown San Antonio, Project Marvel. But it’s going to be about projected 1.4 1.6 6 billion and there will likely be overcharges. Now, the Spurs have already officially committed a little over $1 billion, about 1.56 to the project, which goes not just for the Spurs Arena, the new RIA, but also for other community endeavors. And they even said they’ll handle the overcharges. And we know there will be overcharges. But what got things going was a San Antonio councilman when council local leaders were talking about it. He had a a lengthy discussion and it opened eyes. This one of the the the meat of it was he dared the Spurs to consider relocation. He just said yeah think about it. Go for it. In a nutshell he’s saying you’re not going to find a better deal than what they’re now the city has given you. Um, you know, he even said no more Austin games if the residents of San Antonio going to commit to this. Uh, he just went on and on and just saying like, hey, there’s other ways we could use this money. And he reminded everybody about the broken promise of revitalizing the east side and said, “Well, if y’all have this money now to pitch in for this project, where’s this money going? if we had it, why couldn’t you do it to help the east side where the arena sits right now. So, he just said a lot of stuff and it got Spurs fans talking. That’s where we’re having a roundt discussion. And you know, I want to start over with you, Rudy, because you and I had a discussion about this on your show, Sweep the League. Is this pie in the sky? Is this project just too much for this city to handle? Too much to handle? No. As far as, you know, construction space, stuff like that, no. But when it comes to the financial side, yeah, it’s a big yes. I mean, San Antonio number-wise is, you know, in debt and it’s going to keep going in debt and that’s going to be for the foreseeable future. So, one thing that, you know, Councilman McKe Rodriguez was basically bringing up was the increase of property taxes, you know, basically outpricing our own citizens in San Antonio. a lot of great points, but a pie in the sky type of dream. I mean, the city can handle it. There’s no doubt about it. They tore down the Institute of Texan Culture in that area, so they freed up a whole lot of space right there to start the arena project. But you got to also remember, too, did they consider the fact that you have a lot of residents in that area. That whole side where the Alamo Dome is, that whole part of the city isn’t exactly the highest income in San Antonio. So property taxes in that area are going to go up tremendously in that part because you’re putting in a new arena and another type of entertainment district. Can those people even, you know, afford to take a higher tax, you know, pay a higher tax? Are we talking about citizens being put out of their homes because they couldn’t pay? just so many so many questions that he brought up that I think Spurs fans are really overlooking and not seeing that part of you know the econ the economic side. Yeah. And and Matt, you you hear the other side where Spurs fans and other community members not just fans just residents and even some that don’t have any interest in the team or sports in general. They’re just saying well overall the big picture is yeah you if basically if you build it they will come. So that means maybe an All-Star game comes to San Antonio. Maybe bigger shows come to San Antonio, not just uh NBA wise. You know, there those those fans feel like the t the fans against it are being shortsighted. They’re not seeing the long run. Is that what needs to be pushed here is the long-term future of the city and revitalizing downtown? I think it does, especially because, you know, we’re talking about this project. it it can’t even really take shape or like it can begin, you know, the process of building or doing whatever needs to happen. But I mean, the Spurs are locked in the Frost Bank Center until 2032. Yeah. You know, we still have another six years of of things as they are, you know, obviously adding some more construction downtown. This is going to become a real a real thing. But I mean, yeah, all everything that has to do with Project Marvel, whether it be the arena or the necessary improvements in the area that they keep citing, you know, it’s going to take time for all of that to shape and and come together. So, when you think about the project as a whole, you do have to think about the city and and long-term, you know, what is it investing into and and is it a good idea? To your point, absolutely. I mean, in 2032, you know, we don’t we don’t know what other leagues might do. You know, maybe San it’s another professional team. Yeah. you know, you know, there’s several things that are going to be in the air from now until then and and moving forward once that downtown arena, you know, is built if it ends up be, you know, if this is if this is real. Um, and so I think it’s just one of those things that everybody wants to kind of a lot of people want answers about what it’s going to look like right now and I don’t even think that’s quite possible, you know, given how preliminary everything is and and how far