Latest Phoenix Suns News

US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, arena football’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 Arizona Sandsharks.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 18,422, Hockey: 16,210
Opened: June 1, 1992
Owner: The City of Phoenix
Operator: Phoenix Arena Development, L.P.
Construction cost: $90 million USD
Architect: Ellerbe Becket
Location: 201 East Jefferson, Phoenix, Arizona 85004

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.

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. However, the arena’s floor was not large enough for a hockey rink, unlike most modern arenas. Several seats had badly obstructed views. 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–the smallest capacity in the NHL at the time.

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 The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, REO Speedwagon, *NSYNC, The Backstreet Boys, 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.

The arena, which is situated across 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.

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Latest San Antonio Spurs News

The AT&T Center is an indoor arena located in San Antonio, Texas. It was completed in 2002 as the SBC Center at a cost of $186 million, financed by a local sales tax. The arena is home to the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA and the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL in the winter-spring, the San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA in the summer, and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo held in February. It seats 18,500 for basketball and 13,000 for hockey.

Seating Capacity: – Basketball: 18,797, Hockey: 13,000
Opened: – October 18, 2002
Owner: – Bexar County
Architect: – Ellerbe Becket
Location: – 1 AT&T Center Parkway, San Antonio, Texas 78219

The arena has 50 luxury suites. SBC Communications, Inc. purchased the naming rights to the facility under a 20-year, $41 million naming rights agreement with the City of San Antonio, the San Antonio Spurs and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in July 2000. SBC Communications changed its name to AT&T, Inc. in November 2005 after its purchase of AT&T Corporation. The arena officially changed its name to AT&T Center in January 2006.

Previously, the Spurs played at the football-intended Alamodome, a multi-purpose facility with a configuration that allowed half the floor space to be used for basketball. Although the Alamodome was still relatively new (opening in 1993), it had become clear over the years that the Spurs were using the dome for much of the year, making it difficult to schedule contiguous dates for conventions or even a regular-season football schedule.

Although seating capacity in the Alamodome made the facility one of the largest in the NBA, the Spurs and fans were not satisfied with the facility because of its poor sight lines for basketball and the cavernous nature of the arena configuration. Being primarily a football stadium differentiated the Alamodome from most other NBA facilities, including the Spurs’ previous home HemisFair Arena. The Spurs management always considered the Alamodome a temporary, not permanent solution and if a new arena deal had not be made the team most certainly would have left the city.

Additionally, since the Alamodome opened there had been a plethora of new arena construction including facilities such as Conseco Fieldhouse, which in addition to offering an intimate atmosphere offered teams several new revenue generating opportunities including suites located on the lower levels as well as large club level seating areas.

The Spurs campaigned for several years for a new facility. The Spurs and the city had come to an agreement to build a new facility adjacent to the Alamodome, but in a last-minute reversal, the team partnered with Bexar County to construct a new arena adjacent to the Freeman Coliseum. As a part of the agreement the facility would be home to both the Spurs, a new hockey team and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Association’s annual, multi-day event.

The facility would be funded through an increase of hotel and car rental taxes, and Bexar County voters approved the plan in November 1999. Coincidentally, the election was held on the same day the Spurs received their NBA Championship rings for their 1999 championship title.

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Latest Dallas Mavericks News

Latest Dallas Stars News

The American Airlines Center is an arena located in the Victory neighborhood of Uptown Dallas, Texas that is used for hockey games, basketball games and concerts.

Seating Capacity: Hockey: 18,000, Basketball: 19,200
Opened: July 17, 2001
Owner: The City of Dallas
Construction cost: $420 million USD
Architects: David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services, Inc., HKS, Inc., Johnson/McKibben Architects, Inc.
Location: 2500 Victory Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75201

By 1998, the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars were indicating their desire for a new facility to replace obsolete Reunion Arena. Dallas taxpayers approved a new hotel tax and rental car tax to pay for a new facility to cover a portion of the funding, with the two teams, the Mavericks and the Stars picking up the remaining costs, including cost overruns. The new arena was to be built just north of Woodall Rodgers Freeway near Interstate 35 on the site of an old power plant.

In March of 1999, American Airlines announced that it would be acquiring the naming rights for the new facility.

On July 27, 2001, the facility opened with the largest ribbon-cutting ceremony ever, according to the Guinness Book of Records. The first event occurred the next day with an Eagles concert. On the next night, the arena hosted the last show of Michael Flatley’s Feet of Flames tour. The first sporting event took place on August 1 with the Dallas Sidekicks of the World Indoor Soccer League taking on the San Diego Sockers. The WWE also held their annual Survivor Series event at the arena in 2003, and regularly hosts events at the arena (generally 1-2 each year).

