DALLAS - San Antonio plans to spend $43 million upgrading the 21-year-old Alamodome stadium as part of its winning bid for the National Collegiate Athletic Association's 2018 men's basketball Final Four.
The improvement plan comes as San Antonio also attempts to lure the National Football League's Oakland Raiders to the city. The Alamodome was built in 1993 in hopes of landing an NFL team.
The decision to bring the Final Four to San Antonio was announced Nov. 14.
San Antonio was one of eight cities vying for the event in 2017-2020 cycle, including Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix-Glendale, and St. Louis.
San Antonio has hosted three Men's Final Four's, the last one in 2008.
The 63,000-seat Alamodome is home for the University of Texas at San Antonio's Roadrunner football and the Valero Alamo Bowl.
"With our planned improvements, it will be the perfect setting for premier sporting events such as the Final Four," said San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley.
Renovations will be paid for with increased Alamodome parking and facility access fees, according to Andrea DeLaune, marketing manager for the stadium.
City officials also noted San Antonio's triple-A credit rating, affirmed for a $53 million refunding bond deal Nov. 18.
"It's one thing to achieve a AAA rating and another to keep it year after year," said city manager Sheryl Sculley. "The highest rating means that the city will spend less money on interest costs and more on capital projects."
San Antonio opened the Alamodome on May 15, 1993, at a cost of $186 million.
With their lease on O.co Coliseum expiring at the end of this football season, the Raiders are considering San Antonio or Los Angeles as the team's new home. The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982-1994.Los Angeles is the largest city in the country without an NFL team.
