The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...
in
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. It is located on the southeastern fringe of
downtown San Antonio
Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, and the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people.
Downtown San Antonio is encircled by Texas State Highway Loop 1604, 16 ...
. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 million.
The multi-purpose facility was intended to increase the city's convention traffic and attract a professional football franchise. It also placated the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
' demands for a larger arena. The Spurs played in the Alamodome for a decade, then became disenchanted with the facility and convinced
Bexar County to construct a new arena for them, now called the
Frost Bank Center. The Alamodome's regular tenants are currently the
San Antonio Brahmas
The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...
of the
United Football League and the
UTSA Roadrunners
The UTSA Roadrunners is a collegiate athletic program that represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The UTSA Roadrunners are also commonly referred to as "UTSA", "Roadrunners", or "Runners", and are represented by the mascot Ro ...
. Recent tenants include the
San Antonio Commanders
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
and the
San Antonio Talons
The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season.
The ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
.
Features
The facility is a rectilinear 5-level stadium which can seat up to 64,000 spectators for a typical football game and marching band competitions and is expandable to hold 72,000 spectators.
The stadium was designed to easily convert into a basketball or hockey arena. Converting the stadium for basketball and hockey takes 12–18 hours to set up retractable seating and installing the playing surface. In this configuration, typically only the two lower levels at one or both ends are used. The arena configuration seats 20,662 spectators, but is expandable to 39,500 when the upper level is opened. The stadium can also be adapted into a smaller auditorium space (branded as the "Illusions Theater"), with an intimate, enclosed setting, seating upwards of 11,000 using floor space and the north grandstand.
The Alamodome opened with 38
luxury suites and 6,000
club level seats. The original design specifications called for 66 luxury suites. However, since the Spurs were the only full-time tenant at the time, only 38 luxury suites in the north end of the facility were built. The footprints for the 28 unbuilt luxury suites were open floor space just behind the club level seats that surround the south end of the facility. In 2006, the Alamodome underwent an expansion to accommodate 14 new luxury suites.
[2006 Alamo Bowl Media Guide, pp. 1–22, (PDF)]
, The San Antonio Bowl Association. The Sports Club and the Top of the Dome restaurant also received renovations in 2004.
The Alamodome has two permanent Olympic-size ice rinks that can be used for
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
games, figure skating and speed skating. The facility also contains of meeting rooms and of continuous exhibit space.
Events and tenants
The Alamodome is currently the home of the
San Antonio Brahmas
The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...
of the
UFL and the
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,[San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...]
of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
from 1993 to 2002, the
San Antonio Texans
The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Mi ...
of the
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
in 1995, and the
San Antonio Commanders
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
(AAF) in 2019.
The facility also hosts special events such as the annual
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second ...
football game,
UTSA's graduation ceremonies, as well as most of
Northside ISD's high school graduation ceremonies.
UIL State Football Playoff games are regularly held in the Alamodome, including State Quarterfinals/Region 4 Finals and championship games in 2002, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
NBA basketball
The Alamodome's ability to easily accommodate basketball made it attractive to then-Spurs owner
Red McCombs
Billy Joe "Red" McCombs (October 19, 1927 – February 19, 2023) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of iHeartMedia, Clear Channel Communications, a past chairma ...
, who had been looking for some time for a larger arena to replace their longtime home,
HemisFair Arena
HemisFair Arena (also known as the San Antonio Convention Center Arena) was an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the ABA/NBA's San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1993 and the San Antonio Force of the AFL during the 1992 sea ...
. The Spurs moved to the Alamodome after the
1992–93 NBA season. They played nine seasons in the Alamodome from 1993 to 2002, including their first NBA championship season, which was played against the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
in 1999.
