SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council unveiled a new concept Thursday for a sports and entertainment district in Hemisfair that would also include a new arena for the Spurs.
The multi-billion dollar proposal was made public for the first time at a Thursday morning city council meeting. The plan includes expanding the convention center, building a new convention hotel, renovating the Alamodome, building a land bridge that would connect the Alamodome and the Spurs arena, and more.
Research for the project has been in the works for more than a year and early concepts draw inspiration from other cities with similar layouts.
Sources of the funding for the project are not clear at this point, but city leaders have said funding for Spurs arena will not come from tax dollars.
Since details of the project were released, San Antonians from around the area have weighed in on social media about how they feel about the "game-changing" new plan. Many were in support of the plan and happy to see ideas coming to the forefront to expand the downtown footprint.
"This project would open San Antonio up for opportunities to host events even places like Dallas and Houston can't. Having a concentrated hub for sports and entertainment district is very appealing for things like, NCAA basketball men's and women's on the same weekend, music festivals, various conventions," Ricardo Lopez on Facebook said.
"Yes, build it. There will always be traffic and negative comments, not everyone thinks the same. The city of SA needs this to stay competitive and increase interest and walkability in the DT core," Bryan Michael on Facebook said.
"San Antonio is the 7th biggest city in the country, we have to step our game up, we literally have no skyscrapers, and this is the first step to change downtown, stop living in the past," Vic Lozano on Facebook said.
Others who were not as excited about the plan had questions and concerns about traffic and other issues:
"Speaking is a driver for Lyft, I don’t think I like this idea because traffic is already a nightmare after any event at the dome. This is only gonna make things worse," Peter Gonzales on Facebook said.
"The police can’t even handle Alamodome concert traffic without closing every exit and street as it is," Edward Garza said.
"This facility is not needed and will present major parking problems for downtown," Brenda Gonzales on Facebook said.
"Looks nice and pretty but where will people park?" Debra Valenzuela on Facebook said.
Meanwhile, others felt money and resources were needed in other areas of society:
"How about let's use some of the tax money on the schools. Better security and better pay for teachers. And child safety in the schools. How about that for a change," Julie Meza on Facebook said.