[sirkingwilliam]

FINAL FOUR RETURNING

By Tim Griffin
November 14, 2014

When NCAA Men’s Final Four committee chairman Scott Barnes left San Antonio in September, the enthusiasm for bringing his event back to the Alamo City kept ringing in his ears.

It was only bolstered after fans implored him to “Bring It” during a memorable pep rally at Rivercenter mall that Barnes said Friday was one of the highlights of judging contenders for the event across the country.

“Thousands of people turning out chanting for us to bring the Final Four back put it all in perspective,” Barnes said. “The passion of the city embracing the event was obvious as soon as we got there.”

Barnes and his committee lived up to those wishes Friday, as they returned the NCAA’s signature event to the city in 2018.

A $45 million proposed face-lift to the Alamodome also helped convince them. It will provide a doubling of space on the Alamodome’s concourses, improved video walls and extensions in space for media and locker rooms in the facility.

Those upgrades helped bolster a strong bid that already included the city’s new convention center and renovations at HemisFair Park and International Airport.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley said the event will be on a much larger scope than the last time it came to San Antonio, in 2008. With a fan fest, outdoor concerts and other ancillary events, it will provide one largest downtown events in the city’s history as it celebrates San Antonio’s 300th anniversary in 2018.

The city’s ability to stage the event in a tight downtown “footprint,” was another major strength. The city’s bid included 13,000 hotel rooms in the downtown area and the ability for spectators to walk to most events.

Mayor Ivy Taylor said that San Antonio’s history of staging memorable Final Fours will be trumped by an even grander show when it returns.

“I’d like to thank the NCAA for acknowledging what we’ve always known, that San Antonio is the best city in the nation to host the Final Four,” Taylor said. “We’ve always known that fans and coaches have always said that San Antonio is their favorite place to attend the Final Four. We’re thrilled that the 'Road to San Antonio’ will again be a well-known phrase.”

The announcement also represents a vindication for the 21-year-old Alamodome, which wasn’t the newest, biggest, brightest or shiniest facility among the finalists.

“I think it gives it new life and helps move San Antonio to a whole new level as a sports city,” UTSA athletic director Lynn Hickey said. “With all of the things going on at HemisFair Plaza and the convention center and to the dome, it will open it up not only for this opportunity, but for more of everything.”

But Taylor wasn’t willing to say if the improvements would significantly improve the city’s chances of luring an NFL franchise one day.

“I guess that’s a possibility,” she said. “We’ve got some irons in the fire and we’ll see how it all shakes out.”

Based on figures generated by the Men’s Final Four staged earlier this year in North Texas, the event is expected to have an economic impact of at least $85 million. It will be staged in an Alamodome, which will have improved technology and will be configured to seat 72,000.