in the future we’re talking for something like this to exist. Rudy, does this thing feel like it’s being rushed? It feels like if they wanted to get this done, they could have done this years ago. Uh but now they’re doing it now and it feels like well because not just the Spurs are starting to trend upwards, you know, they’re likely going to be a good team probably starting this upcoming season, but it just feels like why didn’t you strike when the iron’s hot? Why didn’t this bring up maybe at the tail end of the big three era, maybe the Kawhi Leonard part where he was still pretty good, you know? Why now? Well, you you hit, you know, you hit the nail right on top of the head. You got to strike when the iron’s hot. I mean, you’ve at the end of the victory era, that would have been a terrible time to ask for a brand new arena to even bring it up because you’ve had a lot of the struggles and all of a sudden you go out and get a Victor Wyama who’s going to he was the face of the franchise. Now you start making moves. You know, Stefan Castle, Darren Fox, you’re starting to put a team that is not necessarily a contending team right now, but like I mentioned before, it’s it’s a legit playoff team right now with all the additions that they’ve had, especially in free agency this off season. So, yeah, the iron is hot right now. You strike now, you go ask them, hey, you know what? Let’s try to get an arena solved right now. I think it feels rushed because you’re you’re hearing a lot about it. I think the Spurs want to get confirmation now rather than, you know, 2027, 2028. Let’s have that vote. Let’s start building, you know, all this stuff. You’re talking what, a project that’s probably going to take 5 years maybe, uh, before it’s all said and done. So, that’s that’s really the reason why Matt brought up a great point, 2032. Get the deal done now. That way, they can start building now. By the time that season comes up, you’re able to just move right on into the arena. But there’s a lot of different roadblocks that a lot of people I guess are overlooking. And I think personally nothing, you know, on the Spurs, I I think they felt like, well, hey, we’ve been in San Antonio for so long. This should be an easy deal for us. Now you’ve got councilmen and council women that are kind of like, hold off, hold off, hold off. We we need to ask these questions because the Alamo Dome was built Yeah. for conventions and to attract the football team. You gave it to the Spurs. They didn’t want it because it wasn’t loud enough. Mhm. You go and build a Frost Bank Center. Yeah. It’s been a great great arena for them, but it’s in the middle of nowhere where basically there’s no development. Now they want to be downtown. San Antonio is looking like, “Wait a minute. You didn’t help on the east side. What’s going to become of the Frost Bank Center after 2032? It’s going to be a ghost town. So, what do we do with that?” I mean, there’s there’s so many questions that need to be answered. I understand both sides of it. Yeah, it’s rushed because I think this project is going to take about five to six years to build. So that’s kind of why you got to get it off the docket now. Yeah. Yeah. There’s so many intricacies with this thing. It’s like look, I live downtown San Antonio and there’s construction going on has nothing to do with Project Marvel and it’s already a headache. So, and then there’s going to be parking. We need to get into that just right now. Well, for both of y’all when y’all go to the cons that I host in San Antonio, I mean, finding parking just for that sucks. Now, imagine a major NBA event. NBA sees that, oh, all-star game, return to San Antonio. I mean, my goodness. I mean, that that that’d be an S show. Uh there’s just so much uh about this that Yeah, the right questions have to be asked. And Rudy, even the mayor, I think the mayor is not completely on board with this project, is she? No, I think she’s got some push back as well on it. And you know the uh the great thing that uh I can’t remember who actually put it in the media was saying was you know a lot of people got to understand that the councilman in there because they’re representing our district or you know the district for San Antonio. So if they feel it’s not in the best interest for them to vote a certain way that’s why they’re going to vote you know the opposite. They’re going to vote no because it doesn’t make sense to do it now. But you’re getting a lot of push back and I’m starting to wonder if that is a concern for, you know, Spurs investors and Spurs ownership like, hey, we’re getting a lot of push back. Do we start to play that card that Councilman uh M Mickey Alex Rodriguez basically said, hey, go somewhere else. Which I think that was really foolish of him to say because the first city on the top of everyone’s head is Seattle. Seattle’s already got everything ready to go. They will not hesitate. And I even want to say they’re probably willing to pay as much as they can for a team to relocate. I mean, out of their own pocket. So, daring, you know, the San Antonio Spurs, well, hey, why don’t you just get up and move if that’s what you want to do? That was a very