The arena was originally built as part of (and named for) 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.
As home of the San Antonio Spurs
The arena initially held 10,146 fans for basketball. The San Antonio Spurs of the American Basketball Association moved to the arena after the Dallas Chaparrals relocated following the 1972–73 ABA 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 one of four ABA franchises absorbed into the NBA 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.[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]
Final events
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.[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 adjacent Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
Elvis Presley performed at HemisFair Arena on April 18, 1972. The concert was one of several filmed for the 1972 documentary Elvis on Tour.
The Jacksons performed at HemisFair Arena on July 15, 1981, during their Triumph tour.[10]
Judas Priest performed at HemisFair Arena in September 1982 on their World Vengeance Tour. This was recorded for a radio broadcast and some performances were included on the 30th Anniversary Edition of their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance released in 2012.
