In March of 2013, I made my first visit to Alamo Stadium as I was interested in the renovation of that historic football stadium and the adjoining Alamo Convocation Center (the gymnasium).
What motivated me to do this? Well, the week before, I watched a 30 for 30 ESPN Film called, “Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?” I was interested in this film because I knew that the San Antonio Gunslingers played in the USFL, and I was hoping to see some shots of Alamo Stadium which I did (it was about 3 minutes of Gunslinger football or should I say Rick Neuheisal talking about the owner and chanting the Gunslinger song).
I also knew that after the 2012 high school football season concluded, Alamo Stadium and the Alamo Convocation Center was going to be renovated. I guess, I was curious and when I arrived for that first visit, I was not expecting the press-box to be gone. After I left, I knew I had to go back as often as I could and take photographs.
Alamo Stadium was built by the WPA and was completed in 1940. I had a birthday party in the press-box when I was much younger (our neighbor who lived across the street was the backup quarterback for the San Antonio Gunslingers and they had a son who was a year older than me; we became friends).
My dad and I saw a 19-year-old Shaquille O’Neal play at the Alamo Convocation Center. He was part of a group of San Antonio all-stars that won the AAU 19 and under national championship. This was between his senior year at Cole High School and freshman year at LSU.
As a high school football statistician, I worked a lot of games there, and quite a few Chili Bowls (a rival game between the Lanier Voks and Fox Tech Buffaloes). So much history happened at that stadium before my time.
In 2010, the voters of San Antonio approved a bond and part of that bond package was funds to update Alamo Stadium. In 2011, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Leading up to the renovations, I don’t think anything was ever updated. The outside facade of the stadium couldn’t be touched, but everything else was fair game (press-box, locker rooms, bathrooms, concession stands, bleachers, scoreboard, and the turf).
When I made that 2013 visit to photograph the renovation, I didn’t have any expectations of where it would take me. I just wanted to snap some photos and share them with the world. I did get “inside access” to the renovations from the school district and the construction managers, which was pretty awesome for me. I am most proud that my photos were featured prominently on television during several broadcasts of Thursday Night Lights (high school football games on television and I was the statistician) and because of what I was photographing, I even got interviewed on television about it. Every time I drive by the stadium, I smile and say thanks.
With each visit, I babbled about how awesome it was and kept repeating that I can’t believe I am really doing this. Lots of exclamation point were used!!!!! They were all in a draft status, but have now been safely deleted and placed in word document for future preservation.
I did attend the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Alamo Stadium on August 16, 2014. Unlike the ribbon cutting for the gymnasium, the rededication ceremony for Alamo stadium was very different. First, there was no ribbon cutting. Second, rather than introducing former players and teams, the football players, bands, and dance/cheerleaders for each SAISD school were introduced and they marched around the brand new track. I must admit, that I got goosebumps. It was really awesome to see that, the fans in the stands, and people in the press-box!! I was a spectator in the stands and my guests were my wife, my mother-in-law, and my parents (and I really appreciated that…it was HOT). But, as I sat in my seat, I knew I had to be on the field to take pictures and that is exactly what I did – I had my media credentials and camera around my neck, plus, I was known by several folks who were a part of the ceremony. I had the time of my life snapping photos of everything, watching the celebration from the field, and just enjoying myself!
So, yeah, it was a wonderful experience. It led me to take photos of Lehnhoff Stadium in Schertz, Texas getting a a press-box renovation and a new scoreboard and a new gymnasium being built in the Northside ISD. For those, I didn’t get “inside access”, and I asked several times to both school districts. Although I did get to see the Northside ISD gym in the morning on the same day it opened up that evening.
Lehnhoff Stadium is home to the Clemens Buffaloes and the Steele Knights. Just like Alamo Stadium, I have worked a lot of games at Lehnhoff Stadium, and it was one of my favorites as the press-box was close to the action (you could open the window and touch the person in the last row). Plus, Clemens and Steele were always two of the top ten teams in the city, with Steele winning a state championship. The fan base for both of the powerhouse schools is also top notch.
For the Northside ISD gymnasium, it was being built next to the football stadium. On the other side of the football stadium is a state of the art aquatics facility (some of the US Olympics swim trials were held there). I was intrigued as this was a new build and I got to see it daily as I would drive by on the way to work.
The only disappointing thing is I have lost most of the photos through website, camera, and computer migrations, but I managed to track down an old website of mine that had a few and I found some on our old iMac. Yay!
Below are links to the photos:
Alamo Stadium/Alamo Convocation Center
