National Basketball Association

McCombs family rejoining Spurs ownership group after 30 years

Published Dec. 20, 2023 4:46 p.m. ET

The McCombs family has purchased a share of the San Antonio Spurs, returning after 30 years to the organization their patriarch helped establish and once owned.

Billy Joe "Red" McCombs owned at least a share of the Spurs for 11 years and was the team’s primary owner for five years. McCombs, who died on Feb. 19 at age 95 after a lengthy illness, was a driving force in bringing the franchise to San Antonio in 1973.

"Red, Charline and the entire McCombs family mean so much to the Spurs and San Antonio," said Peter J. Holt, Spurs Sports & Entertainment managing partner. "To see the McCombs family come full circle and officially welcome them back into our investor group is beyond special. 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 size of the investment was not revealed.

The Spurs moved to San Antonio for the 1973 ABA season after McCombs and a group of local investors purchased the then-Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA.

McCombs sold his share of the franchise to purchase the Denver Nuggets in 1978. He sold the Nuggets in 1985, returning as the Spurs' primary owner in May 1988.

McCombs sold the Spurs in 1993 to an investment group led by Peter Holt, whose son now runs the team.

San Antonio has won five NBA championships since and drafted David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997 and Victor Wembanyama in 2023 with the No. 1 pick.

McCombs also owned the Minnesota Vikings from 1998 to 2005, selling the team as his health began to decline.

His family, which now spans four generations, did not have an ownership stake in any sports team until reaching an agreement to join the Spurs' investment group as McCombs Enterprises.

The NBA Board of Governors has approved and executed the move.

The McCombs family joins an ownership group that includes the Holt family, Dell Technologies CEO and founder Michael Dell, Airbnb co-founder and chairman Joe Gebbia, KSL Resources founder Kimberly Lewis, EARNEST Partners found Paul Viera and Sixth Street global investment firm. The Holt family is the largest shareholder.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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