HemisFair Arena

[baseline bum]

Me and my buddies use to buy a $3.00 ticket in the green seats ( behind the backboard) and then walk over and sit with the rich folk in the red seats at mid-court. Of course in the first few ABA years there would only be about 5000-7000 people per game. And at halftime we we go find some stairwell to smoke some weed.

The red seats were great at Hemisfair. I actually preferred those to the yellow seats closer to the court.

[gospursgojas]

Went to 2 games at hemisfair....I remember being kinda creeped out. I was like 6.

P.S baseline bum , awesome sig video...that intro bought back memories of my pre duncan spurs

[Obstructed_View]

Anyone remember the upper-level, "obstructed view" seats in the old arena?

I'm sure nobody that didn't read the post right above your post remembers them.

[Maddog]

Good stuff...however, the reason the Spurs had to raise the roof and add capacity was because when the Spurs joined the NBA, 10,000 seats did not meet NBA standards. So, San Antonio decided the best plan would be to raise the roof of the HemisFair Arena...thus adding almost 7,000 additional seats.

jeez I'm old enough to remember when there wasn't any obstructed view seats...........

[bigbendbruisebrother]

(Bull- !)

Yes!!! And LOUD bull at that!!!

[bigbendbruisebrother]

I went to my first Spurs game when I was nine in 1976; it was against the Sonics. The score was up in the 140's and the things that I recall most vividly from that game were the general rowdiness of the fans that was extolled from Pat Tallman ("welcoming the world's greatest fans to the NOISIEST arena in pro-basketball!"), the full western swing band, and Larry Kenon going coast to coast on a steal and dunking from what seemed like the free throw line.

My dad worked for SASA in the 80s, and had access to season tickets from 82 through 91. Third row, center court. And from that vantage point, I can say that one of the most vivid features of Hemisfair was the heckling. Our fans were brutal back then. After one of Don Nelson's jiggly yelling tantrums at a ref, I can remember a lady belting out, "Get a bra if you're going to shake like that!" The whole section erupted. He heard it too, you could tell. I yelled at Don Cheney one time that he had the refs in his pocket, and the dude patted his wallet and laughed. The original baseline bums of the 70's were beasts, but by the 80's, the Baseline Bums had become a joke; I'll never forget watching a group of them lean over the tunnel after a game to get Karl Malone's autograph. I drug my date over to their section to yell at them, something I never would have done to the 70's group. I saw Gervin's jersey retirement game (against MJ's Bulls--we won) from an obstructed view seat.

I could go on for hours. Thanks for creating this thread. I loved the Bean Pot, and while I still love going to Spurs games, they will never have the gritty, down home feel of HemisFair. In fact, I would go as far as to say that if I could pick any Spurs season to relive it would be the one that got away--1978-79--for the simple reason that no group of fans and no team has ever had a tighter bond. Hemisfair created and stoked that fire.

[wildbill2u]

Somebody mentioned the Spurs Corral. In the old Hemisfair Arena it wasn't a 'members only' snooty place. Anyone could go in and drink, before the game, during the game, halftime and after.

My partner and I started going in the first season and we got wasted at every game since we also drank beer while in the stands between bouts in the corral.

The bartender/manager was Ralph Reid, the father of Robert Reid, the star of St. Mary's and later a pro on the Rockets. I dated a couple of waitresses I met there.

After the game drinks were special and you got copies of the stats to read while waiting for the traffic to thin.

The cops who worked the games started playing half-court games after their shift was over. We got up a team from the Corral and started playing them full court. Ralph Reid, the Corral manager was our center and he'd contribute a pitcher of martinis to keep our spirits up when bodies flagged. The waitresses were our cheerleaders. What a blast.

[Jose Ole]

I took my first steps at HemisFair Arena and then proceeded to eat and roll down the orange studded ramps inside! Greatest Baby's-Day-Out ever thanks to dad, but mom was a little bummed she missed seeing me walk for the first time... call is irresponsible parenting if you wish, but I've been a Spurs fan ever since

[Maddog]

Somebody mentioned the Spurs Corral. In the old Hemisfair Arena it wasn't a 'members only' snooty place. Anyone could go in and drink, before the game, during the game, halftime and after.

My partner and I started going in the first season and we got wasted at every game since we also drank beer while in the stands between bouts in the corral.

The bartender/manager was Ralph Reid, the father of Robert Reid, the star of St. Mary's and later a pro on the Rockets. I dated a couple of waitresses I met there.

After the game drinks were special and you got copies of the stats to read while waiting for the traffic to thin.

The cops who worked the games started playing half-court games after their shift was over. We got up a team from the Corral and started playing them full court. Ralph Reid, the Corral manager was our center and he'd contribute a pitcher of martinis to keep our spirits up when bodies flagged. The waitresses were our cheerleaders. What a blast.

hmm don't remeber the corral but remeber the Lone Star Pavilion before games

[Bender]

I didn't go to any spurs games there, but went to lots of rock concerts and gun shows there...

[rascal]

I saw the spurs in their early ABA years.

The Spurs played an uptempo run and gun exciting brand of basketball which fuled the crowd to go crazy after a scoring burst. Much easier to get the crowd going nuts with offensive style of play than defensive play.

[G-Nob]

I still have my Lights Out HemisFair t-shirt and my 1993playoff ticket stub from the Phx game. The last one there.

[bigfan]

As a season ticket holder all the way back than it was the most enjoyable arena to watch a game. I could easily get close to the floor and the crowds were pretty sparse for some games. Those games the players could easily hear you yelling at them. I got many a player to react to me while on the floor. Of course, those were my younger days.

My most memorable game was the night the Spurs defeated the Lakers twice the same night.

I was at that double-header too! Two great victories!

[bigfan]

The best seats at Hemisfair were the loge seats in the balcony that hung out over the edge IMHO, especially the ones on the far right or left. Perfect 3/4 angle view of the court.

[cantthinkofanything]

I never got to see a Spurs game there. But I did see Rignling Bros. circus when I was 5 or 6. Gunther Gebel was there and I got this poster of him with the Lions. I don't know what happend to it though.

[JudynTX]

You could hear the profanity of the Bums clearly from about anywhere in there.

Yes, you could. You also couldn't see the game through all the smoke in the arena.

[SenorSpur]

Here is that second video:

Real solid stuff, Solid (pun intended).

It was a joy to see all that old vintage Spurs footage - especially that of the Spurs very first power forward, Rich Jones.

Don't know where you dug this up, but thanks so much for posting.

[SenorSpur]

Somebody mentioned the Spurs Corral. In the old Hemisfair Arena it wasn't a 'members only' snooty place. Anyone could go in and drink, before the game, during the game, halftime and after.

My partner and I started going in the first season and we got wasted at every game since we also drank beer while in the stands between bouts in the corral.

The bartender/manager was Ralph Reid, the father of Robert Reid, the star of St. Mary's and later a pro on the Rockets. I dated a couple of waitresses I met there.

After the game drinks were special and you got copies of the stats to read while waiting for the traffic to thin.

The cops who worked the games started playing half-court games after their shift was over. We got up a team from the Corral and started playing them full court. Ralph Reid, the Corral manager was our center and he'd contribute a pitcher of martinis to keep our spirits up when bodies flagged. The waitresses were our cheerleaders. What a blast.

That's good to know. I always thought it was "exclusive". Didn't matter anyway, I was too young to get in, but I always wondered how it was. i always had visions of "hot" women being in there, socializing with both "big-wigs" and the players.