During the regular season, most of the upper level was curtained off. However, on certain weekends and when popular opponents came to town, the Spurs expanded the Alamodome's capacity to 35,000 by opening three portions of the upper level. More sections of the upper level were opened for the playoffs, expanding capacity to 39,500. Attendance was 39,514 for Game 1 of the
1999 NBA Finals
The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks f ...
and 39,554 for Game 2.
Though the late 1990s saw the Spurs soar in popularity, the decision was made to move the team out of the spacious stadium and build a new arena. While the Alamodome had been designed to accommodate basketball, it was primarily a football stadium. As the years passed, Spurs management and fans grew increasingly dissatisfied with its poor sight lines and cavernous feel. Part of the problem was the manner in which the Alamodome was configured for basketball. The basketball court was at one end of the venue with temporary stands on one side of the court, leaving over half of the stadium curtained off (the same problem and configuration existed for the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
in the mid-1980s during their tenancy at the
Pontiac Silverdome
The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...
). Television broadcast trucks were usually set up on the unused half of the playing surface. By comparison, more modern domed stadiums that can accommodate basketball, such as
AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...
in
Arlington, place the basketball court in the center of where the football field would be, allowing for much larger attendances. Additionally, the Spurs tied up the Alamodome for most of the winter and spring due to their deep playoff runs (they only missed the playoffs once in their nine years there). With the Alamodome booked solid well into April, it was difficult to accommodate conventions, concerts or even a prospective football team. Moving the Spurs out of the Alamodome opened up more contiguous dates allowing the facility to schedule more events, though it has yet to host a Super Bowl. The Spurs moved to the new
SBC Center after the
2001–02 season.
The
1996 NBA All-Star Game was played in the Alamodome.
The Spurs hosted the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
at the Alamodome to celebrate their 50th anniversary in San Antonio on January 13, 2023, marking the first NBA game held at the Dome since Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference semifinals. The game set a regular season single-game attendance record with 68,323 spectators.
College and high school football
Alamo Bowl
The Alamodome is the site of the annual
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the second ...
, which matches the second-choice teams from the
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
and the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
. The
2006 Alamo Bowl between the
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...
and the
Iowa Hawkeyes was attended by 65,875, which set a facility-record crowd for a sporting event,
[2006 Alamo Bowl attendance ranks as the #1 all-time sports attendance in Alamodome history]
, The San Antonio Bowl Association, December 30, 2006. only to have that record broken by an Alamo Bowl event the next year between
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
and
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
, which drew 66,166 attendees.
[http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/big12/stories/MYSA123007.01C.AlamoBowlLead.en.2ff528d.html ]
Corps Classic
September 16, 2006, marked the first game in a college football "home and home" series, known as the
AT&T Corps Classic, between the
Texas A&M Aggies
The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...
and the
Army Black Knights
The Army Black Knights are the athletic teams that represent the United States Military Academy, located in West Point, New York.
The Black Knights compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a non-footb ...
. 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. A sell-out crowd of 64,583 watched the Aggies defeat the Black Knights 28–24.
[ The second game was played at ]Kyle Field
Kyle Field is an American football stadium in College Station, Texas located on the campus of Texas A&M University. It has been the home to the Texas A&M Aggies football team in rudimentary form since 1904, and as a permanent concrete stadium s ...
in College Station in 2008.
East–West Shrine Game
The 2006 East–West Shrine Game
East West (or East and West) may refer to:
*East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture
Arts and entertainment
Books, journals and magazines
*'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
was played in the Alamodome on January 21, 2006. The game is an annual post-season college football all-star game. For most of its history, the game has been played in the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
, at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and at Stanford Stadium
Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened in 19 ...
. In recent years it has been played at AT&T Park
Oracle Park is a ballpark in the South of Market, San Francisco, SoMa district of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). The stadium stands along San Francisco Bay ...
