San Antonio is amping up its game with the announcement of a new basketball court, courtesy of a hefty $1.8 million donation landed by the McCombs Foundation and Spurs Give. The forthcoming 'Red & Charline McCombs Community Court' will be located at Hemisfair Park, just a stone’s throw from the historic HemisFair Arena, the San Antonio Spurs' original NBA home court. Integrating community input that clamored for an outdoor shaded court, the new venue seeks to be more than just a place to hoop – it's set to become a hotspot for communal gatherings and physical activity, according to a press release obtained by KSAT.com.
Andres Andujar, Hemisfair CEO, expressed his gratitude noting, "Through the creation of the Tower Park vision and use plan, we heard from the community that a shaded basketball court would be used and loved, and we can deliver thanks to the funders’ dedication to enhancing recreational opportunities for our residents," as reported by KENS 5. The court's design, hatched by Gomez Vazquez International, will replace a pond from the 1988 Hemisfair renovation and will strategically be covered to shield players from the Texas sun.
Dr. Kara Allen, Executive Director of Spurs Give and Chief People Impact and Belonging Officer at Spurs Sports and Entertainment, highlighted the project's sentimental value saying, "The entire team at the San Antonio Spurs and Spurs Give has long been dreaming of the best way to honor the life and legacy of Red and Charline McCombs,” Allen told KENS 5. "“The opportunity to invest in and bring programming to the ‘Red & Charline McCombs Community Court’ is that dream realized. Together, we’re all building leaders and legacies where so many families will come to live, learn, work and play.”
Scheduled for completion in the spring of 2025, the court signifies not only an extension of the McCombs' legacy but also a hat tip to the city's storied sports history. With its accessible downtown location and purpose, this court builds on the Spurs' ethos of fostering community and leadership – all within cheering distance of where the Silver and Black first dazzled basketball fans. Hemisfair promised the court would not only serve as a place for the game, but an amenity where "so many families will come to live, learn, work and play," Anne Krause, Executive Director of the Hemisfair Conservancy, told KENS 5.
