Spurs Set Attendance Report With 65,000-Plus Vs Warriors

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are internet hosting the most important crowd ever for an NBA regular-season sport of their return to the Alamodome.

The Spurs, celebrating their fiftieth anniversary season, have returned to their former dwelling to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday night time.

Official attendance can be introduced within the third quarter, however a Spurs official mentioned greater than 65,000 are available on the Alamodome for the sport towards the defending NBA champions.

It shatters the earlier file of 62,046 who gathered to observe Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks on the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.

“Yeah, that’s fairly totally different,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich mentioned of the file crowd. “It’s a scenario the place you understand … are they promoting alcohol? I believe that folks can be fairly fired up. It is simply an thrilling second for everyone. It is nostalgic for everyone. To have that many individuals in a single constructing, to have the ability to play in entrance of them, is fairly rattling thrilling, really. We hope it’s a good sport.”

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San Antonio now performs its dwelling video games on the AT&T Center however returned to the Alamodome as a part of the franchise’s fiftieth anniversary celebration.

While the Spurs (13-29) are having one of many worst seasons in franchise historical past, the prospect to play on the Alamodome gave followers an opportunity to relive a former period for the crew.

“Having my son right here with me sharing a previous and current reminiscence can be cherished by each of us for years,” mentioned Spurs fan Eric Hernandez, who beforehand attended video games on the Alamodome.

The franchise began on the HemisFair Arena in 1973, however the Alamodome is the place the franchise took its first steps to turning into one of the vital revered NBA franchises.

The Spurs performed within the Alamodome from 1993 to 2002 earlier than shifting 3.1 miles south to the AT&T Center.

San Antonio received its first NBA championship in 1999 whereas enjoying within the Alamodome and held its championship celebration within the downtown facility.

The Alamodome additionally hosted the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, the place Michael Jordan was booed for profitable MVP over former San Antonio resident Shaquille O’Neal.

“It’s loopy,” mentioned Taro Kotani, a Spurs fan visiting from Japan. “The quantity of individuals right here. I’ve by no means been contained in the Dome, so simply imagining what it was like right here throughout ’96 All-Star Game and ’99 Finals is so nostalgic. I wasn’t there however this brings again numerous recollections.”

Kotani deliberate his annual journey to San Antonio round Friday’s sport as a result of he wished to be part of historical past.