SAN ANTONIO – A city council member is hopeful that the city’s international airport will bear the name of a San Antonio icon.
In a council consideration request obtained by KSAT, District 8 councilman Manny Pelaez formally asked the council to consider renaming the San Antonio International Airport (SAT) to “Gregg Popovich International Airport” after the now-former San Antonio Spurs head coach and current team president of basketball operations.
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“As our city continues to grow and welcome visitors from around the world through the San Antonio International Airport, we believe it would be a fitting and lasting tribute to dedicate this vital gateway in honor of Coach Gregg Popovich,” Pelaez’s request states, in part. “Renaming the airport to ‘Gregg Popovich International Airport’ would serve as a constant reminder of his extraordinary legacy and the positive impact he has had on our city and beyond.”
On May 5, the Spurs formally reintroduced Mitch Johnson — this time — as the team’s new full-time head coach. At the same news conference, Popovich also made his first public appearance since he suffered a mild stroke in November 2024.
In the request, which was submitted on Wednesday, Pelaez proposed that discussion of the potential airport rebrand be added as an agenda item at the council’s next Governance Meeting.
Naming a large airport after a person has plenty of precedent in Texas. Austin’s international airport was named in honor of former U.S. Army Captain John August Earl Bergstrom.
The international airport in Houston is named after former President George H. W. Bush.
“Eponymous airports aren’t just reserved for elected officials,” Pelaez said in a text to KSAT on Thursday. “Bob Hope (Burbank, California), Muhammad Ali (Louisville, Kentucky), Louis Armstrong (New Orleans), Will Rogers (Oklahoma City), Jimmy Stewart (Indiana County, Pennsylvania), and John Wayne (Santa Ana, California) are examples of people whose names appear on the front door of airports.”
Pelaez’s request also bore the signatures of four supporting council members: Sukh Kaur (District 1), Adriana Rocha Garcia (District 4), Teri Castillo (District 5) and John Courage (District 9).
Because Pelaez, Rocha Garcia and Courage will soon be outgoing council members, in addition to Kaur heading to a June 7 runoff election for the District 1 seat, it is unclear if the name of the airport will be discussed at the next Governance Committee meeting or when the next such meeting will take place.
Pelaez’s full request can be read below.
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