Spurs owner Peter J. Holt on Tuesday told fans not to worry: The team isn’t going anywhere. A plan to have the Spurs play a few games in Austin, 80 miles away, had raised local anxiety that the owners may be considering moving the team. “I want to reassure you that the Spurs are in San Antonio to stay,” Holt said in a message posted on Twitter.
More on San Antonio Spurs Relocation?
Tom Orsborn: Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff reacting to Peter J. Holt's letter to San Antonio: "I don't think it could have been said any better. It was coming from the heart about his love for San Antonio. I'm more confident than ever before that they will stay right here in San Antonio."
Perez said the Spurs went in front of the commissioners court to avoid triggering the non-relocation term in their agreement with the county, which would lead to a roughly $130 million penalty if it is imposed. He said the games would be intended to “further our regional market,” and to expand the franchise’s business. The Spurs are a bottom-10 media market in the NBA and want to expand the size of their reach from just its home city to a radius spanning Austin and Monterrey in Mexico. They have already made moves in that attempt. They signed a partnership with Viva Aerobus, a Mexican airline, and have had staff deployed in Austin for more than a year to figure out how to engage Spurs fans in that market. The Spurs’ naming rights partnership has also ended and it is searching for a new naming rights partnership for its home arena.
Perez also told the commissioners that the Spurs’ recent equity sales in the franchise — which brought in Michael Dell, Sixth Street and Joe Gebbia as minority owners — actually increased the size of the Holt family’s ownership stake and its control of the franchise. Perez faced a persistent line of questioning from commissioners about the Spurs’ desire to stay in San Antonio. When asked by commissioner Rebeca Clay-Fores about the Spurs’ commitment to San Antonio, Perez responded: “Our commitment is we are staying in San Antonio” and reiterated Buford’s statement. County Judge Nelson W. Wolff was dismayed by the 3-2 vote splitting the court and still seemed dubious of what the Spurs’ long-term plans may be. “That’s not a good sign,” Wolff said. “It shows you that there’s a divided opinion in this community as to the intention of the Spurs and there’s a lot of concern about just what the heck you’re doing.”