foolish thing to say. And there are two two cities out there right now that are dying for an NBA team that would do anything and everything to get them. So, yeah, very foolish on that part. Yeah, that being Seattle and then Las Vegas. Don’t forget, Matt, Las Vegas already plucked two teams from San Antonio, a hockey team and a WNBA team. Uh, you know what, Matt, when we get back, we’re going to start off with you, but let’s go and take our first break. Uh, we’re talking about Project Marvel, the uh endeavor to re pretty much transform downtown San Antonio to a major sports entertainment district, including a new arena for the Spurs. We’re going to be discussing that and more right here on Locked on Spurs. Hey, but first I want to talk to you about game time. Look, we all been there logging in early, waiting online forever for concert tickets to go on sale. Want to lose your lose your spot for that show you’re dying to see. Music, live music, that is should not be a headache. Should be about making memories, not dealing with the stress of ticketing and shopping. Shopping, I mean, that’s just bad. This is where game time comes in. Game time makes getting concert tickets faster, easier, pretty much than ever. Prices actually drop as it gets closer to showtime. And you can save up to 60% off with killer last minute deals. You get panoramic seat views so you know where you’re going to be sitting before you even buy your tickets. You have the game time guarantee that has your back with cancellation protection and so much more. They have it all. Yeah. The price you see is the price you pay. No hidden fees on Game Time. Take the guesswork out of buying concert tickets or just tickets in general with Game Time. Download the Game Time app account. Use code lock on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account, redeem code LOC ceb. That’ll get you $20 off. Download the game time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Back right here going by Rudy Compos who sweeps the league. Matt Guzman of Spurs on Sports Illustrated. It’s a round table discussion about Project Marvel, the endeavor to transform downtown San Antonio into a new sports entertainment district, including a new arena for the Spurs. Now, Matt, what’s been brought up a lot with fans that are saying, “No, you know, we don’t like where this is going.” Is that the ownership, they got deep pockets. It’s not just Michael Dell. There’s the Airbnb owner. There’s Dell himself. And as the council member brought up, like these guys can’t afford this new thing, easy peasy. Where do you think Spurs fans stand on that, you know, like, hey, why should we, the residents, pitch in when you guys have all the bucks? Absolutely. And and makes sense. It’s a very sensible argument when you explain, you know, who backs the Spurs, the kind of names that are associated with the franchise, you know, considering they were able to, you know, pull that deal for Frostbag Center a while back and and now they’re looking for another one. It makes sense to me. I think fans are are really worried about, you know, what it’s going to look like for them. You know, are they going to have to pay for this new arena? And we mentioned earlier, you know, if maybe fans aren’t into sports or aren’t into the NBA, you know, why should they have to pay more, you know, to something that they don’t even care about, you know, and I think that a big concern for a lot of residents for sure. And and I think that’s why, you know, obviously before back when he was mayor, something Nerburgg had said was that, you know, we’re not going to use these property taxes. We’re going to use there’s a lot of other ways that we can get this done, right? I think the biggest thing for fans right now is they want to, you know, they want to see some proof to that and and and you know, hear some other ideas and other ways that this can get done without it coming straight from them and their pockets. Yeah, exactly. Now, the proposed way to fund the whole complex is through, I think, higher uh car rental taxes, basically like tourism taxes. You know, if you stay at a hotel, more taxes there, rental cars, more taxes there, etc., etc. where we’re going that but it’s not like the residents will pay quote unquote as well Rudy because let’s just say this thing goes through and everything’s great. Can you imagine how much tickets are going to be now moving forward? Can you imagine how much just parking is going to cost? Can you imagine just how much you Rudy’s a family man taking your family out to a game? And by the way everybody, I think there was only going to be a handful of tickets at at uh at 25 bucks. I think if they said they’re going to set aside 500 seats for $25 tickets, that’s nothing. That’s nothing, Rudy. Yeah. Again, it goes back to what the councilman had said. You’re you’re basically going to price out residents. And I mean, I think for mid Bowl right now over at the Frost Banquet, is it like a hundred bucks for one ticket around the mid area? you go upper level, you’re in like the 40 maybe $50 seats right there. So, just to come to think, you know, the new arena, those $100 tickets uh per ticket is going