Spurs Exec VP/Business Operations Russ Bookbinder Resigns

Bookbinder Announces Resignation From Spurs

Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SSE) Exec VP/Business Operations Russ Bookbinder yesterday announced his resignation from the organization, ending a 20-year stint with the Spurs that began in January '88. Bookbinder: "There are a number of factors that go into making a decision of this magnitude. This is a unique business. The passion it takes, the time you have to give and the day-to-day stress -- being emotionally attached to four different teams -- takes a toll. For me it is the right time to take a step back, take a deep breath and reflect" (SSE). More Bookbinder: "It's something I've been thinking about for a year, a year and a half, I just never allowed it to come out of my mouth." In San Antonio, Jeff McDonald writes Bookbinder "for the past two decades ... has been a fixture in the Spurs' front office, a behind-the-scenes force widely credited with dragging the team's game-day and marketing operations to the modern era." Bookbinder in '88 set out to construct a "precursor to today's multi-media game-day experience at the AT&T Center." Bookbinder early in his tenure also "pushed the Spurs into the modern era of community relations." Bookbinder, who oversaw operations for the Spurs, the WNBA Silver Stars, the NBA D-League Austin Toros and the AHL San Antonio Rampage, is "one of a handful of Spurs employees who can trace the club's path from HemisFair Arena to AT&T Center." In that time, Bookbinder saw SSE grow "from a small-town basketball club into a four-team, multi-sport monolith. That exponential growth, in part, led to his resignation." Bookbinder: "That's a lot of nights in the arena.  It takes its toll." Former Spurs GM & coach Bob Bass: "He was involved with everything."  McDonald notes Bookbinder is "in good health and aims to take advantage of it" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 6/11).