Alamodome

Address:100 Montana St
San Antonio, Texas

Home to both great basketball and football teams, the Alamodome is one of the most prestigious one-time event arenas in the country. The former home of the San Antonio Spurs (until 2002), the Alamodome is now the setting for many NCAA basketball and football games, as well as high school sports, ice shows, and various other events.

During the Spurs' decade of residence at the Alamodome, they won their first NBA Championship (in 1999) and hosted the 1996 NBA All-Star Game. The NCAA chose San Antonio for their men's Final Four in basketball in 1998, 2004, and 2008. The women's final four was held at the Alamodome in 2002 and is scheduled to return there again for the 2010 Final Four. College football comes to the arena at least twice a year, as both the Alamo Bowl (since 1993) and the U.S. Army All-American Bowl (since 2002) are played here. Over the years, there have also been other assorted one-time football games here. For example, the Hurricane Katrina-displaced New Orleans Saints playd half of their season here in 2005. During basketball games at the Alamodome, a large black curtain is placed in the stands to make the cavernous arena feel more intimate. While it limits the arena's capacity from the 72,000 maximum down to a mere 39,500 seat capacity, it eliminates some of the feel of playing basketball in a football stadium.

In addition to sports, the arena also hosts many conventions. There are those who even claim that that the Spurs' departure, which brought more conventions here, was economically beneficial to the arena. There are also marching band contests, monster truck shows, and the occasional concert.

The Alamodome is located in downtown San Antonio, and is accessible on the VIA Metropolitan Transit bus number 28, as well as by the Yellow Line Streetcar service.