. In 2006, the game was played in the Alamodome, moving out of the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time in decades. The Shrine Game was moved once again for its 2007 event, to Robertson Stadium
John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wom ...
in Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
Texas Football Classic
From 1999 to 2011, the Alamodome was home to the Texas Football Classic, which featured prominent high school programs from across the state and kicked off the high school football season in Texas. Former participants include former Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
and University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
running back Cedric Benson, University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
quarterback Drew Tate, University of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
quarterback Kevin Kolb, and University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
quarterback Chase Daniel.
All-American Bowl
Since 2002, the Alamodome has hosted the All-American Bowl
The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985.
In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...
—a national all-star game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
for U.S. high school football. Played in early-January, the game features teams representing the eastern and western United States. The 2017 edition hosted a record 40,568 spectators.
Texas vs. the Nation
In 2011, the Texas vs. The Nation game was moved to San Antonio and was renamed the NFLPA Game, after the new sponsor of the event. The concept of The NFLPA Game remained "Texas vs. the Nation" with seniors having ties to the state of Texas taking on top seniors from across the Nation. That was a one-year deal; the game became the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in 2012.
UTSA Roadrunners
The UTSA Roadrunners football
The UTSA Roadrunners football program represents the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in the sport of American football. The Roadrunners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...
program began using the stadium in 2011. The Roadrunners set records for largest attendance at an initial game for a start-up NCAA college football program at 56,743, and largest average attendance for a start-up program's first season at 35,521. Its standard capacity of 64,000 for football made the Alamodome the largest stadium in Conference USA
Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
Mem ...
during UTSA's tenure in that conference, and it is also the largest dedicated college stadium in the Roadrunners' current home of the American Athletic Conference
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...
(two NFL stadiums used by other American Conference teams are slightly larger). However, for most games, UTSA only sells tickets for the lower bowl, with a capacity of 36,582.
=Attendance Records
=
Conference USA Championship
The Alamodome hosted the Conference USA Football Championship Game in 2021 and 2022 with UTSA defeating Western Kentucky 49-41 and North Texas 48–27.
Big 12 Conference championship
The Alamodome hosted the Big 12 Football Championship Game in 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and 2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
.
Professional football
NFL
The Alamodome has played host to six National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
preseason games. Two each were played in 1993 and 1994, one in 1995, and one in 2001.
In 2005, the NFL announced that the Alamodome would host three of the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
' regular season "home" games due to the damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome
Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...
by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
. The Saints played the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
(week 4), the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
(week 6), and the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
(week 16) at the Alamodome. Although there have been many NFL preseason 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
Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and primarily hosted sporting events and ...
(against the New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
) in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...
, and four others in LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
. Overall, the Saints averaged 62,665 fans in the 64,000-seat Alamodome for the three games held there, a solid showing despite the short notice to sell tickets due to the hurricane. 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, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the National Football League Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September ...
indicated that if the NFL expands again, San Antonio would be on the short list of candidate cities. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise even though public opinion is that he would never let go of his team's presence in the San Antonio market.
The Dallas Cowboys held their 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 preseason training camps at the Alamodome.
On July 29, 2014, it was reported by the ''San Antonio Express-News
The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...
'' that Mark Davis met with officials from the city of San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
, to discuss the possibility of relocating the Raiders to San Antonio. Davis confirmed that he did speak with San Antonio city officials while visiting San Antonio to honor former Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch's induction into a local Hall of Fame, but did not comment on whether he was considering relocation to San Antonio. If the Raiders had relocated to San Antonio, the Alamodome would almost certainly have been used as a temporary home until a new NFL stadium was built. The Raiders decided against moving to San Antonio, first proposing unsuccessfully to return to its previous home in Los Angeles, then ultimately receiving permission to relocate to Las Vegas in 2020 by constructing Allegiant Stadium
Allegiant Stadium is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in Paradise, Nevada, southwest of adjacent Las Vegas. Opened in 2020, it is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of Nevada ...
.
