Alamodome
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| Alamodome
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr> | |
|---|---|
| Location | 100 Montana Street San Antonio, Texas 78203 |
| Opened | 1993 |
| Owner | City of San Antonio
<tr><td>Operator</td><td>City of San Antonio</td></tr><tr><td>Surface</td><td>FieldTurf</td></tr><tr><td>Construction cost</td><td>$186 million USD</td></tr><tr><td>Architect</td><td>HOK Sport + Venue + Event</td></tr> |
| Tenants | |
| Alamo Bowl (NCAA) (1993-Present) New Orleans Saints (NFL) (2005) San Antonio Spurs (NBA) (1993-2002) San Antonio Texans (CFL) (1995) | |
| Seats | |
| Football (American) 65,000 (expandable to 72,000) Football (Canadian) 59,000 Basketball 36,500 (expanded for Final Four) Hockey 36,000 Boxing 40,000 Arena Concert center-stage 33,000 Arena Concert end-stage 30,000 Stadium Concert center-stage 77,000 Stadium Concert end-stage 50,000 | |
The Alamodome is a multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, at a cost of $186 million. It was constructed after voters in 1989 approved a five-year, half-cent sales tax increase that was collected by eventual owner VIA Metropolitan Transit, the local transit authority. Upon completion of the facility, it was nearly debt free and showed a net operating profit within its first two years of operation. On June 9, 1994, ownership of the Alamodome was transferred from the transit authority to the City of San Antonio. The general contractor for the Alamodome and adjacent transit facility was Lyda Swinerton Builders, the Texas subsidiary of the San Francisco-based Swinerton Inc.
On April 15, 2005, the San Antonio City Council voted to spend close to $6.5 million to renovate the Alamodome in an effort to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to the city. However, after the election of Phil Hardberger as the new mayor, those efforts were abandoned. (Hardberger opposed the deal to bring in MLS.) Though, the approved renovations to the facility will continue as planned. The city administration and local business leaders have re-focused their efforts to bringing an NFL franchise to San Antonio.
Although when the Alamodome was built it was an ideal state-of-the-art NFL stadium, by today's standards the facility would have to undergo renovations and add a considerable number of luxury suites in order to make it a profitable venue for an NFL team. Preliminary estimates put the cost of improvements at $100-150 million.
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[edit] Features
The facility is a rectilinear three-level stadium which can seat up to 65,000 spectators for a typical football game but is expandable to hold 72,000 spectators, allowing the possibility to host a Super Bowl. The arena configuration (basketball/hockey) takes 12-18 hours to set up retractable seating and install the playing surface. In this configuration, typically only the two lower levels at one or both ends of the facility are used. The arena configuration seats 20,662 spectators, but capacity can be expanded to 36,500 when the upper level is opened.
The Alamodome has 38 luxury suites and 6,000 club level seats. The original design specifications called for 66 luxury suites. But since the San Antonio Spurs were the only occupant at the time, only 38 luxury suites in the north end of the facility were built (where the basketball court was placed, and a curtain separated it from the south end). The footprints for the 28 unbuilt luxury suites are now open floor space just behind the club level seats that surround the south end of the facility.
The Alamodome has two permanent Olympic-size ice rinks that can be used for NHL games, figure skating and speed skating. The facility also contains 30,000 square feet of meeting rooms and 160,000 square feet of continuous exhibit space.
[edit] Events and Tenants
The Alamodome was home to the NBA San Antonio Spurs from 1993 to 2002 and the CFL San Antonio Texans in 1995. The facility also hosts special events such as the annual Alamo Bowl football game, NCAA basketball and volleyball tournament games, and the men's and women's basketball Final Four (1998, 2002 and 2004; future Final Fours are scheduled for 2008 and 2010). Other NCAA events including the 1997 and 1999 Big 12 Conference football championship games were played in the facility. The NBA All-Star Game was played in the Alamodome in 1996, and the facility hosted WWF Royal Rumble in 1997. The facility also was one of three 'home' stadiums for the displaced NFL New Orleans Saints during the 2005 NFL season and was also the Dallas Cowboys' training camp site in 2002 and 2003.
From July 5 to 16, 2006, the Alamodome hosted the 2006 ELCA Youth Gathering. Approximately 40,000 youth and adult leaders attended the event between the two weeks it was spread.
[edit] NBA Basketball
The San Antonio Spurs moved to the Alamodome from HemisFair Arena after the 1992-93 NBA season. The Spurs played nine seasons in the Alamodome, winning their first NBA championship there against the New York Knicks in 1999. Attendance was 39,514 for Game 1 of the 1999 NBA Finals. Though the late 1990's saw the Spurs soar to unprecedented popularity, the decision was made (in part because the football-intended Alamodome has poor sight lines for basketball) to move the team out of the spacious stadium and build a new arena. Moving the team out of the Alamodome opened up more contiguous dates allowing the facility to schedule more conventions, which over time have proven to be more profitable not just for the facility, but for the city economy as well. The Spurs moved to the AT&T Center after the 2001-2002 season, and the Alamodome continues to be used for other events such as football games, trade shows, concerts and ice shows.
