SAN ANTONIO – “Gregg Popovich International Airport” has a certain ring to it.
Five rings, actually.
Outgoing San Antonio City Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) filed an official request Thursday for the city to consider changing San Antonio International Airport’s name to honor the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach who brought five NBA titles to San Antonio.
Popovich retired from coaching earlier this month, six months after a stroke sidelined him for most of the 2024-25 season. He remains with the team as the president of basketball operations.
Coach or not, “Pop” is beloved by the Spurs faithful. After 29 seasons at the team’s helm, Pelaez thinks he deserves to be recognized through the airport, which he calls San Antonio’s “front doorstep.”
“If Gregg Popovich has done anything, it’s that he’s really made the San Antonio Spurs and San Antonio a household name in other countries,” Pelaez said.
Pelaez asked that the name change proposal be added to the next meeting of the city council’s Governance Committee, though that might not happen until after he and at least four others have been replaced on the dais.
A city spokesman said the committee had been scheduled to meet next week, but that has been canceled. The date of the next meeting is still to be determined.
The next mayor and city council, determined by the May 3 election and June 7 runoff, will all be sworn in by June 18.
Pelaez has served the maximum eight years as a councilman and failed to make the runoff for the mayor’s seat.
His airport name change request was co-signed by Sukh Kaur (District 1), Adriana Rocha Garcia (District 4), Teri Castillo (District 5) and John Courage (District 9).
Rocha Garcia and Courage are also leaving the city council after their own failed bids for mayor. Rocha Garcia leaves office at the end of the month since her successor, Edward Mungia, was elected outright in May 3. Courage and Pelaez will both stay until June 18, after the runoffs.
Castillo was re-elected to her seat, while Kaur is still competing in a runoff election against Patty Gibbons.
KSAT visited Pearl and the West Side on Friday to get your opinions on a potential name change. Watch the video player above to see and hear what they had to say.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to clarify the different dates the new San Antonio council members will take office.
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