San Antonio Convention Center Arena | |
| Location | 601 HemisFair Way San Antonio, Texas 78203 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°25′12″N98°29′00″W / 29.420134°N 98.483299°W /29.420134; -98.483299 |
| Owner | City of San Antonio |
| Capacity | Basketball: 16,057[1] |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1966 |
| Opened | April 6, 1968[3] |
| Renovated | 1977-78[2] |
| Expanded | 1977-78[2] |
| Closed | May 31, 1995 |
| Demolished | June 1995[3] |
| Architect | Noonan, Krocker & Dockery |
| General contractor | Lyda/H. A. Lott |
| Tenants | |
| Houston Rockets(NBA) (1972–73) San Antonio Spurs(ABA/NBA) (1973–93) San Antonio Force(AFL) (1992) | |
HemisFair Arena (also known as theSan Antonio Convention Center Arena) was anindoor arena located inSan Antonio,Texas. It was home to theABA/NBA'sSan Antonio Spurs from1973 to1993 and theSan Antonio Force of theAFL during the1992 season, their only year of existence. TheHouston Rockets also played home games at the arena during the1972-73 NBA season.
The arena was originally built as part of (and named for) the 1968HemisFair. The facility was located inDowntown San Antonio near theTower of the Americas, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. HemisFair Arena and the Tower of the Americas were constructed by a joint venture of two contractors—Lyda Inc. of San Antonio and H. A. Lott, Inc. ofHouston.
The arena initially held 10,146 fans forbasketball. TheSan Antonio Spurs of theAmerican Basketball Association moved to the arena after theDallas Chaparrals relocated following the 1972–73 ABA season. The February 1974 arrival of Hall of FamerGeorge Gervin helped transform the franchise. The Spurs were such a success as an ABA franchise that they became one of four ABA franchises absorbed into theNBA following theABA-NBA merger in 1976.[4]
The Spurs played their first game at the arena on October 10, 1973, losing to theSan Diego Conquistadors 121-106[5] in front of 5,879.[3] Throughout its lifespan, it was considered one of the loudest arenas in the NBA.[6] As Spurs games began regularly selling out, new seating was added in 1978 by raising the roof of the arena, allowing the construction of an upper deck, increasing the capacity to more than 16,000.[1] While the renovation boosted capacity, it did result in a large number of obstructed view seats in the lower levels due to the support beams required for the upper deck. In 1986, the White Way Sign/SonyJumboTron center-hung video scoreboard was introduced, remaining at the arena for the rest of its life. It was the first center-mounted arena JumboTron in existence.[7]
HemisFair Arena was torn down in 1995, two years after the Spurs moved to theAlamodome in 1993. The last Spurs game at HemisFair Arena took place May 20, 1993, when the Spurs lost to thePhoenix Suns in Game 6 the Western Conference semifinals in the1993 NBA Playoffs on a last-second jump shot by league MVPCharles Barkley.[5] The last ticketed event to be held at the facility was aVan Halen concert March 25, 1995.[3] The last event at HemisFair Arena was a graduation for a local high school,Thomas Jefferson High School, on May 30, 1995.[3] The site is now the location of an expansion to the adjacentHenry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
The seating capacity for basketball was:[8]
| Years | Capacity |
|---|---|
| 1968–1976 | 10,146 |
| 1976–1978 | 10,446 |
| 1978–1979 | 16,055 |
| 1980–1981 | 16,114 |
| 1981–1987 | 15,800 |
| 1987–1988 | 15,770 |
| 1988–1990 | 15,861 |
| 1990–1991 | 15,908 |
| 1991–1995 | 16,057 |
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)| Preceded by | Home of the San Antonio Spurs 1973 – 1993 | Succeeded by |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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