New name for San Antonio Spurs home revealed

After nearly 20 years as the AT&T Center, the home of the Spurs will become the Frost Bank Center.

Why it matters: Spurs Sports and Entertainment, the group that manages the NBA team and the East Side venue, has been shopping for a new naming rights partner since 2021.

• The change comes just months before the team's first season with No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama, whose addition has created major buzz and renewed interest in the team.

What's happening: The Frost Bank Center court will be in place by the start of the 2023-2024 season.

• Work on changing road and highway names, building marquees and the center's jumbotron will also begin upon NBA approval.

What they're saying: In making the announcement, Frost CEO Phil Green noted the bank's long standing partnership with the Spurs.

• "We believe in San Antonio — it's our hometown. We want this relationship with the Spurs to demonstrate our unwavering sense of pride for San Antonio's rich history and its bright future," he said in a statement."

Flashback: Frost has been a Spurs partner since 1973, when Tom C. Frost provided the financing to move the team to San Antonio.

• Green tells Axios the new partnership feels "natural."
• "This is just a great time in the franchise and we wanted to be there supporting the hometown team, there's no way to estimate the value of the Spurs to San Antonio," he says.

Of note: Frost Bank also partnered with the Spurs on The Rock at La Cantera, the upcoming mixed-use development anchored by the team's training facility.

• The newly renamed arena will also have a Frost Club complete with a "Puro Meter" mural and an interactive light show that will change with the volume of fans during games.

Between the lines: The new identity is the latest changing of hands in the Spurs organization.

• AT&T sold its 7.23 percent interest in the team in 2021, which was then bought by Sixth Street Partners and billionaire Michael Dell.
• Joe Gibbia, Airbnb co-founder, joined the ownership group in 2022.
• Paul Viera, founder of global investment firm EARNEST Partners, joined the investment group as a strategic partner in May.