SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs broke an attendance record Friday night when they hosted the Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome for their 50th-anniversary celebration.
Former Spurs player David Robinson announced the total number of tickets sold during the third quarter, coming in at 68,323.
According to The Associated Press, this game tops the previous record of 62,046 fans who watched the Chicago Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
Franchise officials said the Alamodome was originally constructed to fit 65,000 fans for Friday’s game but that number increased due to high demand. The Associated Press reported that it’s possible the Alamodome could fit as many as 68,000 people with additional standing-room tickets.
Compared to previous events in the venue’s 30-year history, this game is a big deal — and a record-breaker for the league.
The Alamodome hasn’t seen a crowd of this size since 2018, when the city hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four. But the biggest Alamodome crowd dates back four years prior, when fans packed the stadium to celebrate the Silver and Black’s 2014 NBA title.
According to Alamodome officials, these are the five biggest events in Alamodome history:
- 76,483 attendees: San Antonio Spurs championship celebration, June 18, 2014
- 74,866 attendees: Billy Graham, April 3, 1997
- 70,956 attendees: George Strait, June 1, 2013
- 68,257 attendees: NCAA Men’s Final Four semi-finals, March 31, 2018
- 67,831 attendees: NCAA Men’s Final Four final, April 2, 2018
The highest-attended Spurs game at the Alamodome on record was on June 18, 1999, during Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and New York Knicks.
That day, 39,782 NBA fans attended the game. The Spurs went on to beat the Knicks in Game 5, winning their first title.
Friday’s game will break records in the NBA.
So far, the highest-attended regular-season NBA game has been the March 27, 1998, matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome. That attendance was 62,046.
The AP reported that the biggest crowd in NBA history was at the 2010 All-Star Game at the Dallas Cowboys stadium. Then, 108,713 people attended.