HemisFair Arena

The arena was originally built as part of the 1968 HemisFair. The facility was located in Downtown San Antonio near the Tower 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. of Houston.

The arena initially held 10,146 fans for basketball. The San Antonio Spurs moved to the arena after the American Basketball Association Dallas Chaparrals franchise relocated following the 1972-73 season. The February 1974 arrival of Hall of Famer George Gervin helped transform the franchise. The Spurs were such a success as an ABA franchise that they became a National Basketball Association franchise following the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.[4]

The Spurs played their first game at the arena on October 10, 1973, losing to the San Diego Conquistadors 121-106[5] in front of 5,879.[2] As Spurs games began regularly selling out, the roof of the arena was literally raised and lifted during the summer of 1978, adding an upper deck at the facility and allowing for a capacity of over 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. Throughout its lifespan, it was considered one of the loudest arenas in the NBA.[6]

HemisFair Arena was torn down in 1995, two years after the Spurs moved to the Alamodome in 1993. The last Spurs game at HemisFair Arena took place May 20, 1993, when the Spurs lost to the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 the Western Conference semifinals in the 1993 NBA Playoffs on a last-second jump shot by league MVP Charles Barkley.[5] The last ticketed event to be held at the facility was a Van Halen concert March 25, 1995.[2] The last event at HemisFair Arena was a graduation for a local high school, Thomas Jefferson High School, on May 30, 1995.[2] The site is now the location of an expansion to the adjacent Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The seating capacity for basketball was:[7]