The Alamodome, one of the primary assets of the fledgling UTSA football program from day one, will continue to be the home of the Roadrunners through at least the end of the 2035 season.
In what was considered a foregone conclusion, the City Council on Thursday extended a five-year lease agreement the City of San Antonio and UTSA initially signed on Oct. 21, 2010.
The new contract will expire on Dec. 15, 2035.
"We are very excited," UTSA director of athletics Lynn Hickey said after the City Council approved the contract extension early in its weekly meeting. "There are three teams in Texas that play in a dome -- the Cowboys, the Texans and UTSA. So how cool is that? We have one of the best facilities in the country to play football in."
Mike Sawaya, director of the city's Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities Department, said he expects the partnership with UTSA to bring the city about $865,000 per year. The projection is based on UTSA's attendance figures last season.
"It's a great program for the city," Sawaya said. "The revenue streams that the dome gets, as well as covering our expenses, make it worthwhile. It's really a good partnership both ways."
Under terms of the new contract, UTSA will reimburse the city $30,000 to $40,000 per game for staffings costs and "other expenses." The city also will continue to collect all concession, parking and catering revenues.
UTSA broke NCAA attendance records last year
UTSA will receive all ticket, souvenir and program sales, as well as temporary advertising rights during its games, and will retain rental and ticket revenue for 50 of the dome's 52 suites. In the original contract, UTSA could retain rental and ticket revenue for 40 suites and had to split the money it received on its other 10 with the city.
Under the new agreement, the city receives all the catering revenue from all the suites and will retain two suites at no cost.
Parking for UTSA games is sold out this season. The price of parking was $120 for the entire six-game home schedule.
UTSA has sold 13,000 season tickets this year, compared to 11,600 in 2011,
Sawaya made a brief presentation to the Council briefly before it voted, and stood next to Hickey when they spoke to reporters afterward.
"Mike and his team with the city have been outstanding to work with," Hickey said. "It's been fun to work with people that have a vision and really want to do things that help the city, not only academically but economically."
UTSA exceeded crowd projections in its first season last year, drawing a crowd of 56,743 for its inaugural game and averaging 35,521 fans in six contests at the Alamodome. Both attendance figures are records for an NCAA start-up program.
UTSA plays Texas A&M-Commerce in home opener Saturday
The Roadrunners, who finished 4-6 last year, open their home schedule against Texas A&M-Commerce at 1 p.m. Saturday.
UTSA opened its second season with a 33-31 comeback victory against South Alabama on Saturday in Mobile, Ala.
UTSA this season is making its transition to the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners will move to Conference USA at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.
Roadrunners coach Larry Coker has been a big fan of the Alamodome since he was hired by UTSA in March 2009.
"It is a great atmosphere there," Coker said Wednesday after practice. "I like it because to me, it's a beautiful facility, for one, and it caters to downtown and other parts of San Antonio, more than just (Loop) 1604 and (Interstate) 10. To me, it's just a terrific place to recruit to and to play. If we sign a 25-year lease, I'm happy for that."
The Alamodome hasn't had a multi-layer lease agreement with a major local tenant since the Spurs moved to the SBC Center (now AT&T Center) before the 2002-03 NBA season. The Spurs played at the dome for nine seasons after moving from the HemisFair Arena.
