US Airways Center
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| US Airways Center | |
|---|---|
  |
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| Location | 201 East Jefferson Phoenix, Arizona 85004 |
| Opened | June 1, 1992 |
| Owner | The City of Phoenix |
| Operator | Phoenix Arena Development, L.P. |
| Construction cost | $90 million USD |
| Architect | Ellerbe Becket |
| Former names | |
| America West Arena (1992-2006) | |
| Tenants | |
| Arizona Rattlers (AFL) (1992-present) Phoenix Suns (NBA) (1992-present) Arizona Sandsharks(CISL) (1993-1997) Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) (1996-2003) Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) (1997-present) Phoenix RoadRunners (ECHL) (2005-present) |
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| Capacity | |
| Basketball: 18,422 Hockey: 16,210 |
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US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride[1].
The arena, which is situated down the street from Chase Field, is named after its sponsor, US Airways, under a naming rights arrangement. After America West's merger with US Airways, it was announced that America West Arena would be renamed to US Airways Center on November 14, 2005 with the name change taking place in January 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Sports teams and events
The US Airways center is home of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the AFL's Arizona Rattlers, and the ECHL's Phoenix Roadrunners. The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes previously played here, from 1996 to 2003. Since then, the Phoenix Roadrunners of the ECHL have made this their home. It was also the home of the indoor soccer team Arizona Sandsharks.
Three of the games of the 1993 NBA Finals between the Suns and the Chicago Bulls, including game six where John Paxson hit basketball's version of the shot heard around the world, were played there, as was one of the three 1998 WNBA finals games and two ArenaBowl games. In 1997, the Rattlers won ArenaBowl XI at America West Arena. It also hosted the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.
In October 25 1998, Celine Dion gave a Let's Talk About Love Tour concert.
In 2003 the US Airways Center hosted WWE SummerSlam and hosted WWE Judgment Day in 2006. In addition to sports events, many famous singers and musical acts, such as dc Talk, The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, REO Speedwagon, *NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, Green Day, Blink 182, Gwen Stefani, Vicente Fernandez and others have performed at the arena. Oscar de la Hoya had one of his first professional boxing bouts (versus Narciso Valenzuela) there, and Michael Carbajal also fought there various times.
On March 5, 2007, US Airways Center hosted WWE Monday Night Raw and its first return to the Phoenix area in two years.
[edit] History
Construction of this arena began in 1988, as Suns owner Jerry Colangelo envisioned a need for a new playing facility to replace Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In 1993, the arena was officially inaugurated with an 111-105 Suns win over the Los Angeles Clippers. After the Suns failed to win the NBA championship that year, a parade that attracted more than 300,000 Suns fans finished up at the arena.
[edit] Hockey Problems
When the Winnipeg Jets announced their intention to move to Phoenix as the Coyotes for the 1996-97 season, the arena was quickly retrofitted for hockey. Unlike most modern arenas, the arena was not designed with a hockey rink in mind. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation-size hockey rink. The building's sight lines, particularly in the upper deck, had been designed for the much smaller basketball floor. As a result, thousands of seats were obstructed. For example, one-fourth of the ice (including the net) was unviewable from four sections of the lower level and 10 sections of the upper level. A small section of seats in the lower level actually hung over the boards, obstructing the view from over 3,000 seats. Some fans reported seeing areas where the original concrete had been sheared off to create retractable seating for hockey. The problem was so serious that by the team's second season in Phoenix, listed capacity for hockey had to be cut down from over 18,000 seats to just over 16,000. Even then, the setup was completely inadequate for the Coyotes. In addition, an unfavorable lease caused financial troubles from which the franchise has never really recovered from yet. The Coyotes eventually moved out of thr America West Arena and into the suburban Glendale Arena in late 2003.
[edit] References
- ^ Phoenix Points of Pride. Retrieved on Error: invalid time.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- close-up
- US Airways Page at Arizona's S&E News
- Seats3D Interactive Seating Tour of US Airways Center
| Preceded by Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1968–1992 |
Home of the Phoenix Suns 1992–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by none |
Home of the Arizona Rattlers 1992–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by none |
Home of the Phoenix Mercury 1997–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by none |
Home of the Phoenix RoadRunners 2005–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Winnipeg Arena 1972–1996 |
Home of the Phoenix Coyotes 1996–2003 |
Succeeded by Glendale Arena 2003–present |
Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa • Arizona Center • Ben Avery Shooting Facility • Camelback Mountain • Cricket Pavilion • Deer Valley Rock Art Center • Desert Botanical Garden • Encanto Park • Heard Museum • The Herberger Theater Center • Historic Heritage Square • Ro Ho En (Japanese Friendship Garden) • Mystery Castle • Orpheum Theatre • Papago Park/Hole-In-The-Rock • Thomas J. Pappas School • Patriots Square Park • Phoenix Art Museum • Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area • Phoenix Zoo • Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park • Shemer Art Center and Museum • South Mountain Park • St. Mary's Basilica • Symphony Hall • Telephone Pioneers of America Park • Tovrea Castle and Carraro Cactus Garden • US Airways Center • Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza • Wrigley Mansion
| Current arenas in the Women's National Basketball Association |
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| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Conseco Fieldhouse | Madison Square Garden | Mohegan Sun Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | UIC Pavilion | Verizon Center | ARCO Arena | AT&T Center | KeyArena | Staples Center | Target Center | Toyota Center | US Airways Center | |
| Current arenas in the Arena Football League |
||
| American Conference | National Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | HP Pavilion | Nashville Arena | Orleans Arena | Pepsi Center | Staples Center | US Airways Center | Van Andel Arena | American Airlines Center | Amway Arena | Frank Erwin Center | Kemper Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Nationwide Arena | New Orleans Arena | Philips Arena | St. Pete Times Forum | Wachovia Center1 | Wachovia Spectrum2 | |
| 1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum. |
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| Current arenas in the ECHL |
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| American Conference | National Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena at Gwinnett Center | Cambria County War Memorial Arena | Carolina Coliseum | St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice | Ford Arena | Germain Arena | James Brown Arena | North Charleston Coliseum | Nutter Center | Pensacola Civic Center | Sovereign Bank Arena | Sovereign Center | Toledo Sports Arena | U.S. Bank Arena | WesBanco Arena | E Center | Long Beach Sports Arena | Orleans Arena | Qwest Arena | Rabobank Arena | Save Mart Center | Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre| Stockton Arena | Sullivan Arena | US Airways Center | |
Categories: Arena football venues | Basketball venues in the United States | Buildings and structures in Phoenix | 1992 establishments | Indoor arenas in the United States | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | National Basketball Association venues | National Hockey League venues | Phoenix Coyotes | Phoenix Mercury | Phoenix Suns | Sports in Phoenix | Sports venues in Arizona | Sports venues in Phoenix | Phoenix Points of Pride | US Airways
