Inside the Spurs: Jimi Olsen - Senior Account Executive

Jimi Olsen - Senior Account Executive

Spurs basketball is more than just a job for Senior Account Executive Jimi Olsen.

A former basketball coach at John Jay High School in San Antonio, Olsen knows the history of the Spurs like the back of his hand.

“He’s a sports historian,” said Spurs Sports & Entertainment VP of Sales and Service, Joe Clark. “You can always count on Jimi for the straight facts and a good story when it comes to the Spurs history. He retains specific information on games, situations, just about anything when it comes to the Spurs.”

Clark first met Olsen in 1985, who he worked with in sales as an intern. “Jimi has fun doing his job,” said Clark. “He loves this industry and he’s very good at what he does. One of the biggest reasons as to why he’s so good is the way that he makes relationships with fans and keeps them.”

“There are season ticket holders that I sold to in the 1980’s that are still with us,” said Olsen. “The biggest part of our job is customer service. Once you sell a person, that’s just the start of the relationship.”

Olsen began working with the Spurs in 1981 and is now in his second stint with SS&E. After taking time off from the Spurs in 1989 to do what he called “real jobs” in the community, selling “everything from cars to insurance,” Olsen followed his love for basketball back to the Spurs in May 2001.

“I 100 percent believe in our product and I have a passion for it,” he said. “What I love most about my job is that it’s not a job. It is time consuming – people would be surprised about how many hours we do here – but it’s worth it.”

Olsen has always been able use his love for basketball and experiences with the Spurs to connect with fans and co-workers, including Spurs legend George Gervin.

“Jimi has been around Spurs Sports & Entertainment for a very long time -- just like I have,” said Gervin. “Together, we have become the dinosaurs of the organization! He’s a very good man and I’m glad proud to call him my friend.”

Watching Gervin play and getting to know him through the years, Olsen has grown to appreciate the contributions that Gervin and other former Spurs have made to the organization. “I hope people never forget how good George Gervin, James Silas, Mike Mitchell, Johnny Moore and Mark Olberding were when they played,” said Olsen. “They were certainly instrumental in helping the Spurs survive in San Antonio.”

Just as the game of basketball has evolved since the early 1980’s, Olsen has seen his job transform through the years. “Back in the ‘80s, there wasn’t a lot of competition in San Antonio for the entertainment dollar,” said Olsen. “You have to interact with fans more now and figure out what their needs are because there are a lot of things they can do with their entertainment dollar.”

Even with the new obstacles he faces when it comes to keeping fans happy, it’s a challenge that Olsen gladly takes on.

When it’s all said and done at the end of the day, it’s a dream,” Olsen said. “This is my 19th season with the Spurs over two careers and I would never change a thing if I could do it over.”

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT MY JOB

The favorite part of my job is to look back and see how many people you helped get to the arena. Just seeing how you contribute to the games on any given night is very rewarding.

WHAT YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT MY JOB

If you think about it, if there’s nobody in the stands, then everything will go away. The vendors go away, you wont need to park cars, all of that. Our job is important because getting fans to come out is where it all starts.

HOW I GOT HERE

In 1981 I got hired with two other guys for a three-month trial period by Bob Bass, who was our general manager at the time. I had been coaching in San Antonio for a while and been in the bar business so I had a lot of contacts. The other two guys he hired were interns – one from the east coast and one from the west coast – and he told us whoever did the best selling tickets over the 90-day period he would keep, but he only had one position. It was pretty much a done deal because I had a lot of contacts in San Antonio and those two guys didn’t.