![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/WembyCutout.jpg\")
Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\nCredit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n
Pick up a local newspaper these days or turn on a news broadcast, and it\u2019s hard to avoid speculation that the San Antonio Spurs may blow town if city leaders can\u2019t serve up a deal for a new arena \u2014\u00a0and do it quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For example, TV station KSAT last week ran the alarming headline \u201cCould the Spurs leave San Antonio if a new arena isn\u2019t built? It\u2019s happened in other cities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Around the same time, the San Antonio Business Journal compared the debate over a new downtown arena to the Supersonics\u2019 departure from Seattle some 20 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hysteria isn\u2019t limited to media outlets, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n
District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran has repeatedly warned that if a new arena isn\u2019t built, the Spurs may fly the coop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will lose significantly if we lose to the Spurs. For 20 years, Seattle has been waiting for an NBA team after the Supersonics left,\u201d Viagran said during an Aug. 21 council meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went up and I saw that stadium, and they are waiting,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd, because they knew I was from San Antonio, they thought it was cute, and they said, \u2018Look at the locker room we have for an NBA team.\u2019 That was hard, and my heart sank a little. Then people talk about Las Vegas, and my heart sinks a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Viagran\u2019s comments came moments before City Council, on a 7-4 vote, approved a term sheet with Spurs Sports & Entertainment for a new, $1.3 billion arena.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city has agreed to put up $489 million for the project. Meanwhile, Bexar County is expected to throw in another $311 million by raising the visitor tax to 2%.<\/p>\n
Voters still need to approve the term sheet at the November ballot box before that funding is disbursed to SS&E. In turn, the public vote has fueled more speculation by politicians and the media that the team might leave if voters don\u2019t green light the public money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even so, experts told the Current such a scenario is improbable at best.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if they lose this vote in November, I can\u2019t see [the Spurs] not trying to come back relatively soon thereafter with a new and improved term sheet \u2014\u00a0and that new and improved version getting passed,\u201d University of Texas at San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Taylor said it\u2019s even possible San Antonio\u2019s deep-pocketed elites would put up the money themselves should the Spurs seriously consider a relocation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If voters say \u201cno\u201d in November, the city, the county and SS&E still would have ample time to hash out a better deal, Taylor added. After all, the team\u2019s lease at the Frost Bank Center doesn\u2019t expire until 2032.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if local leaders find themselves at an impasse with SS&E over a deal, the NBA isn\u2019t inclined to allow franchises to leave so easily, according to Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Massachusetts\u2019 Smith College.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe league is going to be somewhat cautious, because the league doesn\u2019t want to establish a reputation of having its teams picking up and leaving willy nilly from one city to another,\u201d said Zimbalist, one of the nation\u2019s top sports-economics scholars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not good PR, and it also jeopardizes the relationship that teams have with cities. Because if the NBA simply lets everybody move, then the cities will be more cautious, and reluctant, to sign a long-term lease deal and to put down a lot of money when they see that as soon as the team becomes dissatisfied they can leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if the NBA allowed the Spurs to jump ship, the process of moving to a different market is time-consuming and expensive, Zimbalist added.<\/p>\n
First, the Spurs would need to find a new market with the demographics and economics to support an NBA team. Then, the ownership would begin the lengthy process of negotiating for a new arena and a lease agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
San Antonio economist Chris Baecker, a former City Council candidate, told the Current plenty of other cities may be interested in attracting the Spurs. Although the team is ingrained in SA culture, our metro area remains one of the poorest in the NBA. The city\u2019s paucity of corporate headquarters \u2014\u00a0something critical to selling luxury box seats \u2014 doesn\u2019t help matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t recall off the top of my head how many Fortune 500 companies are in Austin, but I know there\u2019s a lot,\u201d Baecker said. \u201cThat means a lot of opportunities for naming rights, more opportunities for sponsorships.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, even if the Spurs reach a deal with another city, the team would be required to obtain approval from the NBA Relocation Committee. The committee would analyze the move\u2019s impact on the market and fan support before securing approval from the majority of league owners, a challenge of its own, according to Zimbalist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe league will also usually charge you some money or a fee for relocating as well,\u201d the professor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, the Spurs haven\u2019t publicly threatened to relocate, suggesting the hyperventilating rhetoric from local politicos and media outlets is premature.<\/p>\n
Even District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte, one of the city\u2019s fiercest advocates for quickly signing off on the Spurs\u2019 tip sheet, has acknowledged the team isn\u2019t looking to leave. Last month, during an appearance on San Antonio Sports Star\u2019s The Blitz with Jason & Joe radio show, the councilman reaffirmed the Spurs \u201chaven\u2019t made those threats or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, even if Spurs officials haven\u2019t done so publicly, Zimbalist said pro sports teams sometimes hint to local politicians behind closed doors that they should keep relocation front of mind as they negotiate for new facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon for that rhetoric to surface,\u201d Zimbalist said. \u201cIt\u2019s somewhat dangerous for a team owner to use it, because it\u2019s always in the economic interest of a team owner to have a good relationship with the community. You don\u2019t want your fanbase to think that you\u2019re a cheap scalawag who doesn\u2019t care about the town. You\u2019d rather have the politicians using that rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n
During such high-profile negotiations, the public typically isn\u2019t given a look behind the curtain, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne can assume that when politicians are making those noises, and the team owner isn\u2019t, that they\u2019ve had discussions about how they\u2019re going to communicate [with the public],\u201d Zimbalist said.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tProponents of the arena deal maintain it won\u2019t cost San Antonio taxpayers a dime. Don\u2019t bet on that, the economist cautions. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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