Credited by the San Antonio Express-News as "the loudest and most organized opposition" to a publicly-funded luxury arena on the ballot, COPS/Metro boosted voter turnout to historic levels and built leverage to negotiate project accountability and labor protections by holding the measure to a slim electoral margin.
In a recent Texas Public Radio discussion featuring prominent local reporters, journalists credited COPS/Metro with earning public trust and making a huge impact on the arena campaign—despite operating with a fraction of the resources available to pro-Prop B forces.
Texas Public Radio host and senior reporter David Martin Davies highlighted the scale of the financial mismatch:
“With very little money, they took on the Spurs… The Spurs spent well over $7 million for their star-studded saturation campaign, and they went toe-to-toe with them.”
San Antonio Report senior government and politics reporter Andrea Drusch described how COPS/Metro’s model is being studied beyond the city:
“I was surprised to learn about how this little group from San Antonio now has arms all over the country, has chapters coming to learn from them about what they do. There are certainly others looking at their model.”
She also underscored how the organization’s long-running message is newly resonant:
“The populist message that they've been talking about for 50 years here has never been more politically popular…and people are trying to model their success elsewhere.”
San Antonio Current editor-in-chief Sanford Nowlin pointed to the measure’s narrowing margin—and what it revealed about COPS/Metro’s influence:
“You can look at the poll numbers and see that they had a huge impact… It was very obvious to me that COPS/Metro put the fear of God into the Spurs.”
Davies emphasized that beyond strategy and turnout, COPS/Metro brought something rare into the political arena—trust:
“COPS/Metro has an abundance of something that's in short supply these days… public trust… People do think that they were looking out for the little guy… speaking truth to power.”
Audio Stories
After the Vote: Election Recap and Analysis, Texas Public Radio
News Articles
COPS/Metro Ramps up Effort to Get Voters to Nix Spurs Arena Deal, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]
San Antonio Voters Approve Funding for New Downtown Spurs Arena, New York Times The Athletic
Props A and B Approved in Bexar County; Coliseum Complex, Downtown Spurs Arena Move Forward, KSAT
Props A and B Pass, Opening Door to New Spurs Arena Amid Public Opinion, Texas Public Radio
Voters Back Plans for New $1.3 billion Downtown San Antonio Spurs Arena, San Antonio Report
Early Voting Hits 20-Year High for Odd-Year November Election, San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Spurs Declare Victory on Vote to Use Public Funds for Downtown Arena, San Antonio Current
Former San Antonio Council Members Make Final Push to Sway Voters Against Prop B, San Antonio Current
Big Spending by San Antonio Pro-Arena PAC Shows Spurs are Nervous, Expert Says, San Antonio Current
News Segments
Opponents of Prop B Await Results as Votes Continue to be Counted, KENS5
'Make Sure Every Vote is Included,' Father Jimmy Drennan on Early Results, MySA
COPS/Metro Leader Encouraged by Voter Engagement on Props A & B, MySA
COPS/Metro Leader Reacts to Results from Prop B Vote in San Antonio, KENS5
COPS/Metro Pushing Back Against Project Marvel Amid Election Day, KENS5
Spurs, Rodeo, and COPS/Metro Hold Watch Parties as Props A and B Show Early Leads, KSAT12
10pm Election Coverage (Tuesday, November 4, 2025), News4WOAI
Record Turnout Fuels Emotions, Divides Opinions in Bexar County Voting Booths, News4WOAI
What we Know About the Election Results for the San Antonio Area for Nov 4, 2025, KSAT12