Spurs Owner Reassures Fans That Team Is Staying in San Antonio
Peter J. Holt, Chairman of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, penned a letter to the Spurs fanbase on Tuesday, assuring the team’s loyal supporters that the franchise has no plans to leave the city of San Antonio.
“I love you. I love this city. A big city with a casual small-town feel and a GREAT basketball team. I want to reassure you that the Spurs are in San Antonio to stay,” Holt wrote in a message tweeted out from the Spurs official account.
“I was raised in San Antonio and this city has helped define the foundation of the Spurs. The Spurs are as much a part of San Antonio as San Antonio is a part of the Spurs.”
Holt’s comments come after Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff asked for assurances from Spurs leadership about the franchise’s intentions, following a request from the organization to play two games in Austin next season. The Spurs currently play in San Antonio’s AT&T Center and have a non-relocation agreement that prohibits them from playing more than two of their 41 regular season home games away from the arena in any one season.
The Spurs had requested an increase in the limit to four games for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, as they hope to play “home” games in San Antonio, Austin and Mexico City. Bobby Perez, chief legal counsel for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, told county commissioners at a meeting last week that the franchise hoped to grow its brand and fan base “from Mexico to Austin,” per Texas Monthly.
After impassioned debate, commissioners voted 3-to-2 to approve an increase in the Spurs games outside of San Antonio for just one season preliminarily. Commissioners will vote again in two weeks on the precise agreement language, according to KSAT 12.
Despite the franchise’s hopes to play games outside of the AT&T Center, Holt emphasized that he wants the Spurs to remain based in San Antonio forever.
“My family became involved in the Spurs in the 90s because there was a real threat that the team would be moved. We would not let that happen then and we will not let that happen now. There is no other team in the NBA like the Spurs and no other home like San Antonio,” Holt wrote.
“There are no Spurs without the city and the people of San Antonio. Your team, our team, together we are the silver and black. Spurs fans – we are here to stay. Por Vida [For Life].”
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