San Antonio rallies for Final Four

Fans and officials looking to be host city again

SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of fans lined the Riverwalk at the Lagoon Wednesday morning to show just how fired up San Antonio is about the opportunity to host another men's Final Four.

It was billed as a "Bring It" River Rally. Members of the site committee passed by during a barge tour to cheers and chants of "bring it."

"I got chills down my spine," said Scott Barnes, a site committee member.

The members were also greeted by some youngsters and former Spur Sean Elliott at a reception at the Bricso Museum. The city pulled out all the stops, and the members were impressed.

One advantage the city has over the seven other cities looking for a Final Four: proximity. Everthing a fan or participant would want to see or do is within walking distance of the Alamodome.

"There is an extreme value to be able to walk to the competition venue; to the events that you would have leading up to the game," said Mark Hollis, a site committee member.

The Alamodome will also be going through some renovations to bring it up to tournament standards.

"Given what we have learned in the last couple of days relative to the needs in the dome, they have hit the mark," Barnes said.

"Having a Final Four here would be a great value to the city, but as importantly I think it could have the opportunity to have great value for the participants," Hollis said.

The selections for Final Four games from 2917-2020 should be known in November.


About the Author:

David Sears, a native San Antonian, has been at KSAT for more than 20 years.