To celebrate their 50th anniversary last season, the Spurs played four home games away from the AT&T Center, their usual venue. The first took place on December 17 in Mexico against the Heat. The second took place at the Alamodome in San Antonio against the Warriors on January 13, with a record attendance for an NBA match with 68,323 spectators. Finally, at the very end of the season, Gregg Popovich and his players faced the Blazers then the Wolves in Austin.
This season, again, since Victor Wembanyama’s teammates will once again play two games in Austin. It will be in March, March 15 and 17, and it will be against the Nuggets then the Nets. As Gregg Popovich explained in April, this relocation to the Moody Center will now be recurring.
Becoming a more powerful market
“Ultimately, the Spurs organization just wants to expand its territory” he explained. “We live in this region, from the Mexican border to here, and we would like to extend the ties we have with Spurs to another region, and for that we have to make the effort to be seen, to come here and to play a few matches. I think that’s what we’ll do every year. I don’t think so, I know, and this is the beginning of this new experience.”.
Inaugurated in 2022 to host the men’s and women’s teams of the University of Texas, the Moody Center broke its attendance record for the Spurs’ visit with 16,418 spectators.
“We are a third-rate market” admitted Spurs general manager RC Buford. “By positioning ourselves better in this region, we have a chance to become a potentially more powerful market”.