CFL
The Alamodome was also home to the San Antonio Texans
The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Mi ...
for the 1995 CFL season. The stadium was attractive to the Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
(which made an ill-fated attempt to expand to the U.S. between 1993 and 1995) since it was one of the rare American facilities that could fully accommodate the CFL's larger playing field and, having just recently opened, was one of the most modern facilities in a league where the majority of its teams were playing in decades-old or poorly fit stadiums. Its seating could be retracted to fit the full 65-yard width and 150-yard length of a regulation Canadian football field (which is 34% larger than the American 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, in front of 13,031 fans. The team then lost to the eventual champion Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions (known officially as the "Baltimore Football Club" and previously as the "Baltimore CFL Colts" in its inaugural season) were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, which played ...
, 21–11, in Baltimore six days later, ending their season. This also proved to be the last game in franchise history; despite respectable attendance (15,573 average for ten home games) and manageable financial losses, widespread dysfunction among most of the rest of new American franchises led to the Texans' demise. (This made the Texans-Stallions game the last significant CFL game to be played in the United States.)
Arena football
From 2012 to 2014, the Alamodome was home to the San Antonio Talons
The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season.
The ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
. The Talons, who relocated from Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, in 2011, won the Central Division title in 2012 with a 14–4 record but were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. The team slipped to 10–8 in 2013, missing the playoffs, then to 3-15 the following year, after which they folded. Attendance at the Dome for the Talons was mediocre at best, averaging 7,209 for 28 home games.
Alliance of American Football (AAF)
In 2019, the Alamodome was the home of the San Antonio Commanders
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...
of the Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
, with the Commanders playing the AAF's inaugural game on February 9, 2019, against the San Diego Fleet. The Alamodome hosted each of the fledgling league's four best crowds, averaging 27,391 per contest (more than double that of the league's other seven teams, who averaged 13,524) before the AAF was shuttered in April 2019.
The Spring League
In October 2020, Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...
reached a multi-year agreement to televise The Spring League
The Spring League (TSL) was an American football Minor league football (gridiron), developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional football (gridiron), p ...
along with the option to acquire a minority stake in TSL. The initial agreement was to play a mini-season in late October and November 2020. The league began its fall season October 27 with six teams competing in a 12-game format over four weeks in a bubble environment, based out of the Alamodome. After experiencing problem with the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
virus at the Dome, however, the final week's games were rescheduled for a high school field in San Antonio, then cancelled. The TSL championship game, also originally scheduled to be played at the Alamodome, was held at Camping World Stadium
Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phil ...
in Orlando
Orlando commonly refers to:
* Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States
Orlando may also refer to:
People
* Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name
* Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
on December 15, 2020.
XFL/UFL
The XFL announced that the San Antonio Brahmas
The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...
would play at the Alamodome for the 2023 season on July 28, 2022. The Brahmas opened the season on February 19, 2023, in an 18–15 loss against the St. Louis Battlehawks in front of a crowd of 24,245.
The Alamodome hosted the inaugural XFL championship game on May 13, 2023. San Antonio was chosen to host because of its history of large events at the Alamodome.
College basketball
The NCAA Final Four was first hosted at the Alamodome in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
; Kentucky won the tournament. Then in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, it hosted when Connecticut defeated Georgia Tech in the championship game. It again hosted in 2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, with Kansas defeating Memphis. The Final Four returned in 2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
with Villanova defeating Michigan; this time, the event used the current "center court" configuration mandated by the NCAA, where the game is played on an elevated court and all seating is utilized, allowing a crowd of over 70,000. The Final Four returned to the Alamodome in 2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
, with Florida defeating Houston.
The Alamodome has also hosted the Women's Final Four in 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, 2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, and 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
(will be hosted again in 2029), as well as the 2011 NCAA women's volleyball Final Four.
Baseball
From 2013 to 2017, the Texas Rangers played exhibition games at the Alamodome to close out their spring training
Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
camp, the only time baseball has been played there. The Rangers took on the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
in 2013, the Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
in 2014, the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in 2015, the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
in 2016, and the Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
in 2017.
