Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: San Diego CA>Tijuana, BC>San Antonio, TX
6,514 posts, read 7,555,349 times
Reputation: 6888
Advertisements
After reading this 2013 article, I am curious to hear the opinions of board members. With it now having 2 permanent tenants (Talons and UTSA), was it worth it to vote for the Alamodome in 1989 and build it 1993?
I have included a poll that hopefully captures all the sentiments of the citizens of San Antonio.
Editor’s Note: Susan Blackwood, executive director of San Antonio Sports, presided over many of the Alamodome’s most memorable sporting events in her 16 years at the helm of our city’s sports commission. Under Blackwood’s tenure, San Antonio Sports has hosted three NCAA Men’s Final Four Basketball Championships, two Women’s Final Fours, two NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships and five years of the Rock ‘N Roll San Antonio Marathon & ½ Marathon. Since 1991, those events have had a direct economic impact of more than $400 million and have brought national and international media exposure to San Antonio. Blackwood left her post at the end of 2012 to oversee governmental relations for the organization. During the current legislative session she has advocated for continuation of the Major Events Trust Fund, which has been used for infrastructure improvements so the Alamodome continues to attract premier amateur athletic events.
The 1989 vote to build the Alamodome was a gift from the community to itself. The ‘Dome was scheduled to open just in time for the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival. It was built to jumpstart the sports tourism sector of our economy, but it has done so much more for San Antonio. Even after our HemisFair ’68 coming out party, San Antonio was burdened with the “little brother” syndrome. We viewed ourselves as the little brother to Dallas, Houston and even Austin. Because we looked at ourselves this way, the rest of the country did, too. Often, it made us reluctant to invest in ourselves, because…why bother? The ‘Dome vote was part of a two-decade process of changing our community self-image. Instead of wanting to become the next Dallas or Austin or Boston, we were ready to fully realize the promise of being San Antonio. Investing in the ‘Dome meant that we were going to compete with other cities to host NCAA Final Fours, Olympic Festivals, bowl games and concerts. A few even dreamed of the NFL.
The Alamodome, unlike many venues in other cities, was built debt-free. Built with a VIA sales tax that started to be collected well before construction began, the Alamodome was paid off within 18 months of opening. The initial investment of $186 million was recouped from our four NCAA Men’s Final Fours alone. Being built without debt and having an immediate inventory of big events, the outside dollars brought in to our community dropped straight to our economic bottom line. Dreaming of the NFL taught us a few lessons, but suddenly our name was being mentioned in the same breath as San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Baltimore, etc. Although the Spurs weren’t a part of the original plan, almost as soon as the election results were confirmed, Red was meeting with Henry to work on moving the Spurs to the ‘Dome. It was a major upgrade for the Spurs (leading to our first NBA Championship) and it allowed our convention business to grow by expanding the Convention Center into the old footprint of the Arena.
While some were dreaming NFL dreams, others were making dreams come true by going head-to-head with the most vibrant cities in the country and winning the rights to host the 1993 US Olympic Festival; the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1998, 2004 and 2008; the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2002 and 2010; and the NCAA Volleyball Final Four in 2011. The NBA validated the status of the Spurs as the best-managed franchise in the NBA by selecting San Antonio to host the 1996 NBA All-Star Weekend.
There is a lingering urban legend that the ‘Dome sits empty for months on end and then opens for the Alamo Bowl. For those of us who try to schedule events there, we know how false that image really is. To set the record straight, take a look at just a few of the other major sporting events that have brought hundreds of millions of out-of-town dollars to San Antonio:
The Big 12 Football Championships in 1997, 1999 and 2007
Alamo Bowl from 1993-2012 (19 of them)
The largest-ever figure-skating event in U.S. history in 1993
InterLiga Soccer (2 matches) 2005
Dallas Cowboys Training Camps 2002, 2003, 207, 2009 and 2010
Notre Dame (2009) and Texas A&M (2006) off-campus home football games
UIL State Football Championships (almost too many to mention)
The ‘Dome has allowed San Antonio to host concerts that would have never come to San Antonio, like Paul McCartney’s New World Tour, Ozzfest, Brittany Spears, Boyz II Men’s Around the World Tour, The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. But its music legacy isn’t merely super-tours.
The Alamodome has become the center of the marching band universe. Every summer, the Drum Corps International hosts its DCI Southwestern Championship in the Dome. Bands of America hosts its Super-Regional in the Dome every November and the UIL hosts the State Marching Band contest in the ‘Dome. The community impact is also quite powerful. Whether it is entertainment events like concerts, Royal Rumbles, Monster Trucks, the AFL Talons, or the dozens of annual graduations, the ‘Dome has become a place for making memories. Religious mega-events like the 40,000 ELCA Youth Gathering and the Billy Graham Crusade in 2006 have changed our community spiritually. The ‘Dome’s home shows have become the must-do family event before home-improvement season every year.
Over its two decades anchoring the east side of Hemisfair Park, the Alamodome has become a gift to ourselves that keeps on giving. Whether it is bringing tens of millions of dollars to our community for mega-events, or bringing families together for graduations, the ‘Dome has become an old friend and it is an old friend that is looking forward to the next 20 years.
The Alamodome was recently bid as the site for the 2016 Olympic Swimming Trials. San Antonio lost that bid to Omaha, but undoubtedly the city is that much closer now to bringing the event here one day. San Antonio has once again been invited to bid to host one of the next round of Final Fours. If we are selected, the Final Four will again be in the Alamodome and San Antonio will be the “best site ever for a Final Four.”
Because we don’t have an NFL team, UTSA Football has become a prime tenant. Having the ‘Dome as its home field allowed UTSA to set single-game and single-season attendance records for a first-year FBS team. More importantly, it is going to accelerate UTSA’s development into a major football school.
