The Spurs got a boost to their new arena plans after San Antonio city council voted no on a proposal that would have left the city's contributions up to public vote.
The San Antonio Spurs have returned to the forefront of the NBA and the franchise is eyeing a new arena to call home to coincide with this renaissance.
And it appears that the City of San Antonio is keen on making that a reality.
During its most recent meeting, the San Antonio city council voted 6-5 to shoot down a proposal that would allow the public to have input into how much funding from the city would be given to the Spurs for the arena.
Following this decision, the Spurs and city officials will move forward with the initial plans to contribute $489 million to the efforts without residents getting to say otherwise in the upcoming midterm elections.
The ruling from city council also supports the vote made by Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, last November, which truly set the process of building the Spurs' new home into motion.
Voters in Bexar County agreed to grant the team $311 million in revenue from the county's venue taxes to go toward the costs of crafting this latest arena. The proposal was supported by around 52 percent of voters.
The Spurs initially projected that their ambitious arena ideas would create a bill upwards of $1.3 billion, with the promise of at least $500 million on their end. These leftover expenses is where the aforementioned $489 million from San Antonio came into play.
Despite the approval from the county, some in the city felt that the price tag may be too hefty to handle. San Antonio mayor Gina Ortiz Jones was one of these that felt that the numbers should be reevaluated and potentially left up to the public to decide.
However, that vote is not required for the contribution to be made to the franchise and definitively will not happen based on the decision from city council.
It is unclear what route Jones and others in opposition to the amount given have left to take.
For the Spurs, the ruling was a massive benefit to their cause, as it ensures that they will receive the money necessary to make the move a reality.
Spurs CEO R.C. Buford expressed his satisfaction with the vote and explained that this allows all those involved to move forward as originally planned.
"Today's decision allows San Antonio to move forward on a path that was established through years of work, public discussion, city and county action and last year's vote," wrote Buford.
"We can now turn our full attention to delivering on that shared vision and the transformational opportunity ahead for our city."
It is still very early in the process, but it seems that the Spurs' vision of a brand-new arena in the heart of the city they have called home for over five decades is going to become a reality.