The stadium is considered unsuitable for regular baseball use, since the right-field fence is only 272 feet from home plate, well below the required 325 feet.
Soccer
Due to San Antonio's proximity to Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, the Alamodome has hosted Mexican soccer teams in various events since the mid-2000s in addition to American teams.
The Mexican national soccer team first played in the Alamodome on June 19, 2004, in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, defeating Dominica
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
10–0 in front of 37,642 fans. Mexico returned on November 10 for a friendly against Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, winning 2–0 in front of 22,000 fans. Mexico played an exhibition match against South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
on January 29, 2014, attended by 54,313 people. An exhibition match between Mexico and the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
on April 15, 2015, sold out the stadium, attracting a crowd of 64,369. The US won the game 2–0, thanks to goals from Jordan Morris and Juan Agudelo. The match was marred by Mexico's displeasure with the temporary grass field laid on the Alamodome floor, which was described as "uneven" and "full of patches".
The United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
played an exhibition match against Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
at the Alamodome on December 11, 2015, as part of their "Victory Tour" following the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
. The match was attended by 10,690 people.
The Alamodome was announced as a host venue for a doubleheader at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and played host to a double-header on July 16, 2017, between Mexico and Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
and El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
and Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
.
Two matches in the 2005 InterLiga series were played on the Alamodome on January 6, 2005, featuring Mexican club teams Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
, Chiapas F.C., Deportivo Toluca F.C., and Club Necaxa
Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...
. Club América returned for an exhibition match against Santos Laguna
Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football.
Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...
on July 9, 2016.
The Alamodome was to be the home venue of a planned Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS) franchise in 2005, but the league was unable to come to an agreement with the city. A new expansion bid plans to use Toyota Field
Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...
, a soccer-specific stadium
A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...
used by San Antonio FC, for the MLS team instead of the Alamodome.
Other sports
The 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival held some of the first paid events in the Alamodome in July and August 1993, including the opening and closing ceremonies and ice skating events.
The now-defunct San Antonio Dragons of the International Hockey League played some games in 1997 and 1998 at the Alamodome when its home, Freeman Coliseum, was unavailable during the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo (a similar scheduling conflict the Spurs now face at the newer Frost Bank Center). The Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is the largest bull riding league in the world, sanctioning hundreds of events every yea ...
(PBR) has held two Built Ford Tough Series
The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the Premier Series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 through 2017.
Inaugural season (2003)
The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002, with the Mohegan Sun Invita ...
events in the Alamodome (2007, 2008).
Two NHL pre-season games were held at the Alamodome. The Dallas Stars faced off against the Los Angeles Kings in back-to-back seasons at the Alamodome in 1994 and 1995. The Stars defeated the Kings 3–2 on September 27, 1994, with 14,342 fans in attendance (this was one of the last hockey games to take place before the 1994–95 NHL lockout
The 1994–95 NHL lockout was a lockout that came after a year of National Hockey League (NHL) hockey that was played without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout was a subject of dispute as the players sought collective bargaining a ...
). The following year Dallas claimed a 4–2 victory over the Kings in front of 8,122 hockey fans on September 26, 1995. Hockey Hall of Fame forward Wayne Gretzky participated in both preseason matchups.
In college football, Notre Dame has played two Shamrock Series (home-away-from-home) games here against Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
in 2009 and Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
in 2016.
Music
After the opening ceremonies, the first major event held at the facility was Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
's The New World Tour
In 1993, Paul McCartney and his band embarked upon The New World Tour, spanning almost the entire year and almost the entire globe. This tour featured a controversial pre-concert film (starting in the U.S leg of the tour), which was shown befor ...
concert, which took place on May 29, 1993.
The Alamodome has played host to music festivals, including Ozzfest
Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...
. It has also hosted concerts to artists such as Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
, U2, Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
, Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
, Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
, AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
, George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer.
Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...
, Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
, Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
, Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
, Alice Cooper
Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
, Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
, Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
, Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
and many more.
Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International (DCI) is a governing body for drum and bugle corps. Founded in 1971 and known as "marching music's major league," DCI develops and enforces rules of competition and judges at sanctioned drum and bugle corps competitions t ...
(DCI) hosts its Southwestern Championships at the Alamodome each July. This competition marks the first (and usually only) time during the DCI Summer Tour that each World Class drum corps gets to compete against each other at the same event prior to the DCI World Championships held a few weeks later at Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...
.
Each November, the Alamodome also hosts the Bands of America
Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), founder Larry McCormick's goal was to provide e ...
San Antonio Super Regional Championships, as well as the University Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organ ...
State Marching Band Contest.
Other events
The Alamodome was used as a filming location for the film ''Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...
'', a biographical film chronicling the life of Tejano
Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent.
Etymology
The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...
musician Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...
. It was used as a stand-in for the Astrodome
The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...
in Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.
From July 5 to July 16, 2006, the Alamodome hosted the ELCA Youth Gathering. Approximately 40,000 youth and adult leaders attended the event, between the two weeks it was spread.
On September 10, 1993, Julio César Chávez Sr. challenged Pernell Whitaker
Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
for the WBC welterweight boxing championship title. The match, infamously, ended in a draw. In April 2013, Austin Trout
Austin Dwayne Trout (born September 18, 1985) is an American professional boxer and bare-knuckle boxer. In boxing he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight title ( Regular version) from 2011 to 2013. He extended his champions ...
fought the undefeated Canelo Alvarez at the Alamodome.
The Alamodome hosted the 2015 General Conference Session
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath ...
of Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...
.
Since 2015, the Alamodome has hosted the University Interscholastic League
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organ ...
boys and girls State Basketball Championships.
Over the Fourth of July weekend in 2010, San Antonio hosted its largest convention ever. The 75th annual World convention of alcoholics anonymous. Over 50,000 people from 75 different countries attended meetings and seminars around the city The three main meetings of the convention were held in the Alamodome.
The Alamodome hosted Impact Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...
's Lockdown
A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...
event on March 10, 2013.
The Alamodome has hosted WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
's Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
pay-per-view event three times. The first occurrence took place on January 19, 1997, in front of a packed crowd of just over 60,000 and saw San Antonio native Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
defeat Sycho Sid for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship
The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...
in the main event. The event also saw Texas native Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
win the first of his record-setting three Royal Rumble matches. The second Royal Rumble to be held at the Alamodome took place 20 years later on January 29, 2017, in front of just over 52,000 fans in attendance. Randy Orton
Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
last eliminated Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
to win the Royal Rumble match in the night's main event. Five years later in September 2022, WWE announced the Royal Rumble would return to the Alamodome for the 2023 event on January 28. The event had an attendance of 51,338. Rhea Ripley
Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler. As of July 2017, she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley. She is a List of Women ...
and Cody Rhodes
Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...
won their respective Royal Rumble matches at the event. Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens in the main event to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and was betrayed by his Bloodline
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic infor ...
member Sami Zayn afterwards.
On March 20–24, 2022, it was used for the qualifying rounds of American Ninja Warrior
''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...
's Season 14.
Renovations
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
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
franchise to the city. After the election of Phil Hardberger as the new mayor, those efforts were abandoned, though the approved renovations to the facility continued as planned. The city administration and local business leaders have re-focused their efforts to bringing an NFL franchise to San Antonio.
On April 19, 2007, the San Antonio City Council unanimously approved an additional $8.3 million to fund renovations and enhancements to the facility.
In the summer of 2008 the audio system was upgraded.
In 2009 new LED video panels were added to the 5th level.
Although when the Alamodome was built for NFL football, 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. In 2024, the city estimated a renovated Alamodome, anchoring a new sports park in downtown San Antonio, could combine to cost $3–4 billion.
