When a five-time NBA champion retools its communications stack, it’s fundamentally testing whether AI-powered communications can withstand one of the harshest environments in business: a live event where tens of thousands of people, dozens of departments, and multiple cities must move in sync, in real time, with no margin for error.
Dialpad, an AI-powered business communications and agentic platform, has announced a new partnership with the San Antonio Spurs, a franchise renowned for its discipline, culture, and willingness to innovate on and off the court. The partnership is designed to enhance both fan engagement and internal team communications by connecting players, staff, and fans through Dialpad’s AI-first platform.
Craig Walker, CEO and Founder of Dialpad, commented:
“Partnering with the San Antonio Spurs brings together two organizations built on performance, teamwork, and innovation. The Spurs know what it means to stay connected, on the court and beyond. With Dialpad’s AI-powered communication, we’re thrilled to help keep every conversation seamlessly connected.”
Beyond Branding: Why This Matters to Enterprise Buyers
At first glance, the deal looks familiar. Dialpad gains in-arena presence at the Frost Bank Center, including LED signage in the player tunnel and on basket-arm placements, and becomes a Supporting Partner of the I-35 Series, which brings the Spurs’ home-court experience to the Moody Center in Austin for two games this season.
Beneath the branding, however, the tech becomes an integral part of the Spurs’ operational fabric, supporting fan engagement, internal collaboration, and cross-city coordination.
“This partnership isn’t just about technology, it’s about creating a better experience for our fans,” said Frank Miceli, Chief Commercial Officer for Spurs Sports & Entertainment. “With Dialpad’s AI-driven communication tools, we can engage fans faster, personalize experiences, and bring the excitement of Spurs basketball to more people, whether they’re in San Antonio, Austin, or watching from anywhere in the world.”
For execs wrestling with digital transformation, that quote captures the same three priorities that appear in board presentations across sectors: engaging faster by stripping out friction and delays; personalizing at scale by using data and AI to adapt offers and messages; and extending reach by serving customers wherever they are, across regions and channels.
The difference here is that these ambitions are being tested in a high-stakes, high-visibility environment rather than a controlled pilot.
AI-Powered Communications Under Game-Day Pressure
The Spurs organization, which operates across San Antonio and Austin, offers a compact illustration of challenges facing many distributed enterprises.
According to the announcement, Spurs team members will use Dialpad for seamless communication and collaboration across departments and locations. In practical terms, that means operations, security, marketing, broadcast, and guest services can coordinate game-day activities through a single platform rather than juggling disjointed tools. AI can summarize calls, extract actionable items, and surface emerging issues before they escalate into crises, thereby reducing the risk that important details are overlooked in chat threads or email chains.
On the fan-facing side, AI-driven communications can help automate or accelerate responses to routine queries, including ticket changes, venue information, parking, and membership benefits. Instead of relying solely on manual triage, the organization can use AI to classify intent, route contacts, and provide staff with suggested responses. Over time, the data from these interactions can inform marketing and customer experience decisions by revealing patterns in behavior, sentiment, and demand.
The I-35 Series, which temporarily relocates the Spurs’ home-court experience to Austin, effectively serves as a moving innovation lab. Each game introduces different venue dynamics, partner obligations, and audience compositions.
For UC and CX leaders, this mirrors major product launches, seasonal peaks, or large-scale events where communications infrastructure is tested under unusual loads and fluid conditions. If an AI-first platform can cope here, it becomes more credible as a candidate for mission-critical deployments elsewhere.
From Fan Experience to Enterprise Playbook with Dialpad and San Antonio Spurs
The implications extend beyond sports. The same patterns could apply to retailers orchestrating national campaigns, banks coordinating branch networks during turbulent market conditions, or hospitals managing patient flows across multiple campuses.
In each case, leaders are trying to combine employee experience, operational discipline, and customer engagement within a unified communications strategy. AI then shifts from being a reporting add-on to an orchestration layer that keeps conversations consistent and actionable across channels, teams, and locations.
This, in turn, raises sharper questions for enterprise buyers. Can the current communications stack withstand “game seven” conditions: peak volumes, heightened scrutiny, and zero tolerance for missteps? Are data governance, security, and compliance robust enough to support AI-generated summaries, recommendations, and routing decisions? Does the organization have the change-management muscle to ensure that frontline employees see AI as a helpful assistant rather than an intrusive monitor?
Basketball is a game of spacing, timing, and connection. The perfect pass is not just a flourish of individual talent; it relies on a system that ensures every player knows the play, trusts their teammates, and receives the ball exactly when it matters. The Spurs’ decision to work with an AI-first communications provider is a reminder that communications infrastructure, and the intelligence now woven through it, is becoming a strategic lever for performance, loyalty, and resilience, not just a cost center.
For CIOs, CX leaders, and operations executives, the more interesting question is no longer whether AI communications work in theory, but where, in their own organizations, they are prepared to put that theory to the test.
