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The black, white and yellow yard signs blaring “No! Project Marvel” first appeared outside two houses in King William.

Then more cropped up in other neighborhoods farther from downtown…

The signs are part of a grassroots effort to derail the development of the city of San Antonio’s proposed downtown sports and entertainment district at Hemisfair, a multibillion-dollar undertaking that staff initially code-named Project Marvel…..

For more than a year, city staff discussed plans to transform downtown behind closed doors. They talked about building a new Spurs arena with franchise executives and required developers, consultants and Bexar County employees to sign nondisclosure agreements to talk about elements of Project Marvel....

No! Project Marvel is joining a much bigger and older organization in opposing Project Marvel.

COPS/Metro Alliance, a prominent interfaith community group, first came out against the district in December. It’s currently collecting signatures from voters who commit to rejecting any ballot measures that seek to use city or county dollars for the project. The organization’s leaders are knocking on doors and talking to parishioners at their 32 member churches and nonprofits.

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From KSAT:

“Many of our families are experiencing layoffs from their jobs. And families are being squeezed with cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. And here you are proposing a venue tax for yet another arena?" said Debra Garrett, a COPS/Metro leader with Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, who urged the county to spend money on raising county wages, affordable housing and infrastructure.

Last year, at a City-wide Action with over 1,100 members, COPS/Metro came out as the first organized opposition to the use of any public funds for a new downtown stadium for the Spurs, or for the creation of a sports and entertainment district surrounding the area, known as Project Marvel. The project has been negotiated largely behind closed doors and is expected to cost between $3-4 billion with a majority of funding likely from public tax dollars.

Leaders turned up the heat this year, publishing an op-ed, and testifying at an Eastside town hall and again before the Bexar County Commissioners Court. “Our tax money is better spent on what the East Side needs — more green spaces, workforce development and opportunities, and affordable housing and access to healthcare facilities and quality health care,” said Stewart Blanton, speaking on behalf of COPS/Metro.

This month, Bexar County Republican Party precinct chairs passed a resolution denouncing the project, similarly opposing the use of public funding. The resolution states: “Be it resolved, we object to any attempt to relocate the San Antonio Spurs to a new arena developed or renovated by public funds,” it continues. “Be it further resolved, that we object to the wasting of public funds to expand the city’s sports and entertainment industry.”

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Project QUEST has had the ongoing political and community backing of COPS/Metro Alliance... that helped launch the program in 1992 and worked to ensure that Project QUEST has ongoing financial support. Project QUEST’s strategies can and have been replicated in other communities. The key is considerable, reliable financial support that can be used flexibly to meet community members’ needs.  A few key results are as follows:

• Project QUEST participants earned $54,000 more than the control group during the 14-year follow-up period.
• Project QUEST and the community colleges invested an average of $16,244 (2022 dollars) in each participant over the fourteen years following study enrollment, resulting in a 234 percent return on investment. Moreover, program graduates moved out of poverty and into the middle class, earning close to $60,000, on average, in the final year of the study. 
• Participants ages 35 and older at the time of enrollment experienced the greatest benefit from Project QUEST, earning a remarkable $138,577 more, on average, than their counterparts in the control group over the fourteen years.

Fourteen Year Gains: Project QUEST's Remarkable Impact, Economic Mobility [pdf]

More than a year after closed-door talks began around a proposed stadium that would displace thousands of low-income residents, the City of San Antonio held its first public hearing.  COPS/Metro clergy and leaders decried the secrecy of negotiations and displacement of low-income families, while questioning whether the plan would actually come at no cost to taxpayers. 

Leaders presented Council a list of demands: community benefits that would ease the transition for thousands of Soap Factory Apartment residents, guarantee a place to return upon completion of the development, include provisions for affordable housing as part of the redevelopment and ensure living wages for workers involved in the project.  Councilmember Pelaez responded from the dais, calling the list of demands "not unreasonable requests" and urging their consideration by Council.   

According to the San Antonio Express-News, "city officials pushed the vote back a week [to next Thursday] because of sharp questions about the deal from the public and some council members."

[Photo Credit: Jessica Phelps, San Antonio Express-News]

Council Vote on Ballpark Deal Pushed to Sept. 12 after Backlash, San Antonio Express-News

'Kicking the Community Out': Proposal for Missions Ballpark Development Draws Criticism, Concern, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]

City Council Makes Added Demands to Downtown Ballpark Deal That Will Displace Renters, San Antonio Report [pdf]  

COPS/Metro Testimony Starts at 48:59, City of San Antonio Special Meeting 

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...the City of San Antonio in partnership with District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran and COPS Metro are giving away free gun safety boxes.

People can get the boxes from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday at Southside Lions Senior Center, 3303 Pecan Valley Drive.

In a news conference on Tuesday, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the City secured $200,000 to purchase 4,000 gun safety lock boxes to be distributed in the community.

[In photo: COPS/Metro leader Rev. Rob Mueller of Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church.]

City of San Antonio Set to Give Away Free Gun Safe Boxes This Weekend, KSAT [pdf]

On May 4-5, more than 150 ministry leaders, women religious, clergy, and seminarians from 31 congregations participated in 'Recognizing the Stranger’ parish leadership development in collaboration with the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The sessions were conducted in English and Spanish and included visitors from IAF sister organization Citizen’s UK who came to learn more about the neighborhoods transformed by COPS' efforts. 

In opening remarks, Bishop Gary Janak expressed his gratitude to the participants and encouraged them to continue building the body of Christ.

See more

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COPS/Metro Alliance is calling for people to participate in the Memorial to the Lost, which aims to recognize all the lives lost to gun violence in Bexar County over the last five years....

Organizers hope to line the streets surrounding the Alamodome with the T-shirts ahead of and during the gun buyback, Pastor Robert Mueller of Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church told the San Antonio Report last week. They also hope it will spread to other major Texas cities, and they plan to take the shirts to the state capitol to advocate for gun control legislation.

“Almost three-quarters of voters of every persuasion support about three to four common gun safety laws that are not about taking guns away from anybody,” said Mueller, who is a member of COPS/Metro Alliance.

“It’s about elevating the responsibility of gun ownership.”

[Photo Credit: Mark Felix, AFP via Getty Images]

Faith Groups Step Up to Work on San Antonio's Gun Violence Problem, San Antonio Report [pdf]

Guns for Groceries: San Antonio Aims to Take Weapons Off the Street in Exchange for Gift Cards, San Antonio Express News

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COPS/Metro Alliance, the longtime coalition that advocates for working families and is in many ways responsible for the program’s existence, continues to raise concerns.