The NCAA Men’s Final Four has returned to San Antonio, and as part of a weekend of championship college basketball and other festivities, Southside residents have a new space to enjoy exercise and various sports.
Officials from the city, the NCAA, Harlandale Independent School District and San Antonio Sports gathered Thursday at the former Rayburn Elementary School to dedicate Rayburn Legacy Park.
The newly completed public park at 635 Rayburn Drive — a site that also serves the Rayburn Boys and Girls Club — includes a refurbished gymnasium, a walking track with exercise stations, a soccer field with automatic irrigation and a mural.
Each year, the NCAA Legacy Project works with the local organizing committee in the city hosting the men’s or women’s Final Four to support a court restoration project to benefit that community.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg thanked the NCAA, SAS and its Men’s Final Four Local Organizing Committee, fellow city leaders and other partners for coming together and renovating the recreational and athletic space at Rayburn Elementary.
“[My City Council colleagues and I] don’t agree on everything, but the one thing we do agree on is that we are dedicated to improving spaces for our kids in this community,” Nirenberg said.
“What some people don’t know about the NCAA Final Four is that there’s so much more that happens when the NCAA comes to town. When we host the Final Four, they leave a mark.”
To date, the Alamodome has been a Men’s Final Four venue five times, the last time being in 2018.
The Alamodome has also hosted first and second round tournament games five times. Additionally, Frost Bank Center, home of the Spurs, hosted tournament games in 2014.
With public concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic still lingering, the city hosted the entire 2021 NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament.
Bubba Cunningham, NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Committee chair, lauded San Antonio for being an enthusiastic host for the Men’s Final Four games and fan activities.
“There’s a reason that the NCAA has chosen San Antonio more than any other city. It’s because of the inspiration that you provide for all of us — the festivities, the music and the culture,” Cunningham said.
Aside from fan-friendly programming, partnership initiatives such as the NCAA Legacy Project help to yield permanent benefits in each host city, Cunningham said.
“The great thing about sports is that it builds a sense of community, and [Rayburn Legacy Park] is a great example of it,” he added.
According to Elena Wells, executive director of the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee, Rayburn Legacy Park is San Antonio’s third completed NCAA Legacy Project.
Past local NCAA Legacy Projects include the 2018 opening of Legacy Park, a Westside public park featuring a basketball court and a walking track, and the 2021 debut of a new public basketball court at the Eastside Boys and Girls Club.
Wells said Rayburn Legacy Park, anchored by a warehouse-turned-air-conditioned gym, will benefit the Rayburn Boys and Girls Club and the wider Harlandale ISD community. Rayburn Legacy Park is also San Antonio’s 40th San Antonio Sports’ School Park.
“San Antonio Sports’ bigger picture is creating more park space in San Antonio,” Wells said. “Our goal, with the city of San Antonio, is to have a park within 10-minute walking distance of every resident in the city, and to achieve this, we teamed up with San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department and area school districts to transform school playgrounds into community parks.”
Harlandale ISD trustees voted in 2023 to close Rayburn and three other elementary schools because of financial and student enrollment woes.
But HISD Superintendent Gerardo Soto said he and fellow district leaders are happy that the community will benefit from new uses at the former Rayburn Elementary campus.
“This often underserved area is full of families and residents who will be able to enjoy this gym and community park for years to come,” Soto added.
San Antonio District 3 City Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, who represents the neighborhood, voiced excitement that, despite their troubles, Harlandale ISD officials have been able to repurpose part of the Rayburn Elementary site.
She added that with the NCAA Legacy Project’s support, the new park and gym will benefit community health.
“It’s about getting people outdoors and having an air-conditioned place on those really hot days when people can still be active,” Viagran told San Antonio Report. “This is key for a community that has a problem with diabetes and other health issues. I’m excited to partner with Harlandale [ISD] to see what programming can happen here.”
