SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio is buzzing as the Spurs head to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years, and local businesses have even more reason to cheer.
“The bar owner in me wants it to go to seven, with the Spurs winning in seven; the Spurs fan in me wants a sweep,” joked Mat Rapp, the co-owner of SATX Bars, which has 13 bars in the area.
Speaking with KSAT at one of his group’s bars, Stout House on Grayson, Rapp said the playoffs have already been a boon to business when they’re able to show the games. This time of year is slower for bars, he said, with vacations, children out of school and people leaving to do “summer things.”
A Friday or Saturday night game brings a “decent increase,” Rapp said, “but if they play on a Tuesday, I mean, it’s ten-fold.”
“People don’t generally go out and whoop it up on a Tuesday,“ he said, ”but, if there’s a Spurs (game) playing, all bets are out of the window."
The games will also bring visitors, both New York Knicks fans and media, for two to four games between Wednesday, June 3 and June 19, depending on how long the series stretches.
Michelle Madson, the president and CEO of the San Antonio Hotel and Lodging Association, expects a “moderate” bump in hotel business from visitors.
But she believes the bigger benefit is a longer-range increase in travelers due to San Antonio being in the spotlight, whether it’s meeting planners booking spaces or families planning vacations.
“Having San Antonio on the national stage, in international media, is the kind of advertising that we can’t buy,” Madson said. “You know, cutaways showing our downtown, our River Walk, all of our attractions — that really boosts our image and puts us front of mind for people when they’re choosing a destination to travel."
The last time the Spurs were in a playoff series before this season was 2019. With the Spurs in their current form, both fans and businesses have reason to be optimistic for the future.
“If Wemby can continue to do this, that’s an influx of money in the month of May and June for the couple of years,” Rapp said.
More Spurs coverage on KSAT: