By: Brandon Watson | From: Thrillist
Texas may be known for its football, but San Antonio is a basketball town. Victor Wembanyama is the subject of five local murals. Championship wins are an excuse to cruise (and honk!) through downtown. And Spurs gear is a perfectly acceptable option for date night.
The city is also an NCAA favorite, hosting the Regional Championships a staggering six times. This year will also be the fifth Final Four at the Alamodome, a tall feat considering the arena has only been open since 1993. Each visit sees changes. While landmarks like the Alamo remain fixed, a wealth of new dining, drinking, and lodging options have transformed the once-sleepy town into a cosmopolitan city.
San Antonio is Texas’s most popular tourist city, with amusement parks and historical sites spread throughout, but save those for another trip. This time, stick to the city center and be prepared to sweat. Pack shorts and all the sunscreen TSA will allow. Then, prepare yourself with our guide on how to get the most out of your Final Four trip to San Antonio.
How do I get tickets?
Official tickets are still available for individual games, but the prices are rising quickly. Should you need to buy or sell on the secondary market, start with the trustworthy Official NCAA Ticket Exchange before exploring third-party marketplaces like StubHub. Catch all sessions with the NCAA Fan Experience, which includes an open beer and wine bar, tailgate-style snacks, and a chance to pose with the NCAA trophy.
The Alamodome was originally designed for football, so it has some sightline limitations that an NBA arena does not. This goes against conventional wisdom, but the “nosebleed” seats in the middle 300 sections offer a far better view than the shallow upper seats in the center court 100s.
How should I get there?
Unless you work a Houston or Austin stop into your itinerary, you’ll land at San Antonio International Airport. Luckily, it’s one of Texas’s easiest-to-navigate airports with a breezy security process you’ll appreciate on the way home.
Major car rental companies like Herst, Avis, and Enterprise are available should you want to squeeze in a barbecue-filled day trip to nearby Lockhart. If you are just in town for the Final Four, don’t bother. Call a rideshare shortly after landing, and you’ll usually be picked up within 10 minutes. Fares to the city’s central core typically cost you about $30.
How do I get around?
Texas is behind the curve on public transportation, so don’t expect to be whisked from neighborhood to neighborhood on an urban train. The Via bus system is reliable but not worth the lag time for a short trip. San Antonio may be a sprawling city, but most of its sports, nightlife, and dining districts are a short rideshare from the inner city.
If you’ve booked a downtown hotel, feel free to get creative. The scourge of scooters has mostly faded, but BCycle docks are conveniently scattered through popular neighborhoods. The River Walk, San Antonio’s most famous
tourist “destination”, connects historic King William, Hemisfair Park, and the Pearl District but is often overrun with tourists toting whalebone-sized margaritas. Book a Go Rio river shuttle instead if you want to check it off your bucket list.
What should I know about the venue?
These days, the Alamodome is more likely to host Disney on Ice than hoops, but the Spurs called it home during their first championship season. The massive size of the arena also makes it the preferred stop for touring acts and University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners and San Antonio Brahmas football games.
Clear bags are required, but the types and proportions are more generous than many other venues. Here’s your chance to reuse that lime green-piped fanny pack you bought at the height of Brat summer.
Most of the concessions in the building are cashless and offer the same pizzas, hot dogs, and Dippin’ Dots you can find elsewhere. Head to locally-owned Earl Abel’s (on the Iower level) for comfort food or Los Barrios (club level) for Tex-Mex snacks. Some folks might have a conniption that the stadium serves Pepsi instead of Coke; suck it up and order a root beer.
You’ll need to maintain that calm when dealing with traffic. When heading to the Alamodome, add 30 minutes to your estimated arrival time. San Antonio’s traffic can be nightmarish during regular conditions, and a handful of road closures will add to the road rage.
To help ease some of the congestion, there will be no public parking available at the arena during the semifinal and championship games. The surrounding neighborhood has limited street parking and a few ad-hoc lots, but Via’s park-and-ride shuttles will likely be more speedy.
For taxi and rideshare pick-ups, take a walkway across Interstate 37 to reach Lot D. Or skip one of life’s most unpleasant activities by waiting the throng out. Cherrity Bar is closest to the Alamodome and serves Japanese snacks and a stiff old fashioned. Hemisfair Park is a longer hike but has good dining options like Kuenstler Tap Haus and Dough Pizzeria. Plus, there are some cool selfie opportunities on the grounds.
Basketball, bracket and betting
Duke has received a round of bad press lately for grousing about the wardrobe used in a violent scene of HBO hit White Lotus. One way to stop the snickers would be to take home the national championship. The Blue Devils are favored to win the Big Dance, having ably bested scrappy teams like Alabama, Arizona, and Baylor.
They’ll first have to best Houston in the most fascinating pair-up of the Final Four. The Blue Devils’ freshman forward Copper Flagg is exceeding all expectations, earning a top offensive spot per KenPom stats. The Cougars, meanwhile, had an electric first half against Tennessee on March 30, keeping the Volunteers far away from the basket. Though their defense is at the top of the pack, the spread is Duke -4.5.
Florida has already romped Auburn in the regular season, accounting for some of the -2.5 spread. The other part is Walter Clayton Jr. and Thomas Haugh, who staged a stunning comeback against Texas Tech to seal their slot. Still Johni Broome is playing with a lot of heart for the Tigers. After an injury scare that looked likely to be the star forward’s season end, the star forward returned to the court to lead a late surge.
Other places to eat (and watch)
Southtown, the neighborhood closest to the Alamodome, is the surest bet to catch the game. With oversized screens viewable from almost every corner, McIntyre’s is the top choice for true basketball fanatics. Nearby bar The Friendly Spot offers dozens of craft brews and a giant outdoor screen, perfect for taking advantage of San Antonio’s brief spring season. Those allergic to sunshine should give punky bar Gimme Gimme a try. The TV sets are only easily viewable from the bar, but swanky cocktails and duck fat waffle fries bring their own kind of action.
Downtown’s Sore Loser combines a stripped-down dive atmosphere with above-level cocktails. A pair of San Antonio hospitality vets are working overtime to get the basketball-themed Atlee’s Rally open for the Final Four. If they beat the clock, visit it. If not, there are several other bars in St. Paul’s Square.
Your schedule will be busy enough without a drawn-out dinner, so stick to better versions of arena fare. Leo’s Hideout slings slices and frozen Bourbon and Coke. Smashburger newbie Pumpers covers hotdogs with quarter-pound rippers topped with Hungarian relish or charred cumin. Nearby Hot Joy’s twice-fried wings fancify the game day staple with crab fat caramel.
Other must-dos
If millennial teen movies taught us anything, it’s that jocks can also be cultured. Go with that impulse by visiting the McNay Museum’s blockbuster Sports and Spectator exhibit. Deflated basketballs become blooms, crochet wraps a football helmet, and jerseys are woven into complex textiles. At the very least, you’ll leave with DIY ideas for your TV room.
Final tips
While watching the game and scarfing down tacos will eat up most of your March Madness trip, many of San Antonio’s near-downtown attractions won’t require a long commitment. History buffs can take in the surprisingly small Alamo in 30 to 45 minutes. The Museum Reach section of the River Walk is also a speedy outing. Stop by the San Antonio Museum of Art if you have a couple of hours to kill. If not, there are immersive sculptures and soundscapes installed on the path.