[edit] Football
[edit] Alamo Bowl
The Alamodome is the site of the annual Alamo Bowl, which usually matches the fourth-choice (not necessarily fourth-place) teams from the Big Ten Conference and the Big 12 Conference.
[edit] AT&T Corps Classic
September 16, 2006, will mark the first game in a college football "home and home" series, known as the AT&T Corps Classic, between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Army Black Knights. Army has elected to play its "home" game at the Alamodome in order to increase the program's exposure around the nation, as it competes as an independent. The second game is scheduled to be played at College Station in 2008.
[edit] Canadian Football League
The Alamodome was also home to the San Antonio Texans for the 1995 season. The stadium was attractive to the Canadian Football League (which made an ill-fated attempt to expand to the U.S. between 1993 and 1995) since it could accommodate the CFL's larger playing field. In the first CFL playoff game ever played between two U.S.-based franchises, the Texans defeated the Birmingham Barracudas 52-9 at the Alamodome on November 5. But the Texans would lose to the Baltimore Stallions 11-21 in Baltimore on November 11. The Texans folded after the 1995 season due to low attendance, financial problems, and the disbanding of the other U.S. teams.
[edit] High School Class 5A Texas Football Championship Games
The Alamodome will be the site for state high school football championship games for Class 5A Divisions I and II for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The stadium also regularly hosts playoff games in earlier rounds.
[edit] National Football League
The Alamodome has played host to six NFL preseason games. Two each were played in 1993 and 1994, one in 1995, and one in 2001.
- August 7, 1993 - Houston Oilers (28) vs. New Orleans Saints (37) - Attendance: 40,308
- August 21, 1993 - Dallas Cowboys (20) vs. Houston Oilers (23) - Attendance: 63,285
- August 6, 1994 - Houston Oilers (31) vs. San Diego Chargers (3) - Attendance: 29,815
- August 20, 1994 - Buffalo Bills (18) vs. Houston Oilers (16) - Attendance: 40,504
- August 26, 1995 - Dallas Cowboys (10) vs. Houston Oilers (0) - Attendance: 52,512
- August 11, 2001 - Minnesota Vikings (28) vs. New Orleans Saints (21) - Attendance: 46,752
In 2005, the NFL announced that the Alamodome would host three of the New Orleans Saints regular season 'home' games due to the damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina. The Saints played the Buffalo Bills, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Detroit Lions at the Alamodome. Although there have been many NFL preseason and exhibition games held in San Antonio over the years, these games were the first NFL regular season games played in the city. The Saints also played one 2005 season 'home' game in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and four others in LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. Overall, the Saints averaged over 62,000 fans in the 65,000-seat Alamodome for the three games held there. Despite strong attendance in San Antonio, the Saints and the NFL announced that the team would return to Louisiana for the 2006 season even though at the time the NFL was uncertain where they would play their home games. Additionally, due in part to the attendance success the Saints had in San Antonio, the issue of the city being mature enough to be an NFL city has been settled and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue indicated that if the NFL expands again, San Antonio would be on the short list of candidate cities. Even though public opinion is that he would never let go of the Cowboys-crazed San Antonio market, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise. [1]
- October 2, 2005 - Buffalo Bills (7) vs. New Orleans Saints (19) - Attendance: 58,688
- October 16, 2005 - Atlanta Falcons (34) vs. New Orleans Saints (31) - Attendance: 65,562 (facility record crowd for a sporting event)
- December 24, 2005 - Detroit Lions (13) vs. New Orleans Saints (12) - Attendance: 63,747
The Dallas Cowboys held their 2002 and 2003 preseason training camps at the Alamodome. The team will return in 2007 and stay through 2011.[2]
[edit] Toyota Tundra Texas Football Classic
Since 1999, the Alamodome has been home to the Texas Football Classic, which kicks off the high school football season in Texas. Now in its eighth year, the event has expanded to five games, featuring prominent high school programs from across the state. Former particpants include Chicago Bears and former University of Texas running back Cedric Benson, University of Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, University of Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb, and University of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.
[edit] Future Tenants
Another potential tenant for the Alamodome has been discussed. The University of Texas at San Antonio is considering forming a football program, and according to a January 23, 2006, report in the university's student newspaper, The Paisano, the new team would possibly play their home games in the Alamodome. [3]
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Louisiana Superdome 1975–2005 | Home of the New Orleans Saints 2005 (3 games) | Succeeded by: Louisiana Superdome 2006–present |
| Preceded by: HemisFair Arena 1973–1993 | Home of the San Antonio Spurs 1993–2002 | Succeeded by: AT&T Center 2002–present |
Categories: Basketball venues in the United States | College football venues | Covered stadiums | Current NCAA bowl game venues | Defunct Canadian football venues | San Antonio Spurs | Sports in San Antonio | Sports venues in Texas | Professional wrestling venues | NBA All-Star Game Venues | NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Venues
