featured-image

O Spurs Christmas Tree

Santa Claus arrived at the Alamo to light San Antonio’s Christmas tree on Friday, and he was greeted with a bit of an unfamiliar sight.

Instead of red and green holiday sweaters, most of the crowd wore Silver & Black.

Thousands of San Antonians stood in the rain at Alamo Plaza to see the 31st Annual H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, and this year’s tree was given a Spurs theme in recognition of the organization’s impact on the city of San Antonio.

“H-E-B has been sponsoring the tree every year, and we thought this would be a great way to honor the Spurs,” said Dya Campos, H-E-B’s director of public affairs. “It isn’t just about what the team does on the court, but it also reflects what the Spurs do for the community.”

At 55-feet tall, or seven-and-a-half Boban Marjanovics, the White Fir is adorned with dozens of custom made Spurs ornaments and basketballs that are much larger than regulation size. The lighted Spurs ornaments feature the players’ numbers, meaning there are many more stars on this year’s tree than the one on the top.

There are more than 10,000 environmentally-friendly LED lights on the tree and each ornament weighs 15 pounds.

Stockings to represent each local franchise in Spurs Sports & Entertainment, the Spurs, Rampage and Stars, were at the bottom of the tree as well.

Among the thousands of San Antonians who rocked around the Spurs Christmas Tree, Joseph Loera was shivering in the rain with a Tony Parker jersey on, but still had a giant smile on his face. He said he was thrilled to bring his family to see the tree.

“The Spurs are the focal point of this city,” Loera said. “The Spurs bring San Antonio together, so it makes sense to me that we’re all gathered around a Spurs Christmas tree.”

San Antonio mayor Ivy Taylor, police chief Bill McManus and city council members were among those in attendance as the Spurs Coyote rode in next to Santa. As part of the lighting ceremony, H-E-B gave a $5,000 donation to the Salesian sisters of St. John Bosco - also known as the Spurs nuns – and a donation to Silver & Black Give Back.

The tree will be in front of the Alamo throughout the holidays, giving Spurs fans a month for tree selfies.

Wanting to get a first look at the tree, Arturo Martinez wore a Spurs Santa hat and brought his wife and two kids on Friday.

While Memorial Day is usually the first holiday that’s synonymous with the Spurs thanks to Sean Elliott, Martinez said this holiday season shouldn’t be far behind.

“The Spurs are about family, they’re about tradition, and they’re about uniting and coming together,” Martinez said. “That sounds a lot like what Christmas is about, too.”

lchan@attcenter.com

Twitter:@lornechan