to go up to probably 145 uh per ticket. So, a family of three, you’re sitting at what $450 parking say another 30 to 50 bucks maybe. So, you’re already at $400 uh rough or $500 roughly. the the pricing is going to go up. And I think that’s where the biggest concern or one of the biggest concerns is is that if you get a new arena, can we can you at least keep those tickets at a at a really good affordable price? Because now you’re banking on tourists coming into San Antonio. You’re banking on companies HB, Waterburger, all these other companies to come in and buy, you know, good amount of tickets to give to their employees or to give away maybe some sweets stuff like that. You’re counting on a lot of stuff. And we saw it, Jeff. I mean, I think you and I talked about it. The they haven’t been profitable for quite some time. Even during the championship runs, there were some years that weren’t very profitable. So, if we couldn’t afford to go to games at that time and the ticket prices go up, what makes you think people are going to be able to go to afford games this time? And the simple comment of, well, you can you got to make more money. There’s just not an option to make more money in a lot of people’s cases. Matt, what did you think about the whole argument that the council member was bringing up was saying, “Fine, Spurs. If we go and fund help fund this new arena, then no more games in Austin.” What do you think about that? I think I understand where he’s coming from again, you know. I think I liked what what Rudy was saying. I think his entire spiel, a lot of it was kind of he kind of jumped the gun a little bit. He definitely showed he was irritated. You know, that kind of dang necessarily the most wellthoughtout and then, you know, patient argument, but I understand where he’s coming from. You know, if we’re going to pay all this money for you to be here, why are you going to go to Paris? Why are you going to go to Austin? Why are you going to go to Mexico City? you know, and obviously that kind of goes directly against what the league and the Spurs are both to do. They’re trying to globally expand. And when you have a player like Victor, it’s almost dumb not to send in, you know, to attract that fan base. And, you know, specifically with the Spurs, you know, you and I have both talked to to Brandon several times about that effort and what it looks like. You know, that’s something that that’s at the core of of what they want to do right now is to grab more people from Austin to You know what? I bet you if we talked to him right now, he would say that, you know, if they do get this new arena, they’re going to want Austin fans to commute to downtown San Antonio for games. Yeah. And so I think it makes sense to me, but it’s one of those things where, you know, that that could potentially be a big point of contention, right? If the city and and the people who are funding this project are going to start pushing back against those global games or those awesome definitely thing to watch for. Yeah. uh already uh friends of the show over at San Antonio Sports Star on the Blitz, they had discussion as well and thing they brought up was that if you look at how this all started, Project Marvel was started by the Spurs. The city is the one that started it. The city is the one that got this ball rolling and the Spurs were then roped in and then they’re like, “All right, cool. Yeah, we’re down. Yeah, we’ll go in.” and now it feels like they’re the ones getting dumped on when it wasn’t their idea. Where do you stand on that? Yeah, if I’m not mistaken, definitely the city, you know, is the one that proposed this entertainment district and entertainment sports district uh is what it was proposed as. And of course, you know, the Spurs being downtown, you know, that’s where they should be. And if I’m not mistaken, they even discussed the missions going downtown as well, the baseball team. So, it it makes sense. you know, you want to get everything downtown, especially by the Alamo Dome. It’s a sports district, entertainment district. Is it unfair that the Spurs get, you know, the short end of the stick and are getting a lot of the heat for it? I would say so in a way, but also at the same time, you know, they are the biggest ticket in town. They are the biggest, you know, ticket in town. Yeah, it’s the only ticket in town. So, the thing is is that well, here’s here it is. is like, well, you know, they’re they’re wanting the arena, so cool. We’re going to build the arena, but what are they going to do for us? And it it goes back to the to the east side, man. I mean, they got the Frost Bank Center, and now it’s like, well, that’s all that there’s there. There’s nothing else. And there’s been no attempts to make to put stuff or put restaurants or bars in that area. I think one restaurant opened up and then closed right away. Just there was no success there. So that’s the fear for the city. We have another arena coming in that makes the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum more obsolete because now you got Frost Bank right next to it. So what do you do with the coliseum? You don’t want to keep having these abandoned arenas everywhere in San Antonio and you just paid for them and they’re paid for. Well, you got to do something with them and that’s the biggest concern is what it comes down to. But yeah, originally it’s the Spurs are getting a lot of the heat because it’s surrounded by their arena and that’s not fair to them. I will say it’s not fair to them. