Alamodome

Design and Operational Features

The Alamodome is a rectilinear, five-level stadium designed for maximum flexibility and conversion between event types. Its standard configuration for football and marching band competitions seats 64,000 spectators, but it can be expanded to accommodate up to 72,000. A key operational feature is its ability to convert into a basketball or hockey arena within 12 to 18 hours through the use of retractable seating and an installable playing surface. In this arena configuration, typically only the two lower levels are used, creating a setting for 20,662 fans, though capacity can be increased to 39,500 by opening the upper deck. The facility can also be adapted into a smaller auditorium space branded as the Illusions Theater, which seats upwards of 11,000 using floor space and the north grandstand.

When it opened, the Alamodome featured 38 luxury suites and 6,000 club-level seats, which was fewer than the original design specification for 66 suites. The footprints for the 28 unbuilt suites remained as open floor space behind the club level seats at the south end. An expansion in 2006 added 14 new luxury suites, and the Sports Club and the Top of the Dome restaurant also received renovations in 2004. The venue contains two permanent Olympic-size ice rinks suitable for NHL games, figure skating, and speed skating. For convention business, a primary reason for its construction, the Alamodome offers 30,000 square feet of meeting rooms and 160,000 square feet of continuous exhibit space to attract events and visitors to the city.

Professional Basketball Tenancy and Events

The move was driven by owner Red McCombs' desire for a larger arena than the HemisFair Arena, and the team played nine seasons in the facility. During the regular season, most of the upper level was curtained off, but for popular opponents and weekends, capacity could be expanded to 35,000 by opening three portions of the upper deck. For playoffs, more sections were opened, expanding capacity to 39,500, with attendance for Game 1 of the 1999 NBA Finals at 39,514 and 39,554 for Game 2 during the Spurs' championship season. Despite the team's success, management and fans grew dissatisfied with the basketball configuration and the cavernous feel of the stadium. The court was placed at one end of the venue with temporary stands on one side, leaving over half the stadium curtained off and creating poor sight lines, a configuration similar to the Detroit Pistons' earlier tenancy at the Pontiac Silverdome. This setup also meant television broadcast trucks were often placed on the unused half of the football playing surface, and the Spurs' deep playoff runs tied up the facility for much of the year, limiting availability for conventions or a prospective football team. The team moved to the new SBC Center after the 2002 season, and the Alamodome also hosted the 1996 NBA All-Star Game. On January 13, 2023, the Spurs returned for a 50th-anniversary game against the Golden State Warriors, setting a regular season single-game attendance record with 68,323 spectators and marking the first NBA game at the dome since 2002.

College and High School Football Events

The Alamodome hosts a dense calendar of college and high school football events throughout the year. It is the permanent site of the annual Alamo Bowl, which matches the second-choice teams from the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences. The 2006 Alamo Bowl between Texas and Iowa drew 65,875 fans, a facility record that was broken the next year when 66,166 attended the game between Texas A&M and Penn State. The dome has hosted the Big 12 Football Championship Game in 1997, 1999, and 2007, and it also hosted the Conference USA Football Championship Game in 2021 and 2022, both won by the UTSA Roadrunners.

The facility has been a venue for several other special college football games and all-star events. The AT&T Corps Classic between Texas A&M and Army was played there on September 16, 2006, drawing a sell-out crowd of 64,583, with Army electing to play its 'home' game in San Antonio to increase national exposure. The 2006 East-West Shrine Game, an annual post-season all-star game, was held at the Alamodome on January 21, 2006, marking the first time in decades it was played outside the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Houston in 2007. For high school football, the Alamodome hosted the Texas Football Classic from 1999 to 2011, featuring prominent state programs and players like Cedric Benson and Chase Daniel. Since 2002, it has hosted the All-American Bowl, a national all-star game for U.S. high school football, which drew a record 40,568 spectators in 2017, and University Interscholastic League state playoff games are also regularly held there.

