Sports in San Antonio includes a number of professional major and minor league sports teams. The American city of San Antonio, Texas also has college, high school, and other amateur or semi-pro sports teams.
The city's only top-level professional sports team, and consequently the team most San Antonians follow, is the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The Spurs have been playing in San Antonio since 1973 and have won five NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014). Previously, the Spurs played at the Alamodome, which was built for football, and before that the HemisFair Arena, but the Spurs built – with public money – and moved into the SBC Center in 2002, since renamed the AT&T Center following the merger of SBC and AT&T. It was later renamed to the Frost Bank Center after Frost Bank became the arena sponsor.[1]
The Frost Bank Center (Pictured as AT&T Center) is home to the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Professional sports
San Antonio is home to one major league professional sports team: the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio is also home to minor league professional sports teams in soccer, baseball, and basketball.
San Antonio is also occasionally home to international professional sports events. The April 15, 2014 soccer match at the Alamodome between the United States and Mexico sold a record 65,000 tickets, with tickets sold out over two months in advance.[2] This beat the city's previous record for a soccer match of 54,313, set in January 2014 for a friendly between Mexico and South Korea.[2]
The San Antonio Missions were an AA Team in the Texas League and moved to Amarillo in 2018 to become the Amarillo Sod Poodles, at which time San Antonio was selected for a AAA team, which maintained the same name, later being brought back down to a AA team.
The San Antonio Brahmas were originally part of the XFL and became part of the UFL when the XFL merged with the USFL to create the UFL.
The San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon started in 2007 and is part of the nationwide Rock 'n' Roll Marathon series.
Events include: Full marathon, Half marathon, 10K run, 5K run, 13.1 relay, and Kids rock run.
The events ran from 2008-2024.
Christmas Jingle Rudolph Run
Events include: 5K run, 10K run, 13.1 run, and Family Fun 1 Mile run.
Motorsports
Alamo City Motorplex (formerly known as San Antonio Raceway) is a 1/4 mile drag strip with a 1/2 mile of shutdown space. It has a seating capacity of 13,000. The facility is an NHRA Member Track and also hosts a number of large yearly events including Bounty Hunters No-Prep, Midnight Grudge Fest, Club Loose Drifting, Summit Series Bracket Racing, and weekly test and tune sessions.
High school
San Antonio is home of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl,[4] played annually in the Alamodome and televised live on NBC. The Bowl is an East versus West showdown featuring the nation's top 90 high school senior football players. The game has featured NFL stars Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, and many other college and NFL stars. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl also includes the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, the U.S. Army National Combine, and the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, all of which take place in San Antonio during the week leading up to the game itself.
The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band features 91 of the nation's top high school senior marching musicians who perform during halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The U.S. Army National Combine features 500 of the nation's top high school underclassman football players. The U.S. Army Coaches Academy features 100 of the nation's top high school football coaches, including the coaches of each U.S. Army All-American.
Club teams
San Antonio is also home to the San Antonio Gaelic Athletic Club, which was established in early 2011. The SAGAC plays in a Texas League with teams from Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The season ranges from April to the end of August, when the team competes at the North American Gaelic Athletic Association tournament every Labor Day Weekend. The club also has two inter-squad teams, the San Patricios and the I.C.A (Irish Citizen Army), that compete in a pub league in the fall.
The city served as a temporary home for the New Orleans Saints for the 2005 NFL season due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints set up practice facilities in San Antonio for the season, and played a split home schedule between the Alamodome and Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Tiger Stadium during the 2005 season. After the final game in San Antonio, the Saints committed to moving back to New Orleans for the 2006 season. City officials are said to be attempting to lure the National Football League permanently to San Antonio and have also said that a strong showing at the Alamodome for the three local Saints games was vital to showing that San Antonio can support an NFL franchise. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said that San Antonio was successful in hosting the team, and that the city would be on the short list for any future NFL expansions. The city has also hosted the Dallas Cowboys' and Houston Oilers' preseason camps in the past, and they signed a contract with the Cowboys in which the Cowboys practiced in San Antonio through 2011.[5] Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise.[6] Although it is the largest city in the United States without an NFL team, San Antonio's smaller metropolitan population has so far contributed to its lack of landing an NFL, MLB, or NHL team.
In March 2006, the city made an offer to build a stadium for the struggling Florida Marlins baseball franchise. However, the Marlins and Major League Baseball declined the offer.
In 2005, the city approached Major League Soccer with an interest in placing a soccer franchise in the vacant Alamodome. Both the city and the league seemed to be in harmony,[citation needed] with the council voting 9-2 in favor of the new San Antonio team, citing that it would reduce the financial burden of the stadium on the city by providing it with a permanent tenant without extra financial costs as the necessary upgrading of facilities at the dome would have to take place regardless of a team moving in or not. The following week an 8-3 vote carried the second part of the plan, which would see a major new youth soccer complex being built in the city to compete for what was described as the lucrative Texas youth soccer event market. At the time it was stated that San Antonio had only a fraction of the youth soccer facilities available in other Texan cities of Dallas, Houston and Austin. All seemed to be in place and plans on course until a media campaign against the soccer proposals exposing that the team would only be leased with the Alamodome for three years. After three years the team would have to vacate to a soccer-specific stadium.
