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Community / impact

Impact

In its 18-year history, the Valero Alamo Bowl has developed a growing track record of capacity crowds, top ESPN ratings and exciting games.

In its first January 2 appearance the Valero Alamo Bowl lived up to its billing as Texas Tech outlasted Michigan State and secured a 41-31 see-saw victory in front of a soldout Alamodome. It was the third capacity crowd in the last four years and fifth straight game where the outcome wasn't decided until the final two minutes.

TV Viewership

The City of San Antonio annually receives tremendous national exposure during ESPN’s television broadcast of the game. The January 2, Valero Alamo Bowl received the honor of being the "most-watched bowl game in ESPN history" as over 7.8 million viewers tuned into the ESPN broadcast. The Valero Alamo Bowl has now produced three of the Top 6 most-watched bowl games in ESPN history as the #2 slot belongs to the 2006 Alamo Bowl (Texas vs. Iowa) and the #6 ranking to the 2005 game (Nebraska vs. Michigan).

Economic Impact

Over the last 17 games, one million fans have attended the Valero Alamo Bowl. Factoring in the out-of-town fans, the games have resulted in over $310 million in direct economic impact on San Antonio and another $21 million in measurable media exposure from the 100+ million viewers watching the national television broadcasts.

Since 1999, the Valero Alamo Bowl has also hosted the following neutral site football games: Big 12 Championship (1999 and 2007), East-West Shrine Game (2006), Texas A&M vs. Army (2006) and Notre Dame vs. Washington State (2009). These five games delivered 29.6 million viewers and over $81 million in direct economic impact from the 183,691 out-of-town visitors who attended the games.

In October 2010, the Valero Alamo Bowl announced improved selection rights for the games after 2010-2013 seasons from the Big 12 conference (#2 selection after the BCS) and the addition of the Pac-10 conference (#1 selection after the BCS). As a result, the game's impact should increase with higher ranked teams and more energized fans bases.