Local Brief
How Alamodome renovations fit into city's Final Four ambitions
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The Alamodome as seen in 2017. Photo: Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images
San Antonio is gearing up to host its fifth Men's Final Four, the largest domestic sporting event the city can hold.
Why it matters: There's a lot riding on a successful weekend. The city is in tough competition to host future Final Fours, all while officials look to create a sports and entertainment mecca downtown with a new Spurs arena.
By the numbers: This year's Final Four is expected to bring more than $257 million in direct spending from more than 100,000 visitors, Elena Wells, executive director of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee, the nonprofit that organizes the events, tells Axios.
- Projections before the 2018 Men's Final Four estimated it would bring in more than $185 million in spending from more than 93,000 visitors.
Zoom in: A big part of San Antonio's continued ability to host is its commitment to keeping the Alamodome updated, Wells says.
- Ahead of the 2018 Men's Final Four, a $60 million update included expanded concourses, a new sound system and outdoor beer gardens.
- Before this year's games, the Alamodome added new suites as part of nearly $30 million in updates.
Flashback: The Alamodome hosted its first Men's Final Four in 1998. That was followed up by others in 2004, 2008 and 2018.
- We hosted our first Women's Final Four in 2002, and then again in 2010 and 2021.
Yes, but: The NCAA skipped over San Antonio for the 2031 Men's Final Four, instead looking at cities with newer facilities.
State of play: As part of the city's plan for a downtown sports and entertainment district, officials were looking at a "major transformation" of the Alamodome to meet NCAA standards for the Final Four, the city's chief financial officer Ben Gorzell told the City Council last month.
- But that could cost more than $1 billion and isn't feasible in the near term, he said.
- The city is now looking at spending about $200 million over the next decade.
- "We want to make sure that it's building toward that larger transformation in the future," Gorzell said.
Zoom out: Other construction projects are clearing the way for next week's events.
- The second phase of Civic Park at Hemisfair opened this month, offering visitors a new plaza in the large urban park district.
- The city aimed to finish construction on South Alamo Street, a main thoroughfare, but those updates aren't done. It's hitting pause on the project and temporarily repaving the road so that construction doesn't interrupt the flow of people during Final Four, per the SA Report.
What they're saying: "We definitely want to make sure that we don't lose this opportunity to showcase what a beautiful city we have, and hopefully draw those visitors back," Wells says.
What's next: The Women's Final Four will return to San Antonio in 2029.