Discontinued Operations - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended
Oct. 23, 2012	Sep. 06, 2012
Discontinued Operations And Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Assets sold from site leasing segment		$ 119.3
Cash in asset purchase agreement	5.7	94.3
Promissory note in asset purchase agreement		$ 25

Noncash consideration received as part of sale of discontinued operations.

No definition available.

Name:	sbac_NoncashConsiderationReceivedAsPartOfSaleOfDiscontinuedOperations
Namespace Prefix:	sbac_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration