Mortenson, Bartlett Cocke win $1.3B Spurs arena build
Mortenson and San Antonio's Bartlett Cocke won construction management on the Spurs' $1.3B downtown arena, a national-plus-local GC pairing subs should track.
Mortenson and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors have won the construction management contract for the San Antonio Spurs’ $1.3 billion downtown arena, Spurs Sports & Entertainment announced August 26. The award pairs Minneapolis-based Mortenson, whose sports résumé includes Chase Center, Allegiant Stadium and Climate Pledge Arena, with Bartlett Cocke, a San Antonio general contractor, on both the arena and the surrounding entertainment district.
Why it matters
The pairing is the standard megaproject playbook: a national builder with venue-specific technical depth teamed with a local firm that already has the subcontractor relationships, labor pool and city-hall familiarity a project this size needs to move. For regional subs and trade contractors, that structure is the actual news. Bartlett Cocke’s presence in the joint venture is the on-ramp; procurement and trade-package bidding will likely route through its existing San Antonio subcontractor base rather than exclusively through Mortenson’s national supply chain. SS&E CEO R.C. Buford said the goal was that “the people who call San Antonio home should help build what comes next for our city.” Track our national market hub for related GC and trade-package awards.
The numbers
The $1.3 billion project splits three ways: Bexar County is contributing $311 million, raised through Proposition B, which lifted the county hotel occupancy tax from 1.75% to 2% and extended a 5% car-rental tax. The City of San Antonio is putting in $489 million. The Spurs are funding at least $500 million and are on the hook for any cost overruns above that split.
What’s next
Design work is expected to continue into 2029, with construction starting that year and a soft opening targeted for the second half of 2032, according to team officials. That timeline gives Mortenson and Bartlett Cocke roughly three years to push trade packages out to bid as design finalizes, the window regional subcontractors, electrical, mechanical and structural steel firms in particular, will want to watch. The Spurs are expected to remain at Frost Bank Center through most or all of that stretch before relocating downtown.