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As part of Project Marvel, the former John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse in Hemisfair could be repurposed into a live events venue. The cost of the renovation is estimated to be between $100 million and $150 million, according to the City of San Antonio.
The proposed 4,000 to 6,000 seat theater would be funded by tourist tax dollars and private corporations, according to Assistant City Manager Lori Houston. The San Antonio Spurs also recently committed $500 million for the development of the proposed Spurs arena as part of Project Marvel and an additional $500 million for the development of downtown areas adjacent to the arena. It was unclear how much of those funds, if any, would be put toward the venue.
The renovated venue could have a significant impact on the city’s music and tourism economies, but some critics of the renovation said the city isn’t focused enough on investing in and supporting the local music scene.
Houston remains optimistic about the venue and said while it wasn’t intended for Project Marvel to become a music hub, the development has the opportunity to transform San Antonio into a live music destination.
“This could be a turning point for the music industry with the offerings that the district brings for live music,” Houston said at a Project Marvel community workshop in June. “We are getting the acts that we didn’t get five years or greater, so we are becoming that city but it’s going to be key that we keep our facilities up to par.”
Houston said the venue would fill a gap in the market for artists to perform for a large audience in an intimate setting.
“Putting 4 to 6,000 people in the Alamodome or arena, it’s a pretty old space, and you notice that,” Houston said. “Creating a venue where there’s a gap in the market, that’s what we want to do there, and we want to restore that beautiful round building.”
The developer who restores the building will also receive a tax credit of about 45%, she added, suggesting a private entertainment company like Live Nation could partner with the city by taking on some of the cost of the renovation in exchange for management over the facility.
“We don’t have to fund a lot of it,” Houston said. “This is a great public private partnership that we do not have to put residential taxpayer dollars in its private sector.”
Michael Seman is an associate professor of arts management at Colorado State University. His work examines the economic, cultural, and social impacts of music venues. He said a venue of this size would feature large touring acts that would attract tourists, having a significant impact on San Antonio’s economy.
“All this money is coming in, spending on everything from gas to possibly hotel, most likely eating out,” Seman said. “That person that lives in San Antonio is important as well, because they may not have gone out that night otherwise if it weren’t for the fact that [their] favorite band was playing.”
While successful larger touring acts are likely to primarily utilize the venue, according to Seman, a lingering concern about major touring acts often opting to perform in Austin over San Antonio could remain. However, he said this venue could potentially make San Antonio more appealing to touring acts and combat this challenge.
“When you’re next to Austin, you’re next to a gigantic whirlpool that just sucks in everything music within several hundred miles,” Seman said, adding that there is not a similar venue like this proposal.
Seman said San Antonio could be a major music city if there was more thought put into incorporating music into the city, something he said this project does.
“The key is to leverage it, not just where that one venue is, but also think about, how can we address all the music communities, genres and such, within our city, with this 4,000-seat venue as like the linchpin,” Seman said.
While this venue could boost San Antonio’s overall music economy, local musicians like Nick Garza, the guitarist for Street Lamp, a San Antonio-based funk rock band, are concerned about building another large venue.
Garza said a venue of this size will not benefit local musicians at all. He said he would rather see the city invest in smaller venues where local musicians could perform. He said it’s hard for artists looking to grow in San Antonio because of the limited number of live music venues.
“The gap from the bottom of the ladder to the top of the ladder — I don’t think there’s a middle ground,” Garza said. “This venue is just straight to the top.”
While touring artists may select a San Antonio-based band to open for them in the proposed venue, Garza said it’s very hard for smaller bands, like Street Lamp, to get an opening gig. He said investment from the city in the diverse local music scene over large projects would make San Antonio stand out.
“We need a lot of those more personal and all-age music venues so everybody could go,” Garza said. “If we start building ourselves from the ground up that way, then more bigger acts will look here.”
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