SAN ANTONIO – What will it cost to build a new Spurs arena and entertainment district in downtown San Antonio? City emails show an ambitious price tag as the city tries to return the Spurs to their roots in the Hemisfair.

In fact, the project has an impressive code name – Project Marvel – and the costs are also high: an estimated $3 to $4 billion will be spent on transforming the southeastern part of downtown.

Records obtained by KSAT through a public records request show that San Antonio City Deputy Manager Lori Houston emailed several real estate and consulting firms in June 2023 to say the city was “exploring the development of a sports and entertainment district.”

In an email to a commercial real estate firm, Houston wrote on behalf of the city: “We are in the feasibility phase for a $3-4 billion sports and entertainment district.”

In another email thread from Houston to Johnson Consulting, the company’s CEO responded that they “just finished working with the USTA on all of their sports facilities, so we’re pretty well aligned.”

Houston and the city then emailed a series of nondisclosure agreements to these companies, and records show that a virtual meeting was scheduled for June 23, 2023.

The code name Project Marvel appears for the first time in the non-disclosure agreements. The city has requested that all information about Project Marvel remain confidential.

And it would certainly be a great project. KSAT reported months ago that the city was eyeing the Hemisfair and the Institute of Texan Cultures as possible sites for a new arena that would likely cost about a billion dollars.

In a statement to KSAT in April, Houston wrote that the city’s interest in the site includes the expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, major upgrades to the Alamodome and a possible land bridge over I-37.

Many questions remain unanswered, including where this potential $4 billion will go and how the Marvel project will be financed.

KSAT reached out to the city for these answers and received a statement from Houston:

“The city remains focused on redeveloping downtown San Antonio. A sports and entertainment district would be a welcome addition. However, nothing has been decided yet and will not be until the city informs the City Council and seeks the opinion of the public.”

The Spurs have not commented on anything related to Project Marvel. Their lease at Frost Bank Center runs through 2032 and they have shown no signs of wanting to leave the East Side facility before then.