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. To keep that in mind moving forward that the whole genesis of this had nothing to do with this. They weren’t the ones that said, “Hey, we want to move downtown.” It was actually the city. And you know, one thing that always bugged me, Rudy, was Hemisphere Arena. Like, fine, it’s old. Tear it down. Fine. But if they had just rebuilt from that that footprint, maybe this would never have happened. Just make a brand new one, you know, from there. No, think about it cuz after after um uh the uh the uh hemisphere, it was the Almo Dome and then that was it. But you know what? Let’s take our next break and we get back, we’re going to ask the big question. Yeah. What happens if it does or does not pass? right here on Lockdown Spurs, joined by Rudy Compost and Matt Guzman. 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That’s where Monarch comes in. Take control your finances with Monarch Money. Use code Lanb monarchmoney.com. That’s 50% off your first year as well. That’s monarchmoney.com. The code is locked in NBA for half off your first year. We’re back right here on Lock Sports joined by Matt Guzman, Spurs all sports Illustrator very own. Follow him on X at Matt GZ man and Rudy Compost. They’ll sweep the league if you can’t tell on the screen right now. Right. Definitely sweep the league. Look at that. He’s letting everybody know he has sweep the league. More on that in a bit. Hey, so we’re up against the clock right now. So, let’s ask the big question. So, we kind of hit the big highlights of this. what it is, how it started, you know, the the money involved or whatnot. I’ll start off with you, Matt. In in a few words, how would you describe it if it does pass and if it doesn’t pass? I think all in all, you know, if it passes and the Spurs get a chance to move downtown and this district, you know, becomes what the what the city hopes it will become, you know, I really do think it’s going to be a huge attraction for tourists and it’s going to be, you know, the place to be. You know, you already have the Riverwalk down there. you have the Alamo Dome, you know, kind of expand on that. And I really do think that it, you know, overall it’s a net positive. You know, there’s a lot of roadblock there, but I think it is a good idea, something that, you know, has a lot of potential to be what they want it to be. And if it doesn’t pass, you know, I I personally don’t see the Spurs, you know, taking the bait and and moving and leaving. You know, I think that they’re okay with where they’re at right now. I think they would love a new arena, love more attention as they get bigger. M but at the same time if it doesn’t pass and they do get bigger, you know, they could see growth on their own from where they’re at. And I think that that’s something that they’ll probably be interested in doing more so than just picking up and leaving. Wow. Did you hear that, uh, Rudy? So, uh, Matt believes even if it doesn’t pass, there’ll be no relocation talk. Where do you stand on if it passes and if it doesn’t? Uh, I believe at the end of the day it does pass. It’s kind of like when you go to a collectible show, you’re him and hawing about whether to buy that comic or that toy, but you know you’re going to buy it. And I think that’s what the fans of the citizens of San Antonio are looking at. They’re they’ve got legit concerns. I 100% agree with all the concerns that’s been brought up. But at the end of the day, you know, city council is going to look at it and say, “Okay, well, we can offset the tax by doing this and by doing that.” Plus, I really think that the Spurs ownership would probably do a little bit more as far as the, you know, just over the $1 billion mark that they’re going to pledge to it. I think they do a little bit more because at the end because it’s going to be more revenue in their pocket when it’s all said and done. I mean, that’s just all, you know, Peter Holt’s going to be using, you know, Hog construction, so that’s going to come right back to him. So, I think they’re going to do a lot of it at the end here. I think it passes. If it doesn’t pass, I think they flirt. They kind of do a Tim Duncan where they flirt with Orlando type of thing of going, but at the end of the day, they stay at San Antonio. I don’t think they go anywhere. Something won’t get done. Yeah, I think it will pass, but by the skin of its teeth. I don’t think it’s going to be like a landslide like the then SBC Center was. I think it’ll just be, you know, narrow vote. Uh because there are I mean I mean, if you’re to tell me, give me all your arguments, Matt, on why it shouldn’t pass, I probably would. Yeah, I I can see that. or if Rudy tells me why it should pass, I’ll be Yeah, I can see that. I mean, it’s so right down the middle. But, uh, but I do believe it will