The single-game attendance record for an NBA game has been broken after 68,323 fans watched the San Antonio Spurs entertain the Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome.
The attendance surpassed the previous record for an NBA regular-season game, which was set in 1998 when 62,046 fans watched the Chicago Bulls vs the Atlanta Hawks at the now-closed Georgia Dome.
The Alamodome served as the Spurs’ home venue from 1993 to 2002 before the team moved to AT&T Center. The previous record for an NBA game at the Alamodome was 39,554, which was posted on June 18, 1999, when the New York Knicks faced the Spurs in Game 2 of that year’s NBA Finals.
Friday’s game between the Spurs and the Warriors saw home fans greeted with ‘Back Home in the Dome’ signage as they entered the stadium. The game, which saw the Warriors run out 144-113 winners, was organised to tie in with the Spurs’ 50th anniversary celebrations.
On Wednesday, the Spurs announced that 63,592 tickets had been sold, and the following day capacity was increased to more than 68,000 as standing-room and limited-view tickets were made available.
Spurs fans were also able to sample a locker room experience, which featured a tour of a replica locker room designed to resemble the facilities used by the team during its original stay at the venue. Other features included 20 cocktail tables, bars and team murals.
Ahead of the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told the Associated Press news agency: “Yeah, that’s pretty different. It’s a situation where you know … are they selling alcohol? I think that people will be pretty fired up.
“It is just an exciting moment for everybody. It is nostalgic for everybody. To have that many people in one building, to be able to play in front of them, is pretty damn exciting, actually. We hope it is a good game.”
The largest attendance in league history was 108,713 for the 2010 All-Star Game held at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
