The San Antonio Spurs' Austin ambitions
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Draymond Green and Victor Wembanyama on left; Brandon James on right. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photos: Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images and courtesy of Spurs Sports & Entertainment
The San Antonio Spurs are aiming to expand their Austin footprint.
Why it matters: Whether the team can build up its Austin fanbase could serve as a model for other small-market sports franchises seeking footholds beyond their home base.
Driving the news: The Spurs kick off their NBA season on Thursday, and the squad is scheduled to once again play a pair of home games in Austin's Moody Center.
- One of them, on Feb. 21, scheduled to be nationally televised on TNT, is against the Phoenix Suns and University of Texas alum Kevin Durant.
- The Spurs are hosting a watch party, open to the public at Downright Hotel on East 11th Street on Thursday night.
We caught up with Brandon James, the franchise's senior vice president of strategic growth and deputy general counsel, to ask about the future of the franchise. Stationed here in Austin, James is tasked with building the Spurs brand in Central Texas.
Why is an Austin presence important?
"We're in the fastest growing region in all of North America, and we realized we could have a stronger, more robust, more intentional presence in Austin. If we want to keep up with bigger market teams, we have to capitalize on things at our disposal."
Explain the business piece of this. How does Austin benefit the Spurs, and vice versa?
"Austin has become a hotbed for corporations from almost every sector. ... The more those companies see the Spurs as Austin's NBA team, the more corporate partnership dollars we'll see."
How many Austinites are going to San Antonio to see Spurs games?
"When I moved to Austin in April 2021, 6-7% of regular fan attendance was from Austin zip codes. This past year it was 12-13%. That pie is only going to increase."
How much of the Spurs' effort to expand its footprint is individual to the team, and how much is an NBA effort?
"Growth is an emphasis of the NBA generally, whether in India, or China, or South America. But in terms of domestic growth, the Spurs in particular are at the forefront, just as were with analytics and international scouting. We're one of few teams looking at growing fanbase domestically and thinking about that geographically, culturally and economically.
- "We're playing regular season home NBA games in an arena that is not in our home arena and we've had other teams inquire about how we go after it."
What teams specifically are asking you for advice?
"Smaller-to-mid-market cities. But I'm not ready to say at this point."
But teams like New Orleans, thinking about Baton Rouge, or Oklahoma City and Tulsa?
"Just looking at a map, that'd make sense."
Will we see more Spurs games in Austin?
"It depends on who you ask. ... What does growth look like here in Austin, in a measured, deliberate long-term vision type of way? We want to make sure we're not growing too fast, and we're not upsetting people in San Antonio and not disturbing the schedule of the UT men's and women's basketball teams in their home arena.
- "I personally would love to see more games here, but we won't do that without making sure it's the right thing to do for us."
Will we see a Spurs shuttle from Austin to games in San Antonio?
"It's something we've talked about for several years, and transportation dedicated to getting fans to the Frost Bank Center on game day is something we'd like to see sooner rather than later."