After Hurricane Katrina, the city set their goal of earning an NFL franchise. The prospects for the franchise were further hindered when it became a political football during the election for Mayor, which was won by Phil Hardberger who instantly distanced the city from any deal with MLS. MLS meanwhile released a statement claiming that they had planned to withdraw before the election but did not wish to comment until afterwards in order to "respect the electoral process in San Antonio."[citation needed] The deal died with both sides blaming each other for its demise.[citation needed]
In 2018, the Alliance of American Football announced that the San Antonio Commanders would play in the city beginning in 2019.[7] The Commanders opened play at the Alamodome in February 2019; however, the league folded in the same year.
Quintin Demps currently is a safety in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008 and previously played for the Houston Texans. He was an alumnus of The University of Texas at El Paso, and attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in San Antonio, Texas
Most noted for competing on American Ninja Warrior
Mixed martial arts (MMA)
Alivia Bierley
n.a.
Rodeo
Gene Lyda
n.a.
Shooting
Keith Sanderson
n.a.
Soccer
Julianna Pacheco
n.a.
Jonatham "Gordinho" Rexroat
Rexroat graduated (class of 2013) from Lady Bird Johnson High School and played varsity soccer. He is Johnson's first alumnus professional athlete. He has an honorable mention on the title by the school's district, NEISD. Rexroat signed his first professional soccer contract on December 20, 2015 for Club Calor of the Mexican professional FMF second division.[citation needed]
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, only one team – the Hawaiians in Honolulu, Hawaii - was headquartered outside of continental North America. The league folded in 1975 midway through its second season.
The San Antonio Texans were a Canadian Football League (CFL) team that played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in the 1995 CFL season. They had relocated from Sacramento, California, where the team had been called the Sacramento Gold Miners. After relocating, the team still had the same ownership in Fred Anderson and the same staff, including President Tom Bass and Head Coach/General Manager Kay Stephenson. The Gold Miners/Texans franchise played three seasons before folding in 1995. They were the southernmost team in CFL history and the only team in CFL history to have ever officially relocated from another market.
Independence Stadium is a stadium owned by the city of Shreveport, Louisiana and is the home of the Independence Bowl.
Frost Bank Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena on the east side of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It is the home of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Kansas City Municipal Stadium was an American baseball and football stadium in the central United States, located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and E. 22nd Street.
The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 million.
Alamo Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football and soccer stadium in the Monte Vista Historic District of San Antonio, Texas. Nicknamed "The Rock Pile" due to its primarily limestone construction it was completed in September 1940 as a Works Progress Administration project. The stadium is currently owned and operated by the San Antonio Independent School District as a high school football and soccer facility. It has a seating capacity of 18,500, making it the 3rd largest high school stadium in the state of Texas.
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).
Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.
The Las Vegas metropolitan area is home to many sports, most of which take place in the unincorporated communities around Las Vegas rather than in the city itself. Currently, the Las Vegas Valley has three major league professional teams: the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), which began play in 2017 as the region's first major pro team, the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) which began play in 2020 after relocating from Oakland, California, and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) plan to move to Las Vegas to play at a new ballpark which is estimated to be complete by 2028 after relocating from Oakland and West Sacramento, California. When this relocation happens, Las Vegas will have progressed from being the largest market in the U.S. with no teams in the men's major professional leagues to being one of the smallest markets with at least three such teams within less than a decade. In addition, the National Basketball Association has publicly confirmed Las Vegas is being considered for an expansion franchise, which would potentially make Las Vegas by far the fastest market to progress from no teams in the Big Four leagues to having teams in all four leagues.
The Kansas City metropolitan area has a long history of sports, which has included national championship teams and championship title events.
The Texas Governor's Cup, or Cowboys–Texans rivalry or Battle of Texas, also formerly known as the Oilers–Texans rivalry or Cowboys–Oilers rivalry, is the trophy awarded to the winner of the football game between the two National Football League (NFL) teams in Texas, currently the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans.
Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. As a result, the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints were unable to play any home games at the Superdome for the entire 2005 NFL regular season. The dome was also used as a storm shelter for people who were unable to evacuate the city before the storm.
Texas is home of several national sports league franchises among other professional sports, being the second most populated U.S. state. Since the state is located in the South Central United States, most teams are part of the Central / South or West league divisions, with the notable exception of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, which is an NFC East franchise.
The city of Dallas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area are home to teams in six major sports: the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and Dallas Wings.
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games at the Alamodome. The team was led by head coach Mike Riley.
The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL). The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and are owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Renegades play their home games at Choctaw Stadium. In 2023, The Renegades had a regular season record of 4-6 and were 2-0 in the playoffs, and were crowned XFL Champions. They were a part of the UFL merger in 2024, and started the 2024 season against the USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions.
The St. Louis Battlehawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Battlehawks compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a founding member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and are owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Battlehawks play their home games at The Dome at America's Center. The Battlehawks have a franchise regular season record of 17–8 (.680), as of its 2024 season.
The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned-and-operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha Acquico and Fox Corporation. The Brahmas play their home games at the Alamodome. The Brahmas have a franchise regular season record of 11-11 (.500), the highest win percentage among UFL teams as of its 2024 season.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
