Thanks to Wembymania, the revival of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs could now extend to perhaps the biggest piece of new business yet: a new arena.
The arrival of French phenom and top-overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama has already fueled a series of ticket sales, merchandise, and television boosts for the Spurs and the NBA. Now, the Spurs are reportedly looking at developing a new arena in downtown San Antonio.
The new venue would form part of the core of a larger sports and entertainment district that would also include a new stadium for the San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
There is common ownership among the teams as Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt is a partner of the Missions, along with other shareholders and former Spurs legends David Robinson and Manu Ginobili.
Sitting on San Antonio’s east side, the Spurs’ current home, the 21-year-old AT&T Center, has failed to generate the scale of adjacent development imagined, while the Missions’ Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium — on the far-west side — isn’t fully compliant with MiLB facility standards. The AT&T Center lease expires in 2032.
Spurs officials declined to comment.
The arena discussion follows the team’s development of a practice facility that will anchor a $500 million mixed-use complex, The Rock at La Cantera, opening later this year.
