Quote:
Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam
The Spurs will build a new arena downtown at the ITC. The Frost Bank Center will remain there as well (as) Freeman. That’s an events site for the rodeo as well as whatever the county can get booked at the FBC.
A mass transit connect is smart regardless of what will happen with the Spurs move to downtown.
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Hemisfair is the most valuable piece of land in probably the entire City. There is a unique opportunity to build an entertainment district, sure, maybe, but do the people of San Antonio actually and sincerely want a brand new Spurs arena?
Not everyone in SATX cares or has any interest in sports, and who can afford to go to a Spurs or Rampage (not anymore) or Brahmas or Roadrunners game when they can't afford the utilities or groceries. Can anyone
specifically say what is so wrong with the Frost Bank Center, which is barely twenty years old and was last renovated in 2015? Other than it's in 'a bad part of town', well whose fault is that? Not the East Side residents. Fiesta Plaza Mall and Sunset Square are local proof that throwing up a brand new whatever doesn't guarantee people will utilize it. And sorry, but I really don't think a three week Rodeo plus "whatever the city books" is a good enough reason to justify the Spurs pretty much abandoning a stadium that doesn't have anything wrong with it. There should also be consideration as to a potential future expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez and how much space that could require next to a sports/entertainment district.
The ITC is done for, no question, but at a time where rents are skyrocketing across Texas/USA while San Antonio has for the time being stayed affordable, consider other opportunities for development is all I'm saying. Housing is absolutely a human right and how great would it be for a majority of the housing and then some to be
restored to Hemisfair and have a massive brand new community in the heart of downtown, with an I-37 land bridge that reconnects the East Side and merges with Southtown? Because COVID has shown that ultimately housing will be the future of downtowns as office tenants are increasingly working from home or simply not staying in the core (USAA).
Well, food for thought anyway.
(Hypothetical Spurs/Mission entertainment district diagram belongs to "Keegan-B-SATX"!)