pass and the city of San Antonio will get a new entertainment district. Now, I don’t think it’ll be done all at one shot. I think they’re doing pieces like phase one will be the Spurs Arena, phase two, renovations to the dome, and then phase three, you know, maybe the district itself. So, we’ll see. But for those have not seen the renderings, it looks it looks like it’s going to be gorgeous. But man, that does look like an endeavor. I mean, that really, really does. And and trust me, if you’ve seen the renderings, and I know Matt and Rudy have, and Sanche looks like a totally different city with those uh upgrades, but we shall see. And if it doesn’t pass, yeah, I think I think they’ll flirt. I think the rumblings Oh, or you might hear reports coming out of such and such owner of such and such companies from Seattle are discussions with the Spurs or something like that. Man, look, at the end of the day, even the players say the NBA is a business. If it is a business, and imagine if Seattle just gives the ownership, Rudy, this mother of all deals and this and it did not pass. You can’t tell me. They’ll be like, yikes. You know, like, wow. Well, Seattle’s the wild card in all this. See, I got Vegas as the wild card in all this. Vegas can barely handle what they have right now. I just there’s no way. Yeah, but like I said, we don’t have to worry about it cuz Matt’s going to get the bill, so we’re good. Thank you, Matt. Appreciate it. Yeah, I recently pledged $2 billion. Look at that, man. Take that, Spurs. Look at that. Up your Annie. All right, on that note, I want to thank you all for tuning in this episode of Lockdown Spurs round table edition discussing Project Marvel. Look, I know there’s so much that we can get into. We probably skipped it, but we got to keep these things short. We can’t be here forever, otherwise we would. So, uh let’s start off with uh Rudy. Uh, how can everybody check out Sweep the League? Yeah, be sure to go to YouTube, search Sweep the League TV, you can hit that subscribe button. You get Sweep the League TV, you get Sweep Unplugged, Ready to Market, just a bunch of other shows. Play the Sith as well as on there. A bunch of other shows. And I’m just going to say right now, if the Spurs get the arena, I hope Jeff uh sponsors the Frost Bank Center by putting up a Spirit Halloween sign up there. Cool. That’ll be the biggest spirit Halloween store we’ve ever seen over at the Frostbank Center. That’d be awesome. That’ll be You know what? But I wouldn’t be surprised that’s what it turns into. That’s what everything turns into. Thank you, Rudy, again for taking time out of your schedule. Matt, what’s going on on Spurs on Sports Illustrated? Well, um I mean, as usual, it’s just uh the offseason stuff, but to find some uh some new angles, talk to some new people, and and get some stories out. You know, the most generic answer I can give you right now. All right. Look, we’re all going through it right now, Matt. You’re not the only one. Everybody’s just, you know, look at me. I mean, I’ve even scaled down a lock on Spurs to like two, three times a week now. So, I mean, it’s just it is what it is, but it’ll pick up soon. And then, guess what, guys? We’ll be wishing it was the offseason again, so it’s nice and quiet right now. So, we’ll get to that point. Make sure to follow Rudy onx at sweep the league and Matt onx at MattGa. And guys, thank you again for taking time out of your schedule for joining us here on Lockdown Sports. Everybody else, we’ll be back on Monday uh discussing whatever’s going on in the sport world out there. It’s really nuts, but we’ll figure something out. And I believe our guest will be Casey Vieira, so he’ll be kicking us off on Monday. and subscribe to lock on spurs wherever. Get your favorite podcast, iTunes, Spotify, K5 plus YouTube. You know what to do. Go subscribe right now. Thank you’all for getting those subscriptions on YouTube over 8,000 now. So, we definitely appreciate it right here on Locked On Spurs. So, for Rudy Compost, I am Jeff Garcia. We’re going to put a lock on this episode of Locked on Spurs.
Will San Antonio’s ambitious plan secure the San Antonio Spurs’ future or price out loyal fans?
Jeff Garcia hosts a roundtable with Sweep The League’s Rudy Campos and Spurs On Sports Illustrated’s Matt Guzman, dissecting the proposed sports and entertainment district, Project Marvel, impact on San Antonio and the Spurs.
The trio explores financial implications, political controversies, and long-term benefits of the massive development. Key discussions include potential ticket price hikes, the city’s debt concerns, and speculation about the Spurs’ future if the project fails.
Tune in for insider perspectives on how Project Marvel could reshape San Antonio and the Spurs’ destiny. Is this the key to avoiding any steps towards Spurs relocation talks?
0:00 Intro: Project Marvel and Spurs arena plans
5:50 Financial implications and community concerns
12:07 Ownership’s role and fan perspectives
18:25 Ticket prices and affordability issues
24:00 Project origins and city involvement
28:28 Predictions on if proposal will pass
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