A proposal to increase hotel and car rental taxes to help fund a new $175 million arena passed overwhelmingly, with 61 percent of voters favoring the plan and 39 percent voting against it.

Spurs owners, coaches and players were happy with the overwhelming support of the voters.

"A relief," Spurs center David Robinson said, still reflecting on Tuesday's election outcome. "We definitely wanted the team to stay here in San Antonio."

The NBA champion Spurs might have left town for a city with a state-of-the-art basketball building had Bexar County voters rejected the arena proposal.

"I'm glad the Spurs will stay in San Antonio," coach Gregg Popovich said. "The owners have been committed to that for a long time and I couldn't be happier."

Critics of the arena said it had been an uphill battle -- challenging the deep pockets of the arena proponents and competing with excitement and city pride over the Spurs' first championship in the 26-year history of the franchise. San Antonio beat the New York Knicks 4-1 in the NBA Finals last June.

"It's tough to defeat a campaign where you have the world championship trophy put up in the middle of the screen ... that's a tough one to beat," said Milton Guess, spokesman for Citizens for Responsible Spending. "It even makes me feel good."

Guess said a victory by the Spurs would show that "the majority of voters in San Antonio have made the Spurs a top priority in our community and feel we need to subsidize them."

The proposed state-of-the-art, 18,500-seat arena is to be shared with the San Antonio Livestock Exposition three weeks a year, with the Spurs hoping to play in it by 2002 and controlling most of the revenue generated there.

Supporters said the Spurs need a modern arena with more lucrative luxury suites to produce revenue crucial to remaining competitive in the expensive world of pro basketball.

The Spurs plan to manage the building and oversee construction of the county-owned arena and lease it from Bexar County for 25 years.

Arena supporters were fighting the city's history of rejecting big-money ballot items. In the past, voters rejected a measure to add fluoride to the local water supply. A half-cent sales tax to build the Alamodome barely passed in 1989.

The Spurs and their rodeo and business allies spent several million dollars through a "Saddles and Spurs" campaign committee. Arena critics have spent less than a million.

The Spurs, who play in the six-year-old Alamodome, also pledged $28.5 million toward the arena's construction. The rest would be funded by bonds paid for by the car and hotel rental taxes and arena user fees.

Critics argued the Spurs should put up more money. Some major hotel owners also opposed increased taxes for tourists.

Even Mayor Howard Peak questioned where the money for road and other infrastructure work around the new arena would come from.

Spurs owners -- a group of more than 20 investors -- repeatedly said they want to keep the franchise in San Antonio.

But the battle to keep San Antonio's only major league sports team in town heated up when New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial publicly called for an effort to try to lure the Spurs and the Houston Rockets to New Orleans if the arena initiatives in both cities failed.

In return, Peak, who wants an NFL team for the Alamodome, shot back by saying he would see whether the New Orleans Saints were interested in moving to San Antonio.

Tim Duncan, a third-year player who becomes a free agent after this season, said he was glad the arena vote went the way it did.

The 7-foot All-Star had indicated he might not stay with the team if it moved. He says he'll wait until after this season to make a decision about where he'll play.

But his teammates Wednesday were all but celebrating his long future in South Texas.

"The guys were pretty happy thinking that they could probably keep Tim Duncan here and stay here in San Antonio," Robinson said.

Avery Johnson said he doesn't know what Duncan will do next season, but he hopes he sticks around.

"Right now, most of us would like to see Tim come back but none of us can speak for him. We don't know exactly what he's thinking," Johnson said. "Hopefully, things will work out for him and the Spurs."

Mario Elie, entering his 10th season, said he may not be in the league once the arena is built.

"Unfortunately, I'm old. I ain't going to be around to enjoy the arena," he said. "But I'm happy for the city of San Antonio."