The San Antonio Spurs announced Wednesday that the McCombs family has joined the NBA team’s investor group.
The size of the McCombs family’s investment, which has already been approved by the NBA Board of Governors, wasn’t disclosed. Forbes magazine, which each year ranks NBA franchises by valuation, estimated the team was worth $3.25 billion.
The move marks the third time the McCombs family has invested in the Spurs.
The first was in 1973, when B.J. “Red” McCombs and a group of investors signed a three-year lease with an option to buy the Dallas Chaparrals, which he moved to San Antonio and renamed the Spurs. While the team was not an immediate hit with local fans, the team would ultimately raise San Antonio’s profile and forever alter its identity.
McCombs died on Feb. 19 of this year, at age 95. Charline, his wife of 69 years, passed away in 2019.
“Red, Charline and the entire McCombs family mean so much to the Spurs and San Antonio,” said Peter J. Holt, managing partner of Spurs Sports & Entertainment.
“To see the McCombs family come full circle and officially welcome them back into our investor group is beyond special,” he continued in the statement announcing the move. “Red was a visionary whose bold work shaped San Antonio and put us on the global map. The McCombs family is continuing his legacy and together with our entire investor group, we are committed to seeing the Spurs and this great city thrive.”
The McCombs family, which has called San Antonio home since 1958, now spans four generations and 32 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. McCombs Enterprises is led by the McCombs’ daughter, Marsha Shields, and run by several second- and third-generation family members.
“The entire McCombs family is thrilled to renew our connection to the Spurs and join Peter John, Corinna, and the Holt family as strategic partners,” said Joseph Shields, grandson of Charline and Red McCombs and executive vice president of McCombs Enterprises.
When Red McCombs bought the Dallas Chaparrals in 1973, the team was part of the American Basketball Association and losing $400,000 annually. The Spurs’ first home was Hemisfair Arena, where just 2,000 people showed up for the team’s first local victory.
To bolster attendance, the team acquired Swen Nater, a 7-foot center, and George Gervin, a 6-foot-7 guard who became a scoring sensation and eventual Hall of Famer. The Spurs joined the NBA in 1976.
McCombs sold his stake in the team in 1978 to fellow investor Angelo Drossos, then spent $47 million a decade later to purchase a majority stake back from Drossos.
He ran the team until he sold it to a group of investors for $75 million in 1993, getting their promise they would keep the team in San Antonio. That group included USAA and Southwestern Bell, among other individuals and entities.
Peter M. Holt and his then-wife, Julianna Hawn Holt, became the Spurs’ largest shareholders in 1996. The Holt family remains the franchise’s largest shareholder. Spurs Sports & Entertainment also owns the Austin Spurs, a team in the NBA’s minor G League, and San Antonio FC, a USL Championship league team.
Peter J. Holt took the reins from his mother, Julianna Holt, in 2019; she had become the franchise’s chair in 2016, taking over for Peter M. Holt. The team won all five of its championships during Peter M. Holt’s stint as chair, the last in 2014.
In 2021, the younger Holt was promoted to managing partner as new investors were brought in, including Austin billionaire Michael Dell and San Francisco-based investment firm Sixth Street. Holt and his sister, Corinna Holt Richter, represent the Holt family on the organization’s board of managers.
Spurs Give, the nonprofit arm of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, is a financial supporter of the San Antonio Report. For a full list of business members, click here.
