Sports
NBA Rumors: Spurs Exploring New Downtown Arena After Drafting Victor Wembanyama – Bleacher Report
After landing Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly eyeing a new arena to hold the growing number of fans that’ll flock to watch the French phenom play.
The organization is exploring the possibility of developing a new arena in the downtown San Antonio area, according to the San Antonio Express News‘ Greg Jefferson and Madison Iszler.
The Spurs have been playing in the AT&T Center since 2002, it’s the building where the organization has seen most of its success. But with the team’s lease set to expire in 2032, it gives the organization plenty of time to seek public funding should they choose to move forward with plans for a new arena.
While the franchise remains silent on the topic, not responding to the Express News’ request for comment, those throughout the business community in San Antonio have begun to hear chatter regarding a potential move.
“I think they’re doing some preliminary research to see if it would make sense,” Eddie Aldrete, who ran the winning campaign for public funding for the AT&T Center, said. “They wouldn’t want to start the conversation if the math doesn’t add up.”
With the city’s minor league baseball team, the San Antonio Missions, also pushing for a new downtown stadium, the two teams could have their facilities built side by side and bring a huge economic boom to the downtown area.
That’s what was expected when the AT&T Center was first built, but it didn’t come to fruition with most fans driving in, parking and leaving when the game is over as there aren’t as many restaurants and bars in the area for people to hang out around.
However, there are a good number of people in the community who are not at all fans of the Spurs building a new arena, given how recently the AT&T Center came into existence.
One such opposer is former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who spoke with the Express News.
“That makes absolutely no (expletive) sense — the AT&T Center is a very good arena,” Wolff said.
The 19,000 seat arena was built for $245 million in 2002 and has since undergone hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations, most notably a $110 million facelift to all five levels back in 2015 .
Not to mention, the Spurs are building their $500 million, 45-acre project, The Rock at La Cantera, in San Antonio that will include its new state of the art training facility.
Current Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai seems to already have the ball rolling on how to keep the Spurs right where they are.
“We’re already in the process of developing a strategy to keep the Spurs in the AT&T Center,” Sakai said.
The Express News reported that county officials are starting to discuss a visitors-tax election to pay for upgrades at the AT&T Center. One county commissioner said that the arena needs up to $85 million in improvements “as a starting point.
So, although it’s sill just an exploratory measure, if the Spurs want to move to downtown it won’t be the easiest decision with the city trying to make the AT&T Center as attractive as possible.