HemisFair Arena (also known as the San Antonio Convention Center Arena) was an

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in San Antonio, Texas. It was home to the

ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's San Antonio Spurs from

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and the

San Antonio Force The San Antonio Force were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team was a member of the Arena Football League that competed in the 1992 season only. The team owner of the Force was Red McCombs. The team's colors ...

of the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

during the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

season, their only year of existence. The

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

also played home games at the arena during the

1972-73 NBA season Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...

History

Construction

The arena was originally built as part of the 1968 HemisFair. The facility was located in Downtown San Antonio near the Tower of the Americas, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. HemisFair Arena and the Tower of the Americas were constructed by a joint venture of two contractors—Lyda Inc. of San Antonio and H. A. Lott, Inc. of Houston.

As home of the San Antonio Spurs

The arena initially held 10,146 fans for basketball. The San Antonio Spurs moved to the arena after the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

Dallas Chaparrals franchise relocated following the 1972–1973 season. The February 1974 arrival of Hall of Famer George Gervin helped transform the franchise. The Spurs were such a success as an ABA franchise that they became a National Basketball Association franchise following the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. The Spurs played their first game at the arena on October 10, 1973, losing to the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

121-106Key Dates in Spurs History
/ref> in front of 5,879. Throughout its lifespan, it was considered one of the loudest arenas in the NBA.
/ref> As Spurs games began regularly selling out, new seating was added in 1978 by raising the roof of the arena, allowing the construction of an upper deck, increasing the capacity to more than 16,000. While the renovation boosted capacity, it did result in a large number of obstructed view seats in the lower levels due to the support beams required for the upper deck. In 1986, the White Way Sign/ Sony JumboTron center-hung video scoreboard was introduced, remaining at the arena for the rest of its life. It was the first center-mounted arena JumboTron in existence.

Final events

HemisFair Arena was torn down in 1995, two years after the Spurs moved to the Alamodome in 1993. The last Spurs game at HemisFair Arena took place May 20, 1993, when the Spurs lost to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in Game 6 the Western Conference semifinals in the 1993 NBA Playoffs on a last-second jump shot by league MVP Charles Barkley. The last ticketed event to be held at the facility was a Van Halen concert March 25, 1995. The last event at HemisFair Arena was a graduation for a local high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, on May 30, 1995. The site is now the location of an expansion to the adjacent Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

Seating Capacity

The seating capacity for basketball was:

Notable concerts

* The

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

performed at HemisFair Arena on February 21, 1970. Also on the bill were Quicksilver Messenger Service and

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

. * Elvis Presley performed at HemisFair Arena on April 18, 1972. The concert was one of several filmed for the 1972 documentary '' Elvis on Tour''. * The Jacksons performed at HemisFair Arena on July 15, 1981, during their Triumph tour. Triumph Tour *

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

performed at HemisFair Arena in September 1982 on their

World Vengeance Tour The World Vengeance Tour was a 1982 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest where they toured throughout North America from 26 August 1982 until 21 February 1983 in support of the 1982 album ''Screaming for Vengeance.'' Overview ...

. This was recorded for a radio broadcast and some performances were included on the 30th Anniversary Edition of their 1982 album '' Screaming for Vengeance'' released in 2012. * Whitney Houston performed at the venue in June 1991 during the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour, her third concert tour. * Selena held her third and final fashion show at HemisFair Arena in December 1994 followed by a concert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HemisFair Arena 1968 establishments in Texas 1995 disestablishments in Texas American Basketball Association venues American football venues in Texas Defunct indoor arenas in Texas Demolished sports venues in Texas Former National Basketball Association venues Sports venues demolished in 1995 Houston Rockets venues San Antonio Spurs venues Southwest Championship Wrestling Sports venues in San Antonio Sports venues completed in 1968 HemisFair '68