The San Antonio Spurs have selected Mortenson and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors to lead construction of the team’s planned $1.3 billion downtown arena.
The new venue will serve as the centerpiece of a larger sports and entertainment district planned for downtown San Antonio. The development is expected to bring together a new NBA arena, convention facilities, transportation improvements and other entertainment projects.
According to Bexar County’s fiscal 2025-26 budget, the arena is expected to cost approximately $1.3 billion. Bexar County will contribute $311 million toward construction, while the city of San Antonio will provide $489 million. The Spurs will cover the remaining costs, including any overruns.
Experienced sports construction team
Mortenson, headquartered in Minneapolis, brings extensive experience delivering large sports venues across the country. Bartlett Cocke General Contractors, based in San Antonio, has completed commercial construction projects throughout the region for more than 60 years.
The contractor selection expands a project team that the Spurs began assembling earlier this year. Creative Artists Agency ICON was previously selected as project manager, while Pape-Dawson was named civil engineer. Overland International will serve as the arena architect.
The new construction partnership also brings together companies with experience working on major sports facilities.
CAA ICON and Mortenson previously worked together on Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, a $1.9 billion project completed for the Las Vegas Raiders. The companies also collaborated on Seattle’s $1.15 billion Climate Pledge Arena, which opened in 2021.
Mortenson said its experience with large-scale sports projects will complement Bartlett Cocke’s long history in San Antonio.
“Mortenson is honored to be selected by the San Antonio Spurs to help deliver this generational project,” said Logan Gerken, vice president and general manager at Mortenson. He added that the partnership combines the resources and sports construction experience of Mortenson with Bartlett Cocke’s longstanding presence in the city.
Arena will anchor larger downtown development
The Spurs arena is part of a much broader plan to transform an area of downtown San Antonio into a sports and entertainment district.
Other planned improvements include an expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and construction of a new convention center hotel. The development plan also calls for a land bridge over Interstate 37 to improve connections between the East Side and downtown.
The Alamodome is also slated for improvements, while the historic John Wood Courthouse is planned for renovation into a live entertainment venue.
Together, the projects are expected to create a larger destination around the Spurs’ future home rather than simply replacing the team’s existing arena.
A major construction opportunity for San Antonio
The $1.3 billion arena represents one of the largest individual construction projects tied to San Antonio’s downtown redevelopment plans.
For the Spurs, the project is intended to establish a new long-term home while helping reshape a larger section of the city. For the construction industry, the development will create opportunities across construction management, civil work, building systems, infrastructure and related commercial development.
With the arena serving as the central component of the district, the project is expected to remain a major part of San Antonio’s construction and development activity as planning and construction move forward.