In 2011, the Alamodome introduced a new configuration branded as the Illusions Theater, wherein the north end of the stadium can be partitioned into a smaller, pop-up auditorium setting with a ceiling, carpeting, and stage. The configuration includes up to 1,000 seats of floor space, and can seat up to 11,600 when using the existing grandstand. The configuration was designed to host mid-sized events (which, prior to its closure and renovation, were primarily held at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium
The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was a building located at 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, Texas. It was built as a memorial to American soldiers killed in World War I.
The San Antonio Municipal Auditorium was also used as a concert venu ...
), including concerts, conventions, and graduation ceremonies. The project had a budget of $1 million.
In 2016, the San Antonio City Council approved $50 million worth of upgrades to modernize the facilities to keep it competitive for NCAA events. The improvements include a new media center, upgrades to the locker rooms, expanded concourses and added concessions, 4 new video screens and ribbon boards wrapping the 5th level, a new sound system, and other technology upgrades, and upgraded lighting.
Record crowds
Top 10 all-time Alamodome sports crowds:[
Other notable attendance marks include:
*76,483: ]San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
championship celebration (2014)
*70,956: George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer.
Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...
, The Cowboy Rides Away Tour (2013)
*60,447: WWF Royal Rumble 1997[
*58,891: 1993 ]Julio César Chávez
Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...
–Pernell Whitaker
Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
boxing match[
*56,743: 2011 Northeastern State vs. UTSA regular season football game (record for the highest-attended game for an NCAA Division I FCS start-up program)
*54,313: 2014 soccer friendly ]Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
vs. South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
*53,407: 2009 Notre Dame vs. Washington State
Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
regular season football game.
*52,020: WWE Royal Rumble 2017
*51,338: WWE Royal Rumble 2023
*48,709: Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
, The New World Tour
In 1993, Paul McCartney and his band embarked upon The New World Tour, spanning almost the entire year and almost the entire globe. This tour featured a controversial pre-concert film (starting in the U.S leg of the tour), which was shown befor ...
(1993)[
*45,343: ]Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, WorldWired Tour (2017)
*44,468: 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game, Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
vs. UConn (a facility record for basketball)
*44,000: Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
Reunion Tour '99
*43,257: 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game, Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...
vs. Memphis Tigers
*40,509: 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game, Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
vs. Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
*39,554: 1999 NBA Finals
The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks f ...
(Game 2), New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
vs. San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
[
*38,490: ]Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
Stadium Tour, 2022
*36,451: CONCACAF 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier (round 2), Dominica
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
vs. Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
*36,037: 1996 NBA All-Star Game
*29,619: 2002 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game, Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
vs. UConn (the largest turnout for an official NCAA women's basketball game)
*22,043: CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...
, Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...
vs. San Antonio Texans (1995)
*19,211: Hockey: 1997 Phoenix Roadrunners vs. San Antonio Dragons[
*14,140: 2016 DCI Southwestern Championship (total paid attendees)]
See also
* List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 1 ...
* Lists of stadiums
The following are lists of stadiums throughout the world. Note that horse racing and motorsport venues are not included at some pages, because those are not stadiums but sports venues.
Combined lists
*List of stadiums by capacity
* List of c ...
Footnotes
References
External links
Official Website of the Alamodome
Official Website of the Alamo Bowl
{{Authority control
Baseball venues in San Antonio
Basketball venues in Texas
Buildings and structures in San Antonio
Covered stadiums in the United States
San Antonio Brahmas
NCAA bowl game venues
Former NBA venues
Sports venues in San Antonio
UTSA Roadrunners baseball
UTSA Roadrunners football
Baseball venues in Texas
American football venues in Texas
Soccer venues in Texas
Sports venues completed in 1993
New Orleans Saints stadiums
Event venues established in 1993
Defunct NFL venues
Canadian Football League venues
1993 establishments in Texas
Canadian football venues in the United States
San Antonio Spurs
Convention centers in Texas