How 40 Years Became a Possibility: The Merge That Made the Future Possible

To better understand San Antonio Sports’ journey, we must go back even further to 1987. After losing the bid for the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival to Los Angeles, Mayor Henry Cisneros vowed to put San Antonio on the map as a sports destination. He came up with an idea, to try and pass a temporary half-cent tax increase, allowing for a domed stadium to be built debt-free. At the same time, Bob Coleman, chair of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Sports Task Force, approached the fledgling San Antonio Amateur Sports Foundation suggesting a merger.

The result was the San Antonio Sports Foundation. The creation of the newly reorganized sports foundation became one of the biggest steppingstones in the history of San Antonio Sports. From the very beginning, it put the strength of the local business community and the city behind the pursuit of sports events, youth programs and facilities. Few sports commissions in the U.S. had that early cooperative effort.

The Sports Foundation hit the ground running. With Coleman at the helm, they led the biggest election petition drive in U.S. history at the time. Garnering more than 78,000 signatures, the dome tax was on the ballot in 1989 and passed by six percentage points. With the tax in place and the construction of what became the Alamodome to begin, Cisneros’ vow was quickly becoming a reality.

Six years after Coleman approached the Sports Foundation with his idea, the Alamodome opened its doors. What came after was better than he could have hoped for. With the arrival of the Dome, so too came economic and sporting prosperity for the Alamo City. Learn more about our 40th anniversary by visiting SanAntonioSports.org.