San Antonio Sports & Entertainment expands its power-packed development team, enlisting veteran builders and local architects to transform the $1.3 billion downtown vision into a concrete reality.
The San Antonio Spurs still don't have a rendering of their new arena, but they are getting a pretty good idea of who's going to build it.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment has added three more companies to the team behind its planned $1.3 billion downtown arena, including two with San Antonio roots, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
San Antonio-based Bartlett Cocke General Contractors will work alongside Minneapolis-based Mortenson to manage construction of the arena at the former Institute of Texan Cultures property.
SS&E also hired San Antonio-based MP Studio to advise on landscape architecture around the arena, where the organization and its partners plan to build hotel rooms, housing and retail space.
It's not exactly a groundbreaking ceremony.
But it is another tangible step toward one.
Mortenson brings plenty of arena experience, including work on the Oklahoma City Thunder's new arena and Chase Center in San Francisco, while Bartlett Cocke has worked locally on projects ranging from data centers to medical facilities and office buildings.
And the project team is getting crowded.
SS&E had already announced a group of firms in May that included Overland International, Marquee Development, CAA Icon, Sasaki, Stafford Sports, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Pape-Dawson and Jorge Rodriguez Financial Consulting.
Now Bartlett Cocke, Mortenson and MP Studio are joining them as the Spurs continue moving the project from plans and financing toward actual construction.
There's still plenty left to do.
Construction hasn't started, and the Express-News reported that the city expects to finish negotiations with UTSA for the arena property by the end of this year. Final agreements involving leases, construction documents and financing will still need City Council approval.
The money is also significant.
SS&E is contributing $500 million toward the arena and will cover construction cost overruns. Bexar County is contributing up to $311 million, while the city is putting in $489 million.
The city is also acquiring the Hemisfair property where the arena will be built, a process expected to cost $60 million, while working on infrastructure plans for the surrounding area.
That helps explain why every step like this matters.
The Spurs aren't opening the doors tomorrow. They aren't even pouring concrete yet.
But the timeline is becoming easier to see.
Construction is expected to take over two years, and SS&E wants the team playing in the new arena in time for the 2030-31 season.
So, yes, Spurs fans are still waiting on the renderings.
In the meantime, the list of people actually tasked with making the building happen keeps getting longer.
And that might be the clearest sign yet that the downtown arena is moving from idea to execution.
