After four years of planning and almost a year of construction, Tech Port Center and Arena at Port San Antonio will finally open to the public Tuesday after Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s State of the City address.
The $70 million,130,000-square-foot building is managed by Los Angeles-based venue and event management company ASM Global. It can host up to 3,300 people in the arena for concerts, conferences and other events, said President and CEO Jim Perschbach. The new center also has a partnership with local entertainment promotion company Tobin Entertainment.
It will also serve as an innovation hub, gaming center and congregating space for workers at the Port.
Perschbach said he saw the building as an opportunity to draw the community to Port San Antonio and to support the 15,000 people that work for businesses on its campus.
The arena, restaurants and gaming center formally launch Tuesday.
Other amenities will follow in July and August, including a museum and showroom showcasing autonomous vehicles, robotics and other innovative work from Port San Antonio’s business tenants; a full broadcasting studio — which when not in use will be used as an educational tool for school children; and a cybersecurity simulator. A garden is also planned with several ponds and a small stage where Alamo City residents can gather to see local performers. Student groups can visit for sustainability and environmental projects, Perschbach said.
A separate section of the building will serve as a coworking and office space for Capital Factory, an Austin-based venture capital firm and accelerator that invests in startups.
The building also features a Genesis System, which generates potable water from the atmosphere using a chemical catalyst.
“It sounds trite, but we want to make the world a better place,” Perschbach said.
On Tuesday, Nirenberg will give his State of the City address from the arena’s stage and open the center to the public. This week, the space will also host the Texas Smart Cities Summit and a live-streamed e-sports match — the first in-person event of the Overwatch League since the beginning of the pandemic. On May 2, Smashing Pumpkins will take the stage to a sold-out house.
All profits of the Tech Port Center and Arena will go straight to the Kelly Heritage Foundation, Port San Antonio’s nonprofit arm that funds educational programs for students and entrepreneurs, Perschbach said.
The new facility will employ up to 150 people at a time and will soon be hiring jobs ranging from event managers to bartenders.
The 1,900-acre technology and innovation campus Port San Antonio, where the arena is located, has more than 80 tenant customers and has generated over 5,000 new jobs in the region since 2018.
The Port’s Board of Directors approved funding the new Tech Port Center and Arena in August 2020. Previously, the Port worked alongside infrastructure investment fund American Triple-I Partners to develop a business plan and design for the building.
This story previously stated the arena’s capacity was 3,900. The venue’s capacity is 3,300. It also stated the campus has generated 5,000 new jobs in the region since its redevelopment. It’s generated over that number of jobs since 2018.
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