With the development of elite youth soccer in San Antonio and the success of the Scorpions, plans are being laid for a major international soccer game in the ‘Dome every year, along with a college basketball tournament. The Alamodome is going stronger than ever.
After 20 years, it also needs some work, much like a 20-year old house. Fortunately, modest investments will reap big rewards. Major college football and basketball, international soccer, Olympic Trials and Final Fours, graduations and concerts, economic impact and family memories, this will be the next 20 years of the Dome.
There are some that know the behind the scenes politics much better than I do but I will say that as a 21yr old when it was voted on (24 when it opened) I was excited about it. Learning there were less than 6K parking spaces immediately turned me of to it (didnt want to HAVE to use park and ride) and over the course of the 20years since it was open I can say I have been there less than 10 times.
In that respect I wish it was never built as it really did nothing for me directly. I have gotten FAR more use out of the AT&T Center and I dont even like the Spurs.
You mean the "con-dome" that slick henry sold us with the promise of " If you build it, they will come" and the dream of an NFL team??? Lets build a 65k seat stadium and only have 3k parking spots. Yeah, right. This whole idea that everything has to be downtown is a joke. You can only pile so much manure in a 5 gallon bucket.
I was against it when it was built, but it is paid for now. It might be adequate for UTSA football games and various other uses, but we don't need a replacement venue for the same reason the Alamodome shouldn't have been built in the first place. Now if we land an MLB franchise that wants to play in air conditioned comfort, then a new stadium would have merit. Until then, just renovate what we have.
IMO, the best thing about the Alamodome is that it serves as an enduring reminder that one should never, ever build a stadium in the hope of landing a team.
We're probably 10-20 years away from electing a mayor whose legacy will be to tear the dome down and build something "better" there. I only hope that whatever replaces it actually gets used for public events more than a couple dozen times a year.
Yeah, right. This whole idea that everything has to be downtown is a joke. You can only pile so much manure in a 5 gallon bucket.
This X1000
I remember commenting to my wife during the Spurs river parade that I like that we are known for the Riverwalk but I hate that it seems all anyone cares about is making us ONLY known for the Riverwalk (the Alamo kind of goes without saying)
IMO, the best thing about the Alamodome is that it serves as an enduring reminder that one should never, ever build a stadium in the hope of landing a team.
I remember the campaign to build the dome, and the hope of landing an NFL expansion franchise was the primary justification that proponents were trying to sell to the voters. "If we build it - they will come", was the mantra that could be heard throughout the campaign, with "we" being the taxpayers, and "they" being the NFL. The dome was located and designed so that it could also accommodate other events and conventions, during the off season.
Despite having the population and an enthusiastic NFL fan base, local leaders told us that without a suitable venue - even something that could be used in the interim - San Antonio had virtually no chance of getting an NFL franchise, expansion or otherwise. By building a state-of-the-art facility, that would be built with public money, and PAID FOR when completed, would not only give us the venue we needed, it would have the added advantage of not having any debt service to be paid off for years to come. This would be very attractive to an NFL franchise owner. It was mentioned that the Astrodome, for example, still wasn't paid for. The NFL franchise would pay for the sustained operating cost of the dome, to boot. But the expansion came and went, with Jacksonville being awarded the franchise that San Antonio thought they had in the bag.
The Alamodome did snag the Spurs from the old Hemisfair Arena, but after a few years in the dome, the Spurs came forward, and said "The Alamodome isn't working for us. We will need to build a new venue, in order for the Spurs franchise to remain viable in San Antonio". The wrecking ball was tearing into the old arena at this point, so there was no going back to that venue. So we got the SBC (now AT&T) Center.
I remember the campaign to build the dome, and the hope of landing an NFL expansion franchise was the primary justification that proponents were trying to sell to the voters. "If we build it - they will come", was the mantra that could be heard throughout the campaign, with "we" being the taxpayers, and "they" being the NFL. The dome was located and designed so that it could also accommodate other events and conventions, during the off season.
Despite having the population and an enthusiastic NFL fan base, local leaders told us that without a suitable venue - even something that could be used in the interim - San Antonio had virtually no chance of getting an NFL franchise, expansion or otherwise. By building a state-of-the-art facility, that would be built with public money, and PAID FOR when completed, would not only give us the venue we needed, it would have the added advantage of not having any debt service to be paid off for years to come. This would be very attractive to an NFL franchise owner. It was mentioned that the Astrodome, for example, still wasn't paid for. The NFL franchise would pay for the sustained operating cost of the dome, to boot. But the expansion came and went, with Jacksonville being awarded the franchise that San Antonio thought they had in the bag.
The Alamodome did snag the Spurs from the old Hemisfair Arena, but after a few years in the dome, the Spurs came forward, and said "The Alamodome isn't working for us. We will need to build a new venue, in order for the Spurs franchise to remain viable in San Antonio". The wrecking ball was tearing into the old arena at this point, so there was no going back to that venue. So we got the SBC (now AT&T) Center.
Just to add...I remember this campaign as well.
I remember when then sportscaster Joe Fowler (yes, the same guy doing infommercials for the last 20 plus years) taking a helicopter ride with then Mayor Henry Cisneros surveying possible locations for the stadium.
If I remember well, Fowler's campaign motto was WWPB! (We Want Pro Ball!)
And now we are using pretty much the same logic to build a street car system. Anybody else see the parallel. In 1993 San Antonio was building a boondoggle/white elephant and our Mayor was running off to Washington to be a big time politician. Today San Antonio is in the process of building yet another boondoggle/white elephant and our Mayor is running off to Washington to be a big time politician. And the beat goes on.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