The American Airlines Center is meant to be the heart of a new urban, commercial area designed to reinvigorate the city of Dallas called Victory Park. The facility itself features a conservative, traditional design with sweeping brick façades and smooth arches, and has been graced with a number of awards. The interior includes retractable seating, public art and a state-of-the-art technological arena. Because of the appearance of its roof and the fact that American Airlines holds the naming rights some fans have come to refer to it as “The Hangar.” Others just call it the AAC.

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Latest New Orleans Hornets News

The New Orleans Arena is an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city’s Central Business District, adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome.

It has been home to the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA since 2002, and is also home to some Tulane University basketball games as well as some high school basketball games and other special events. The now-defunct New Orleans Brass of the ECHL played in the New Orleans Arena their last three seasons before their demise in 2002. Since February 2004, the New Orleans VooDoo, of the Arena Football League (AFL), has played their home games in the arena.

The arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $84 million and officially opened on October 19, 1999. The Brass was the main tenant for its first three years until the team was forced to fold after Hornets management demanded priority upon moving. The arena seats 18,000 for basketball and 16,500 for arena football and has 56 luxury suites.

The Arena is also used as a venue for music concerts where it can seat from 7,500 for a half-stage setup to 17,221 for end-stage shows and at the most 17,805 for a center-stage show. For trade shows and conventions the Arena features 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) of space. The ceiling is 65 feet (20 m) to beam and roof, 70 feet (21.5 m) to the top of the arena.

It hosted ArenaBowl XXI in 2007, will host the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, ArenaBowl XXII in July 2008, the 2012 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament, and has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in 2007, and will do so again in 2010. The Arena has also hosted the 2004 Women’s Final Four and will host the 2008 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament South Regionals.

Hurricane Katrina

Following Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, medical operations that had previously been housed in the Superdome were moved to the Arena. Medical personnel had been working in an area of the Superdome with poor lighting, leaking ceilings and soggy carpet. The Arena’s design was tested in 1996 by CPP, a wind engineering consulting firm, so it fared far better than the Superdome during the storm and was in better condition to house sensitive medical operations. Thus, unlike the Superdome, the Arena reopened to activities only one month after the storm.

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Latest Houston Rockets News

The Toyota Center can seat 18,300 for basketball, 17,800 for hockey, & Up to 19,000 for concerts. It also has 2,900 Club Seats as well as 103 Luxury Suites. There are over 10,000 parking spaces within a few blocks of the facility, including the 2,500-space Toyota Tundra garage connected to the arena via private skybridge.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 18,300, Ice Hockey:17,800
Opened: October 6, 2003
Owner: Harris County – Houston Sports Authority
Operator: Clutch City Sports and Entertainment
Architects: Morris Architects, HOK Architects, John Chase Architects
Location: 1510 Polk Street, Houston, Texas 77002

The Toyota Center is a sports venue located at 1510 Polk Street in Downtown Houston, Texas.

In 2002, the Houston sports teams pressured the city for a new stadium to be built to replace the Compaq Center, formerly known as the Summit. As a result, the Toyota Center was built and has since become their new home.

Winner of the Allen Award for Civic Enhancement by Central Houston in 2003, “Rookie of the Year” by the Harlem Globetrotters in 2004 and a finalist for Pollstar Magazine’s “Best New Concert Venue” award, the Toyota Center welcomed more than 1.5 million fans during its first year alone.

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Latest Lakers News

Latest Clippers News

Latest Kings News

Staples Center is a multipurpose sports arena in downtown Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District. It is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex. Staples Center was financed privately at a cost of $375 million USD and is named for the Staples office-supply company, one of the center’s corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 18,997, Hockey: 18,118, Concerts: 20,000
Opened: October 17, 1999
Owner: L.A. Arena Co., Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)
Operator: L.A. Arena Co., Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)
Construction cost: $375 million USD
Architect: NBBJ
Location: 1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90015

Staples Center opened on October 17, 1999, and immediately won recognition, becoming a two-time winner of the PollStar-CIC Arena of the Year award. It has gained fame as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL, and the Los Angeles Avengers of the AFL. It is the only arena that is home to five professional sports franchises.

There are a total of 12 locker and dressing rooms, including team-specific locker rooms for the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings. There are a series of meeting rooms in the arena, including the Bank of America conference area on the suite level and additional rooms in the attached, three-story office tower. There are extensive hospitality facilities, including a magnificent arena restaurant and club space on the suite level at one end of the arena, overlooking the arena floor.

Spectator amenities include a full-service ticket window, 1,200 television monitors throughout the facility, 23 refreshment stands spread among the arena’s five concourses, as well as the Fox Sports SkyBox restaurant on the main plaza, the Royal Room on main concourse, the Arena Club and Grand Reserve Club above the premier seating level, and the outdoor City View Grille, offering a look at the downtown skyline. There is also a TeamLA store on the plaza level, accessible from outside the arena, and offers a complete array of apparel and merchandise for the arena’s resident teams and top events. Event presentation is augmented by a $2 million specialty lighting package, a $1.5 million Bose sound system, a Mitsubishi eight-sided, center-court scoreboard and videoboard, as well as a fascia board along the upper seating level, provided by Daktronics.

