Alamodome
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The Alamodome is a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas. It hosted the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA from 1993-2002, the San Antonio Texans of the CFL in 1995 and is the site of the annual Alamo Bowl. The facility also occasionally hosts NCAA Basketball Tournament games, including men's and women's Final Four events in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, and 2010.
Opened on May 15, 1993, the stadium cost $186 million, financed through a city sales tax. The triple-decked stadium curved around the football field, though only the lower two decks at one end were used for basketball games. In this setup, the stadium sat 20,662 for basketball, though opening up the upper decks for popular games expanded the capacity up to 32,000. The stadium seats up to 66,000 for football games. The Alamodome includes 38 luxury suites and 6,000 club seats.
Though the late 1990's saw the Spurs soar to unprecendented popularity, the decision was made to move the team out of the spacious stadium and to build the new, smaller, SBC Center. Using the Alamodome as a convention center and for football is far more profitable, in part because a football stadium provides relatively poor sight lines for basketball. The Spurs moved out after the 2001-2002 season, and the arena continues to be used for other events.
On April 15, 2005, the San Antonio city council voted to spend about $6.5 million in order to try to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to the dome. However, with the election of Phil Hardberger as mayor who opposed the deal from day one, it looks as if the deal is dead.