The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. 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' 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 tenant is currently the UTSA Roadrunners. Recent tenants include the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football, the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League, and the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League.
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 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 University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) 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.
The facility also hosts special events such as the annual Alamo Bowl 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, who had been looking for some time for a larger arena to replace their longtime home, HemisFair Arena. 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 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 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 in the mid-1980s during their tenancy at the Pontiac Silverdome). 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 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 year due to their deep playoff runs (they only missed the playoffs once in their nine years there). With the Alamodome booked solid well into the spring, 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.Michael Jordan wins the MVP, as the East prevails in San Antonio , NBA.com.
The Spurs hosted the Golden State Warriors 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, which matches the second-choice teams from the Pac-12 Conference and the Big 12 Conference. The 2006 Alamo Bowl between the Texas Longhorns 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 and Penn State, 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 and the Army Black Knights. 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 in College Station in 2008.
East–West Shrine Game The 2006 East–West Shrine Game 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, at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and at Stanford Stadium. In recent years it has been played at AT&T Park. 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 in Houston.
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 and University of Texas running back Cedric Benson, University of Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, University of Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb, and University of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.
All-American Bowl Since 2002, the Alamodome has hosted the All-American Bowl—a national all-star game 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 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 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 (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 RankAttendanceDateGame Result 1 56,743 September 3, 2011 UTSA 31, Northeastern State 3 2 49,342 September 9, 2023 UTSA 20, Texas State 13 3 45,778 September 6, 2025 UTSA 36, Texas State 43 4 42,071 September 8, 2018 UTSA 20, Baylor 37 5 41,412 December 2, 2022 UTSA 48, North Texas 27 6 41,148 December 3, 2021 UTSA 49, Western Kentucky 41 7 40,977 September 7, 2013 UTSA 36, Oklahoma State 56 8 39,032 November 24, 2012 UTSA 38, Texas State 31 9 37,526 September 3, 2022 UTSA 35, Houston 373OT 10 35,167 November 20, 2021 UTSA 34, UAB 31 11 33,517 September 24, 2011 UTSA 54, Bacone 7 12 33,472 September 4, 2014 UTSA 23, Arizona 26 13 32,886 October 8, 2011 UTSA 27, South Alabama 302OT 14 32,487 September 28, 2013 UTSA 28, Houston 59 15 32,369 November 19, 2011 UTSA 49, Minot State 7 16 31,956 October 25, 2014 UTSA 0, UTEP 34 17 31,634 September 10, 2011 UTSA 21, McMurry 24 18 30,862 October 20, 2012 UTSA 24, San Jose State 52 19 30,718 September 14, 2019 UTSA 13, Army 31 20 30,419 October 4, 2014 UTSA 9, New Mexico 21
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, 1999 and 2007.
Professional football
NFL The Alamodome has played host to six National Football League preseason games. Two each were played in 1993 and 1994, one in 1995, and one in 2001.
DateTeam (Visitor)PointsTeam (Home)PointsSpectators August 7, 1993 Houston Oilers 28 New Orleans Saints 37 40,308 August 21, 1993 Dallas Cowboys 20 Houston Oilers 23 63,285 August 6, 1994 Houston Oilers 31 San Diego Chargers 3 29,815 August 20, 1994 Buffalo Bills 18 Houston Oilers 16 40,504 August 26, 1995 Dallas Cowboys 10 Houston Oilers 0 52,512 August 11, 2001 Minnesota Vikings 28 New Orleans Saints 21 46,752