• Alamo Bowl: Annual game since 1993.
• Big 12 Championship Game: 1997, 1999, 2007.
• Conference USA Championship Game: 2021, 2022.
• AT&T Corps Classic: September 16, 2006.
• East-West Shrine Game: January 21, 2006.
• All-American Bowl: Hosted annually since 2002.
• Texas Football Classic: 1999 to 2011.

Professional Football History

The Alamodome was home to the San Antonio Texans for the 1995 Canadian Football League season. The stadium was attractive to the CFL as it was one of the rare American facilities that could fully accommodate the league's larger playing field through retractable seating. In the first CFL playoff game between two U.S. franchises, the Texans defeated the Birmingham Barracudas 52 to 9 at the Alamodome on November 5 in front of 13,031 fans. The team then lost to the Baltimore Stallions the next week, ending their season, and the franchise folded after one year as the CFL's U.S. expansion collapsed, making that game the last significant CFL contest played in the United States.

In the National Football League, the Alamodome has hosted six preseason games in 1993, 1994, 1995, and 2001. In 2005, it hosted three New Orleans Saints regular season games after Hurricane Katrina, with the Saints averaging 62,665 fans for contests against Buffalo, Atlanta, and Detroit. The Dallas Cowboys held their preseason training camp at the dome in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The arena football San Antonio Talons played from 2012 to 2014, averaging 7,209 fans over 28 home games and winning a division title in 2012. The Alliance of American Football's San Antonio Commanders played the league's inaugural game there on February 9, 2019, against the San Diego Fleet and averaged 27,391 fans before the league folded in April. The San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL (now UFL) began play in 2023 with an opening loss to St. Louis before 24,245 fans, and the Alamodome hosted the inaugural XFL championship game on May 13, 2023, chosen for its history of large events.

NCAA Basketball Championships and Other Events

The Alamodome has hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four on multiple occasions. It has also hosted the NCAA Women's Final Four. The facility can be adapted for various sporting events and configurations. Beyond basketball, the Alamodome has a history with professional wrestling, hosting WWE's Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 1997, 2017, and 2023. The 1997 event drew over 60,000 fans and saw San Antonio native Shawn Michaels win the championship. From 2013 to 2017, Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers played annual exhibition games at the dome to close spring training, facing teams like the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Indians, though the short right-field fence of 272 feet makes it unsuitable for regular play. In October 2020, The Spring League operated a bubble season from the Alamodome under a television agreement with Fox Sports 1, though COVID-19 issues forced the final week's games to be rescheduled and the championship moved to Orlando. The dome also serves as a venue for large community events like UTSA and most Northside ISD high school graduation ceremonies.

University of Texas at San Antonio Tenancy

The UTSA Roadrunners football program began using the Alamodome in 2011. The Roadrunners set records for the largest attendance at an initial game for a start up NCAA college football program at 56,743 fans. They also set the record for the largest average attendance for a start up program's first season at 35,521. The Alamodome's standard football capacity of 64,000 made it the largest stadium in Conference USA during UTSA's tenure in that conference.

For most games, UTSA only sells tickets for the lower bowl, with a capacity of 36,582. The Alamodome hosted the Conference USA Football Championship Game in 2021 and 2022 with UTSA defeating Western Kentucky and North Texas. The facility also hosts UTSA's graduation ceremonies. The Alamodome's regular tenant is currently the UTSA Roadrunners.

Attendance Records and Facility Use Analysis

Attendance at the Alamodome has varied dramatically based on the tenant and the event type, reflecting its multi-purpose nature and the popularity of different sports in the market. The all-time facility record for a sporting event is 66,166, set at the 2007 Alamo Bowl between Texas A&M and Penn State. For basketball, the record is 68,323 for the Spurs' 2023 regular season anniversary game, while NBA playoff crowds in 1999 exceeded 39,500. The UTSA Roadrunners set notable records for a start-up NCAA program, but typically use the lower bowl's 36,582 seats. The dome proved highly successful for the Alliance of American Football's San Antonio Commanders in 2019, who averaged 27,391 fans, more than double the league's other seven teams who averaged 13,524.

