duncan228
04-26-2009, 11:44 PM
Holt upbeat about Spurs’ bottom line (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Holt_upbeat_about_Spurs_bottom_line.html)
Tom Orsborn
While acknowledging the economic downturn has the Spurs “fighting to sell every ticket,” Spurs Sports & Entertainment chairman Peter Holt said the franchise is financially sound and on course to match last year’s season ticket sales.
“Financially, we’re in as good a shape as maybe we’ve been, because we’ve had some great years,” Holt said.
In an interview before a recent playoff game, Holt covered a wide range of topics, including efforts by SS&E — the parent company of the Spurs, the American Hockey League’s Rampage and the WNBA’s Silver Stars — to bring another sports franchise to town and also to broaden the company’s footprint in the Austin area.
Wearing his trademark black blazer, Holt said the key to the Spurs’ financial health has been a stable, fiscally conservative ownership group. Other factors include the four NBA titles won during the Tim Duncan era and increased revenues from national and local television deals.
But the prudent manner in which the owners have conducted business is the main reason the Spurs are financially stable, said Holt, CEO of San Antonio-based Holt Cat, the nation’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer.
“All these years, none of the (Spurs shareholders) took any money out of the business at all,” Holt said. “So it just pays down debt, pays down debt, leaving our debt really low. And none of the owners, luckily, make a living directly off the business. So we’re all in good shape. The Spurs are financially sound.”
So much so, the team declined to take a handout from the NBA.
League commissioner David Stern announced in February the NBA had lined up $200 million which would be made available to a dozen teams that had expressed an interest in the money.
“We didn’t need it,” Holt said.
In January, Holt announced a freeze on ticket prices for the 2009-2010 season. While declining to reveal how many packages have been sold, he stressed the numbers are solid.
“Thank the Lord, they’re going (well),” Holt said of sales. “We started about a month early and we’re running well. It took us 30 more days, but we’re not that far behind where we were at this time last year. We’re feeling pretty good. In fact, we’re feeling better than we thought we would at this time.”
Holt said the team has benefited from a stable local economy.
“The city and the state — relative to a lot of other cities and states — is in pretty good shape, and I think that’s helping us,” Holt said.
Turning to SS&E’s interest in soccer, Holt said talks with the United Soccer Leagues are stalled because there’s no public money to build a multi-use stadium.
“We think soccer can work in San Antonio, it’s just a question of when. And right now is not when,” Holt said. “The county or the city doesn’t have the money. Maybe something could eventually be worked out with a school district. But right now, with this economic situation, there isn’t going to be any public money for anything anywhere.”
The USL is considered a step below Major League Soccer, which failed in its bid to expand into San Antonio in 2005, partly because then-mayor Ed Garza lacked political support to give MLS a deal that included rent-free use of the Alamodome.
Holt said Garza approached SS&E about playing an ownership role in an MLS franchise, but Holt said SS&E “couldn’t make the numbers work” at the dome.
“But we think the USL, at least with the numbers we’ve run, could work here in a smaller stadium,” Holt said.
One venture that’s on SS&E’s front burner is strengthening its stake in Central Texas.
SS&E owns the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ developmental team.
“Cedar Park (an Austin suburb) is building a smaller facility, and we hope to maybe take the Toros up there for some games,” Holt said. “We’d like to build some teams in Austin too, more minor-league type situations. We want to expand in Central Texas in the sports business. Central Texas is expanding, so why not it be us?”
Tom Orsborn
While acknowledging the economic downturn has the Spurs “fighting to sell every ticket,” Spurs Sports & Entertainment chairman Peter Holt said the franchise is financially sound and on course to match last year’s season ticket sales.
“Financially, we’re in as good a shape as maybe we’ve been, because we’ve had some great years,” Holt said.
In an interview before a recent playoff game, Holt covered a wide range of topics, including efforts by SS&E — the parent company of the Spurs, the American Hockey League’s Rampage and the WNBA’s Silver Stars — to bring another sports franchise to town and also to broaden the company’s footprint in the Austin area.
Wearing his trademark black blazer, Holt said the key to the Spurs’ financial health has been a stable, fiscally conservative ownership group. Other factors include the four NBA titles won during the Tim Duncan era and increased revenues from national and local television deals.
But the prudent manner in which the owners have conducted business is the main reason the Spurs are financially stable, said Holt, CEO of San Antonio-based Holt Cat, the nation’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer.
“All these years, none of the (Spurs shareholders) took any money out of the business at all,” Holt said. “So it just pays down debt, pays down debt, leaving our debt really low. And none of the owners, luckily, make a living directly off the business. So we’re all in good shape. The Spurs are financially sound.”
So much so, the team declined to take a handout from the NBA.
League commissioner David Stern announced in February the NBA had lined up $200 million which would be made available to a dozen teams that had expressed an interest in the money.
“We didn’t need it,” Holt said.
In January, Holt announced a freeze on ticket prices for the 2009-2010 season. While declining to reveal how many packages have been sold, he stressed the numbers are solid.
“Thank the Lord, they’re going (well),” Holt said of sales. “We started about a month early and we’re running well. It took us 30 more days, but we’re not that far behind where we were at this time last year. We’re feeling pretty good. In fact, we’re feeling better than we thought we would at this time.”
Holt said the team has benefited from a stable local economy.
“The city and the state — relative to a lot of other cities and states — is in pretty good shape, and I think that’s helping us,” Holt said.
Turning to SS&E’s interest in soccer, Holt said talks with the United Soccer Leagues are stalled because there’s no public money to build a multi-use stadium.
“We think soccer can work in San Antonio, it’s just a question of when. And right now is not when,” Holt said. “The county or the city doesn’t have the money. Maybe something could eventually be worked out with a school district. But right now, with this economic situation, there isn’t going to be any public money for anything anywhere.”
The USL is considered a step below Major League Soccer, which failed in its bid to expand into San Antonio in 2005, partly because then-mayor Ed Garza lacked political support to give MLS a deal that included rent-free use of the Alamodome.
Holt said Garza approached SS&E about playing an ownership role in an MLS franchise, but Holt said SS&E “couldn’t make the numbers work” at the dome.
“But we think the USL, at least with the numbers we’ve run, could work here in a smaller stadium,” Holt said.
One venture that’s on SS&E’s front burner is strengthening its stake in Central Texas.
SS&E owns the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ developmental team.
“Cedar Park (an Austin suburb) is building a smaller facility, and we hope to maybe take the Toros up there for some games,” Holt said. “We’d like to build some teams in Austin too, more minor-league type situations. We want to expand in Central Texas in the sports business. Central Texas is expanding, so why not it be us?”