Villanova fans celebrated their national championship at the Alamodome last night and city leaders breathed a sigh of relief. The high-profile game was the culmination of a four-day event requiring intense security on the streets and behind the scenes in San Antonio.
Reports of how the city handled the event and the number of arrests won’t be released until later this week, but Mary Ullmann Japhet, the senior vice president of San Antonio Sports, says the event was executed seamlessly.
"We have proven that we are a perfect site for the Final Four,” Japhet said.
She says the organization spent two years working with local, regional and national law enforcement to ensure everyone’s safety. "The presence of security personnel at the Final Four was comfortably evident, but there was a lot you didn't see and there were people watching all the time," Japhet said.
Thousands of fans were required to carry small bags or clear bags and walked through metal detectors at various events.
“I think they did a great job,” tourist Jacob Brendtke said. “I wore a backpack in because I had to work a lot [and] they went through everything, made sure everything was good. I saw them check a bunch of the fans they did a very thorough job and I felt very comfortable, very safe. I wasn't worried about my safety at all."
Japhet says the March Madness Music Festival met capacity twice, forcing security to turn fans away.
“We were just glad that they would do that, rather than overcrowding and causing something that could be unfortunate for a lot of people," tourist Kaleb Pohlman said.
The San Antonio Police department said the event went smoothly, adding that no big fights were reported. The only major incident filed was when a man ran through a fence and over a cone with his truck downtown.
"An unfortunate situation with a gentleman who was not mentally stable and police handled it instantly, efficiently and I am very proud of the way they took care of that," Japhet said.
San Antonio has already submitted future bids for the Men’s and Women’s Final Four.