San Antonio recently expanded its historic River Walk and will soon debut the transformed Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in January 2016, but its latest infrastructure investment is a $43 million retrofit to the 65,000-seat Alamodome.
The multipurpose event venue connects to the convention center and can accommodate anything from football and basketball games to tradeshows and stadium concerts. Designed by Kansas City, Mo.-based Populous, the retrofit will bring the venue in line with current stadium trends. New, winding concession counters, a beer garden and outdoor terraces with bar counters will all create a more welcoming environment for event goers.
Renovations include a transformation of North Plaza, which will offer more outdoor event space; an 18,6000-sf East and West concourse expansion; a new 24,000-sf multiuse space; new technology such as two LED video walls and ribbon boards; and a new visiting team locker room. Parts of the renovation design such as larger locker rooms and a media room were required in order to seal the deal for the Alamodome to host the NCAA Final Four in 2018.
“Aside from benefiting San Antonio’s overall meetings package, the Alamodome enhancements are vital to maintaining and growing San Antonio’s ability to host sporting events such as the Valero Alamo Bowl and U.S. Army All American Bowl,” says San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Casandra Matej.
The Alamodome currently features 52 event suites for groups up to 20 to rent out as well as an open-air terrace suite for up to 100 attendees. For larger events, meeting planners can rent out the entire Alamodome for about 65,000 attendees. The renovation is scheduled for completion in November 2017—just in time for groups to get tickets to the Final Four festivities.
