Spurs Sports & Entertainment
Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports & entertainment organization, based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antonio Spurs, NBA G League Austin Spurs, and the USL Championship club San Antonio FC. SS&E also operates the Bexar County-owned multi-purpose facility, the AT&T Center.
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Professional sports, property management |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | San Antonio, Texas Austin, Texas |
Key people | Julianna Hawn Holt (Chairman and CEO) Rick Pych (President of Business Operations) R. C. Buford (President of Sports Franchises) Gregg Popovich (President of Spurs Basketball) |
| Products | professional sports teams, sports venues |
| Subsidiaries | San Antonio Spurs Austin Spurs San Antonio FC |
| Website | www |
A 2013 Forbes article called the San Antonio Spurs "North America's best run professional sports franchise," [1] and ESPN named the Spurs as the best sports franchise in all major sports in 2014.[2] It was the third time the Spurs received the ESPN honor, and the franchise has ranked in the Top 10 every year since the survey was introduced in 2003.[3]
Properties
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They were NBA champions in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014.
The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA–NBA merger and the only former ABA team to have won an NBA championship. The Spurs' five NBA championships are the fourth most in history behind only the Boston Celtics (17), Los Angeles Lakers (16), and Chicago Bulls (6). The Spurs currently rank first among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history.
In their 38 NBA seasons since 1976–1977, the Spurs have won 20 division titles. They have made the playoffs in 24 of the last 25 seasons (since 1989–1990) and have missed the playoffs four times since entering the NBA; they have not missed the playoffs in the 18 seasons since Tim Duncan was drafted by the Spurs in 1997. With their 50th win in the 2014–2015 season, the Spurs extended their record for most consecutive 50+ win seasons to 16 (the 1998/1999 season was shortened to 50 games because of a lockout and based on their win percentage of .740, would have easily surpassed 50 wins in an 82-game season, and thus extend the record by 2 more seasons). Thus, since the 1997/1998 season, the Spurs have had 21 consecutive seasons with a winning percentage of .610 or greater during the regular season which is also an NBA record.
AT&T Center
The AT&T Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas. It seats 18,581 for basketball, 16,000 for ice hockey, and up to 19,000 for concerts or religious gatherings, and contains 2,018 club seats, 60 luxury suites and 32 bathrooms.
The arena was completed in 2002, as the SBC Center.[4] While Bexar County owns the arena, SS&E is partnered with the county to manage the day-to-day operations of the AT&T Center.
The AT&T Center is undergoing a renovation of more than $100 million, with improvements that include expanded entrances, renovated concourses, new concessions and bar areas, a larger Fan Shop and a new HD video scoreboard. Renovations are scheduled to be completed before the 2015-16 season.[5]
San Antonio FC
San Antonio FC are an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2016, the team debuted in the United Soccer League that same year. It was announced as the league's thirty-first franchise on January 7, 2016.[6] SS&E also operate Toyota Field.
Austin Spurs
The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Austin, Texas.
The team plays its home games at Cedar Park Center. They have made the postseason 7 out of their 12 seasons in the NBA Development League/G League, winning the D League/G League Championship in twice in the 2012 [7] and 2018 [8] seasons. The team is currently coached by Ken McDonald.
Former Austin Spurs in the NBA include Danny Green, Cory Joseph, Gerald Green and Alonzo Gee.
Partners
Spurs Sports & Entertainment listed the following partners as of October 2014:[9]
- ARAMARK Sports & Entertainment Group
- Raymond Joseph Barshick
- Cassandra Carr
- Clear Channel Communications Inc.
- George C. "Tim" Hixon
- Peter Holt - Chairman
- IBC Capital Corporation
- Sylvan Stephen Lang
- James R. Leininger
- R&B Partnership (Russell and Bruce Hill)
- David Robinson
- AT&T Media Holdings, Inc.
- Markey Family Partnership
- Sierra Sports & Entertainment Family Limited Partnership
- SWBC
- Sunrise Sports & Entertainment
- Valero Energy Corporation
- Zachry Hospitality Corporation
- Estate of Jeanne Lang Mathews
- LAZ parking
The nonprofit partner of SS&E is Silver & Black Give Back,[10] a 501(c)(3) that sponsors two key initiatives, Team Up Challenge,[11] a service-based learning program, and youth sports programs such as the Spurs Youth League.[12]
Former properties
San Antonio Stars
The San Antonio Stars played in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah as the Utah Starzz before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio before the 2003 season.
The Stars qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in seven of their twelve years in San Antonio. The franchise while in San Antonio was home to many high-quality players such as all-star point guard Becky Hammon, solid power forward Sophia Young, two #1 overall draft picks in Ann Wauters and Kelsey Plum, and seven-foot-two-inch center Margo Dydek. In 2008, the Silver Stars went to the WNBA Finals.
On August 5, 2014, Hammon was hired by the Spurs as an assistant coach, becoming the second female assistant coach in NBA history but the first full-time assistant coach.[13] This also made her the first full-time female assistant coach in any of the four major professional sports in North America.[13]
In October 2017, multiple media reports indicated that SS&E was nearing completion of the sale of the Stars to a group that would move the team to Las Vegas for the 2018 season and beyond.[14] The team was sold to MGM Resorts International and moved to Las Vegas prior to the 2018 WNBA season, and is now known as the Las Vegas Aces.
San Antonio Rampage
The San Antonio Rampage were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. While in operation they were the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues of the NHL. The Rampage played in the AT&T Center in San Antonio, the same arena as the Spurs, from the 2002-03 season until the 2019-20 season.
On February 6, 2020, the Vegas Golden Knights announced it had purchased the franchise from the Spurs with the intent to relocate it to the Las Vegas area.[15] The purchase and relocation was approved by the league on February 28.[16]
References
- Rishe, Patrick. "San Antonio Spurs: North America's Best Run Professional Sports Franchise". Forbes.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Ultimate Team Rankings - All Sports - SportsNation - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "San Antonio Spurs Named Best Sports Franchise in ESPN The Magazine's Ultimate Standings Survey for 2014 - San Antonio Spurs". Nba.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "The All-New AT&T Center". Newattcenter.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "31st USL Franchise Awarded to San Antonio". United Soccer League (USL). January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- "Spurs". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Austin Spurs Win 2018 NBA G League Championship - San Antonio Spurs". Nba.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2018-11-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2015-04-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Silver and Black Give Back". Teamupchallenge.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2015-04-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Fagan: Becky Hammon was born to coach". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
- "WNBA's San Antonio Stars have deal for Las Vegas relocation". Espn.com. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
- "Vegas Golden Knights Purchase AHL Franchise Membership". NHL.com. February 6, 2020.
- "AHL heading to Las Vegas in 2020-21". AHL. February 28, 2020.