Other tenants had more modest draws, with the Arena Football League's San Antonio Talons averaging 7,209 fans over 28 home games from 2012 to 2014. The CFL's San Antonio Texans averaged a respectable 15,573 in 1995, and the New Orleans Saints averaged 62,665 for their three 2005 regular season games. The financial and operational model for the dome relies on hosting a mix of events. The departure of the Spurs was motivated in part to free up dates for conventions and other bookings, though the facility has yet to host a Super Bowl. The table below illustrates the range of attendance figures for key tenants and one-time events, demonstrating the venue's adaptability to different audience sizes.

Questions about Alamodome

What is the seating capacity of the Alamodome?

The Alamodome's seating capacity is flexible depending on the event. For standard football games and marching band competitions, it seats 64,000 spectators and can be expanded to hold 72,000. When configured for basketball or hockey, typically using only the lower levels, it seats 20,662, but can expand to 39,500 by opening the upper deck. The venue can also be set up as the Illusions Theater, an intimate auditorium space seating upwards of 11,000 using floor space and the north grandstand.

Why did the San Antonio Spurs leave the Alamodome?

The Spurs became disenchanted with the facility and convinced Bexar County to construct a new arena for them. While the Alamodome had been designed to accommodate basketball, it was primarily a football stadium. Spurs management and fans grew increasingly dissatisfied with its poor sight lines and cavernous feel for basketball. Moving the Spurs out of the Alamodome opened up more contiguous dates allowing the facility to schedule more events.

Which sports teams have called the Alamodome home?

The Alamodome is currently the home of the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners. Previously, it was home to the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA from 1993 to 2002, the San Antonio Texans of the CFL in 1995, the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football in 2019, and the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL in 2024. Recent tenants also include the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League. The facility was originally intended to attract a professional football franchise and to placate the Spurs' demands for a larger arena. The Spurs played there for nine seasons, including their first NBA championship season in 1999, before moving to a new arena due to dissatisfaction with the sight lines and cavernous feel.

Has the Alamodome ever hosted the NCAA Final Four?

Yes, the Alamodome has hosted the NCAA Final Four multiple times. It first hosted in 1998 when Kentucky won the tournament. It then hosted again in 2004 when Connecticut defeated Georgia Tech, and in 2008 when Kansas defeated Memphis. The Final Four returned in 2018 with Villanova defeating Michigan, using a center court configuration that allowed a crowd of over 70,000. It is scheduled to host again in 2025. The facility has also hosted the Women's Final Four in 2002, 2010, and 2021, with another scheduled for 2029, as well as the 2011 NCAA women's volleyball Final Four.

Did an NFL team ever play regular season games at the Alamodome?

Yes, the Alamodome has hosted NFL regular season games. In 2005, it hosted three of the New Orleans Saints' regular season home games due to damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina. The Saints played the Buffalo Bills in week 4, the Atlanta Falcons in week 6, and the Detroit Lions in week 16 at the Alamodome. These were the first NFL regular season games played in San Antonio. The Saints averaged 62,665 fans for these three games in the 64,000 seat stadium. The Alamodome has also hosted six NFL preseason games in various years.

What major annual football game is played at the Alamodome?

The Alamodome is the site of the annual Alamo Bowl, which matches the second choice teams from the Pac 12 Conference and the Big 12 Conference. The 2006 Alamo Bowl set a facility record crowd of 65,875, which was broken the next year by an attendance of 66,166. The facility also regularly hosts UIL State Football Playoff games, including State Quarterfinals and championship games in years like 2002 and 2006. It has hosted other major football events such as the Big 12 Conference championship game in 1997, 1999, and 2007, and the All American Bowl, a national high school all star game, since 2002.

Sources and further reading

• Alamodome (Wikipedia)
• Alamodome (alamodome.com)
• Alamodome Stadium, Montana Streets, Seating Capacity, ... (sportsmatik.com)
• After rough start, Alamodome thriving as sports venue (expressnews.com)
• Alamodome (goutsa.com)

Checked by the Garbutt Disposal desk. Last updated 2026-10-18.