SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert hosted a town hall meeting on Saturday with other local and state leaders to get public opinion on the future of the Frost Bank Center.
Conversations revolved around potential new uses for the arena if the Spurs moved to a new stadium downtown, commonly known as Project Marvel.
About 200 people attended the meeting, which was held at the Freeman Coliseum, to voice their opinions on what should happen to the large economic force in their East Side neighborhood.
Each person had a minute, or occasionally additional time, to share their ideas on preserving their neighborhood as a vibrant part of San Antonio.
“I grew up on Houston Street. And when they built the Spurs arena, they made promises to the East community they didn’t keep,” Dr. Eva Mason said. “I don’t like what I see on the East Side as far as the gentrification, and I don’t like the way the houses look that they’re building.”
Multiple people spoke into the mic, sharing their ideas for the future of the Frost Bank Center.
Some ideas from residents revolved around expanding the Willow Creek Golf Course, using the land to mitigate potential flooding in the East Side, and hosting educational events for the Rodeo year-round.
“Maybe like shelter to put everybody on the streets, off of the streets, especially those with mental illness,” resident Molly Wright said.
Another resident, Lawrence Romo, vice president of Veterans for LULAC and former director of the Selective Service System, said he would like to see a Bexar County Military museum.
The future of the Frost Bank Center is unclear if the Spurs move downtown. The team’s lease on the county-owned facility lasts into 2032, but a timeline included in an initial city presentation estimated the Hemisfair arena’s construction finishing in 2028.
Mason said she stayed up until 1:30 a.m. the night before the town hall meeting, looking at different options for a stadium.
She said she found an example in Indianapolis where developers turned an abandoned baseball stadium into a park with apartments.
“The rest of the arena was developed into housing for seniors, for youth, young people in college,” she said. “And they had eateries, you know, restaurants and walking paths. And I thought that would be a great solution to this not being an abandoned arena.”
Some common themes from residents centered around keeping conversations out in the open and including East Side residents in discussions around the economy and housing options.
“I think it’s doable if we really, really think about it and put our heads, you know, in our minds and hearts into it,” Mason said.
The next town hall meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 1 at 3201 E. Houston St. at the Joe and Harry Freeman Coliseum Frontier Room.
The meeting will be geared toward what the Freeman Coliseum and Frost Bank Center need in the future, bonding assistance and how to operate programs for nearby areas with high unemployment.
