Spurs Find 'Unlikely Ally' in New Downtown Arena Search
SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs could be looking for a new arena soon.
Per reports from the San Antonio Express-News, the Spurs are "exploring" the possibility of moving their home arena to downtown San Antonio. The current home of the Spurs, the AT&T Center, is outside of downtown and surrounded by nothing but a freeway and a beaten down neighborhood. Suboptimal.
With young phenom Victor Wembanyama now a Spur, what better time to ask for a new arena than now? Or at least in the very near future.
The Spurs have Wembanyama as reason enough to drum up excitement for a new stadium, but they might also have an unlikely ally in the San Antonio Missions, the city's minor league baseball team.
I attended a press conference earlier this year at Nelson Wolff Stadium in far west San Antonio.
That day, the Missions introduced their new ownership group. This is a franchise that's 135 years old and has had numerous future Hall of Famers come through town as young prospects on their way to the Big Leagues. Brooks Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Martinez, Orel Hershiser and Dennis Eckersley are just some of the many great ball players who've played for one of the most historical minor league clubs in all of baseball.
The Missions have had a few uncertain years as winds of change turned into a full blown financial tempest throughout the Bus Leagues and there were rumors for a while that perhaps the city would lose the Missions.
Former San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor publicly stated that the team needed to get out of the suburbs and into a downtown stadium if the future of the franchise was to remain viable. Thankfully all of that is behind the club now.
On that day at the aforementioned press conference, it wasn't just that the Missions had acquired new ownership that would assure their future in San Antonio. I was also struck by a few of the names amongst said group. Names such as Spurs governor Peter J. Holt, and Hall-of-Famers Manu Ginobili and David Robinson were among the new investors.
Not only is it the aim of this new ownership team to move the Missions downtown, it's very clearly the goal to get the Spurs themselves downtown as well.
According to the Express-News, the goal is to construct a sports complex that would see the Spurs' new arena right next to the new beautiful ballpark for the Missions.
This was a joint venture from the jump, and the Missions are of course delighted to play the role of Little Buddy.
The Missions thrown into the mix gives the Spurs another chess piece to use in order to entice the taxpayers. I can picture it all now in my head and it's awesome. Now we'll see if the city and its citizens agree in due time. Play ball.
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