SAN ANTONIO – There is so much excitement in and around San Antonio — the Alamodome is home to so many fun, electric, and captivating events — and with the new year around the corner — much more is on the way.
Richard Oliver with the dome joined leading SA to discuss the successful past year and what comes next.
“I think resurgent is a great word. I mean, it was an outstanding year, you know, especially in it kind of ramped up as the year went on… San Antonio likes to get together and be together as a group. I think the Alamodome did it this year. The last five months of 2022 saw 13 events with 10,000 or more people at the Alamodome,” Oliver said.
And 2023 is full of events, even a special birthday.
“The Alamodome turns 30 years old on May the 15th of next year. So we have got a slew of things happening all year long. It’s going to be outstanding. We thought 2022 was good. Let me tell you, we’ve got, of course, Royal Rumble, just as you mentioned. Everyone’s just so excited about that. Ticket sales are through the roof… The Spurs’ 50th-anniversary game is on January 13th, trying to set the NBA record for attendance. Sixty-five thousand people there trying to get in there for that. The Warriors are coming to town. So that’s going to be a great game. And of course, we’ve named a couple of the XFL Spring Football League. The Rock will be here in the spring, certainly kicking off that league. And also, we’ve named two big concerts P!NK in September and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in May. And we’ve got a couple more of that I can’t tell you about just yet, but we’ve got some really great events coming up in 2023,” Oliver said.
UTSA has seen immense success over the last two years, and it has been a mutually beneficial relationship between the team and the dome.
“It’s meant a lot… I mean, not too many college football teams get a domed stadium, but the kind of atmosphere that UTSA has for its ball games. Hats off to Jeff Traylor and his team because what they’ve done over the last couple of years is exhilarating. I mean, it’s so much fun to watch this city get behind a Division I football program,” Oliver said.
“Over those seven the last seven games from September on through the end of the year, more than almost 200,000 people in the dome for you to UTSA Football and the Conference USA Football Championship. And then you bring in XFL. You know, the Alamodome was built for football in so many ways. It took a while. But we have big-time football in there now,” Oliver said.
One thing is for sure, the Alamodome has made its mark on the city over the past 29 years.
“It’s a place of moments. You know, when you talk about the quality of life in San Antonio, when you talk about even industries and companies coming into San Antonio looking for things for their employees, and not only that, but the locals and the things that we’ve experienced at the Alamodome over the years,” Oliver said.
“The Alamodome is an important part of the San Antonio landscape, not only because of what it brings, but just the spotlight that it brings on San Antonio time and again,” Oliver said.
One of the biggest events of the past 12 months was Bad Bunny, and hopefully, it is the start of more international spotlight successes.
“We had 54,000 people there. It drove millions in revenue in the Alamodome. Those are the kind of events that not only again, we talked about the spotlight, that was an international spotlight event for that one night. San Antonio was the center of the entertainment universe, and it was just so much fun to be around. I think we’re going to see a lot more of that,” Oliver said.