SAN ANTONIO – In April, the NCAA Men’s Final Four is coming to San Antonio for the fifth time.

In less than 120 days, four teams and their fan bases will come to San Antonio competing in the Alamodome trying to get their hands on the men’s basketball national championship trophy

But besides the great basketball that is going to be taking place, the economic impact of San Antonio holding an event like this could be felt for years to come.

“It’s huge,” San Antonio assistant city manager Alex Lopez said. “It is absolutely huge.”

“I don’t think anybody does it any better than San Antonio,” LJ Wright, the Director of men’s basketball championships said.

We all know San Antonio knows how to have a good time and with the Final Four in town in late March and early April, the city is expecting more than 100,000 visitors who’ll be looking to find out for themselves.

“The economic impact of a Final Four for this year, we’re projecting more than $400 million in economic impact over the four days,” Elena Wells, the executive director of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee (SOLAC), said.

“I think what’s important is that so many people come to San Antonio, and a lot of times it’s for the first time, but they return,” Lopez added.

“So that kind of impact in that short amount of time is huge for our city, for our restaurants, hotels and all our businesses,” Wells said.

Wells says the media exposure can help to make San Antonio a go to destination.

“It is the road to San Antonio,” she said. “In the media they’ll continue talking about coming to San Antonio. So, that exposure is immeasurable and just a way to showcase our city.”

San Antonians will see the impact through things like Alamodome renovations and other events being put on during the week of the Final Four, but also through seeing the potential of San Antonio come to life.

“When you actually get to live in and see it and experience it, it makes it a little bit more real,” Lopez said.

President and CEO of San Antonio Sports Jenny Carnes says the 2025 Final Four is basically an audition for future Final Fours and events like this. So, they need to put their best foot forward to continue hosting events and helping the city thrive.

“I look forward to what we expect to see in April, and hopefully we’ll have great teams and great competition right here in this building,” Carnes said.

On Wednesday, the city kicked off its volunteer campaign, hoping to recruit thousands of people to help put on the premier sporting event.

This is what really starts to make the event start to feel real — the kickoff campaign for San Antonio as they try to recruit 2,500 volunteers to help them put on the event.

To put on an event like this, it takes a lot of manpower.

Officials like Carnes and Wells say the city continues to get events like this because of the amazing people who help them — and this massive event will be no different.

“We’re really excited to open it up to the general public today, but 2500 volunteers will help us hit a home run come April,” Carnes said.

“We definitely expect to get all the spots filled,” Wells said. “The community has been very excited about supporting NCAA championship and all of our events throughout the years.”

Everyone who volunteers will get some final four swag and tickets to the NCAA fan fest in early April.

Registration is now open at www.ncaa.com/mff. Interested individuals are required to create an account, select their shifts, register for an orientation date and pass a background check, and then join the team bringing the 2025 Final Four to life.

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