In 1967, the Dallas Chaparrals where one of the founding teams on the upstart American Basketball Association. The team had never drawn well, averaging less than 3,000 fans a night. By 1973, the owners were desperately looking for a buyer.
Without a single offer, the Chaparrals turned to San Antonians Red McCombs and Angelo Drossos. They offered them one of the most unique deals in all of sports. The leased the team to San Antonio for two years. At the end on two years, they could own the team outright for two payments of $800,000.
The team, renamed the Spurs, had its own attendance woes. It didn’t improve in San Antonio until the Spurs bought the contract of a skinny young player named George Gervin. With Gervin, the team quickly improved and attendance rocketed by the middle of the first season.
Drossos then contacted the Dallas owners with a bit of a bluff. He told them he had run out of capital and they could have the team back. The last thing they want was the team back because they’d have to find a new buyer. They struck a new deal. San Antonio could have the entire team immediately for one payment of $800,000.
In 1976, the Spurs along with 3 other ABA teams were absorbed by the NBA.
In 2014 the Spurs won their 5th Championship. The average value of a NBA franchise is now at $630 Million.
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| The original inside of Hemisfair Arena, before the roof was literally raised to add an upper deck |
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| The roof being raised on Hemisfair Arena to add an upper deck |
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| The NBA's Spurs 'Bruise Brother's' Poster from 1980 |
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