Spotlight On: Stephen Zito, Assistant Director – Convention Sports Facilities, Alamodome
February 2025 — Stephen Zito, assistant director of convention sports facilities at Alamodome, spoke with Invest: about the various high-profile events held at the arena. He discussed how it benefits from the diverse and growing region around San Antonio, and different projects and renovations that establish the venue as a state-of-the-art facility.
What were the key achievements or highlights from the past year for the venue?
The building has continued to flourish with all kinds of great events and concerts. Everybody is incredibly busy with different projects going on in the building as we get ready for the NCAA 2025 men’s Final Four Basketball Tournament in less than two months, men’s Final Four of volleyball coming up in 2026 and the women’s Final Four in basketball in 2029. We’ve got $29 million in construction going on. Recently, we opened 18 new suites. We’re aggressive in our solicitation for events. We have great partnerships with Live Nation and AEG that bring us amazing events. We’re continually looking for opportunities and won’t leave any stones unturned in bringing events to San Antonio.
What impact has Alamodome had on the local community?
Quality of life for all our citizens is important and is reflected in the diversity of our event schedule. We just had another successful Monster Jam and UIL Girls and Boys State High School Basketball Championships. After the Final Four in April, we hosted Disney On Ice, our third UFL season with the Brahmas, Post Malone and Jelly Roll, Shakira and The Weekend, not to mention over 30 college and high school graduation ceremonies. We are honored to be doing what we’re doing and hosting these wonderful events for the citizens of San Antonio and the surrounding areas.
What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities in operating a multipurpose stadium in a growing city like San Antonio?
San Antonio is growing quickly, and we let it be known that San Antonio is a major market. Right now, we’re number seven for growth. We support every event that comes here with marketing, social media and influencer marketing. Promoters are in the business to make money and sell as many tickets as possible, and we want them to leave San Antonio knowing our team is doing everything we can to help them sell tickets. The marketing has paid huge dividends. We may be a distant third market behind Houston and Dallas in population, but in ticket sales we are competing with them and beating them in many cases. It’s a testament that the market will support these events, and that’s why promoters and artists want to keep coming back here.
What are some strategic initiatives implemented over the past year to increase the number of visitors and revenue streams?
We have a mantra called One Team. Everybody here works together. When I say One Team, it’s not just our full-time staff, but it’s all of our partners, including the city, police department, fire department, parking and public works. Everybody is focused on the customer experience, as well as opportunities to make money. In terms of our food and beverage operations, we’ve added grab-and-go technology, which you may see at a lot of airports. You can walk in, grab something off the shelf, scan it and walk out. We have seen in those areas almost triple the amount of return. The fans love it because they don’t have to wait in lines. It’s a great customer experience and revenue generator.
What innovations have you introduced to enhance the audience experience?
The facility and our broadcast and technology capabilities have been toward the top of any major stadium. We’ll have production crews coming from other major events such as NFL games, college football championships or World Series, and they will say even though the building is 32 years old, it’s state-of-the-art. The building is clean, well-kept and comfortable. In preparation for the Final Four, we’ve upgraded our broadcast technologies, our Wi-Fi technologies and our video and audio. We have a new top of the line Arena PA system being installed. We’re fortunate because city executives support our needs and continue to invest in the building so our fans and artists can have an amazing experience and we can remain competitive.
Looking ahead, what are your priorities and how do you plan to achieve them?
We will never rest on our laurels. We’re always striving to set the standard in everything we do. The building averages 125 events a year. Events have load-in days, move-in days and move-out days, and when you add those up for those 125 events, you have in excess of 290 days a year worth of events. Above and beyond that, we host over 150 ancillary events. Added together, something is going on here basically every day of the year, often more than one a day. We’re at the point where we have to be selective of the events we’re booking because the demand is so strong. According to the Census Bureau, San Antonio is the fastest growing city in the United States in terms of population, and the demand flows with that. The metropolitan area and surrounding towns are exploding.
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