City of San Antonio to begin talks with county, Spurs on new $1.5 billion arena

City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to let City Manager Erik Walsh begin talks with Spurs Sports & Entertainment [SS&E] and Bexar County to hash out a non-binding agreement to construct an NBA arena with a price tag up to $1.5 billion. The vote comes after two days of messy debate about a potential memorandum of understanding for the project and Project Marvel — the city's plan for a pricy sports and entertainment district that local lawmakers hope will include a convention center expansion and new concert hall along with the arena. Although the vote allows Walsh to begin conversations with the Spurs and the county, the city's priorities on which aspects of Project Marvel should take precedence have changed considerably since staffers delivered the initial presentation on the project to council in November.