Staples Center seats up to 20,000 for concerts, 18,997 for basketball, and 18,118 for hockey and arena football. Two-thirds of the arena’s seating, including 2,500 club seats, are in the lower bowl, and there are 160 luxury suites, including 15 event suites, on three levels between the lower and upper bowls. The arena’s attendance record is held by WWE WrestleMania 21 with a crowd of 20,193 set on April 3, 2005.

Although Staples Center is already a Los Angeles icon, it is only a part of a much larger 4-million ft² development by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) adjoining the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. A downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment destination, known as L.A. Live, broke ground on September 15, 2005. L.A. Live is designed to offer entertainment, retail and residential programming in the downtown Los Angeles area.

The multi-faceted entertainment destination will feature entertainment venues, restaurants, retail commercial and residential spaces, television and radio broadcast studios, and concert spaces. Highlights of the district will include a four star, 1,100 room convention center headquarters hotel, a 40,000 ft² outdoor plaza, an ESPN broadcast and restaurant facility, Regal Theatres, as well as Club Nokia, the Nokia Theatre Los Angeles, and Nokia Plaza.

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Latest Seattle SuperSonics News

KeyArena at Seattle Center is located north of downtown Seattle, USA on the grounds of Seattle Center (the site of 1962’s Century 21 Exposition, a World’s Fair). The arena’s primary tenants are the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association. It hosted the 1974 NBA All-Star Game.

Seating Capacity: 17,072
Opened: 1962 (renovated 1994)
Owner: City of Seattle
Operator: City of Seattle
Construction cost: $74.5 million (1994 renovation)
Location: 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, Washington 98109

Opened in 1962 as the Seattle Center Coliseum, the rebuild began on June 16, 1994 before the building reopened on October 26, 1995. During the rebuild, the building’s original roofline was used as a guide and some of the original concrete for the main supports still exists but most everything about the arena was brand new. The court which was originally at street level is now 35 feet below to allow more seating. After the rebuild, the Coliseum was renamed KeyArena, as Key Bank purchased the naming rights. The first regular season game that the Seattle SuperSonics played in KeyArena at Seattle Center took place on November 4, 1995, against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition to being the home of the Sonics, it is also home to the Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association and the Seattle Thunderbirds, a junior hockey team in the Western Hockey League. It is also used for non-athletic entertainment purposes, such as ice shows, circuses, and concerts.

The rebuild cost the city of Seattle $74.5 million, and the Seattle SuperSonics approximately $20 million. KeyArena is the first publicly financed arena fully supported by earned income from the building. Its seating capacity for basketball games is 17,072, ice hockey games and ice shows 15,177, end-stage concerts, 16,641 and center-stage concerts and boxing 17,459. Risers hold 7,440 on the upper level and up to 7,741 on the lower level, with luxury suites adding another 1,160 seats.

Plans unveiled in late 2004 propose expanding KeyArena to nearly twice its current size to accommodate new restaurants, shops, and a practice court (the cost is to be approximately $180 million).

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Latest Utah Jazz News

The EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States owned by Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for basketball, has 56 luxury suites, and 668 club seats. Opened in 1991, the arena was known as the Delta Center until EnergySolutions purchased the naming rights, effective November 20, 2006. The arena is the home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

Seating Capacity: 20,000
Opened: October 4, 1991
Owner: Larry H. Miller
Operator: Larry H. Miller
Construction cost: $93 million USD

In 2006, the arena became the home of the Arena Football League’s Utah Blaze. It was also home to the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions of the 2002 Winter Olympics (during the Olympics, the arena was referred to as the Salt Lake Ice Center).

History

The arena was originally imagined as 20,000-seat home for the Utah Jazz and Salt Lake Golden Eagles to replace the since-demolished Salt Palace arena, which had 12,616 seats. Under the leadership and private financing of Utah businessman Larry H. Miller, ground was broken on May 22, 1990, and it was completed on October 4, 1991 in time for late-October basketball games, at a cost of $93 million.

The first game played in the arena was a Golden Eagles match against the Peoria Rivermen on October 16, 1991, which the home team lost 4-2. The Eagles had also played the inaugural game in the Salt Palace when it opened on October 10, 1969. The Eagles, which were purchased by Miller in 1990, lost nearly a million dollars annually and would not long play in the Delta Center.

The first basketball game played in the arena was a Jazz pre-season loss against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks, 101-95. In addition to sports, the arena was intended to host large music concerts. On October 24, 1991 Oingo Boingo became the first headlining act to rock the Delta Center.

The 1993-95 Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournaments were held at the facility, as was the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.

The arena’s roof was damaged by severe winds associated with the Salt Lake City Tornado of August 11, 1999, costing $3,757,000 to repair.

The facility played host to the 1999 US Figure Skating Championships. The arena was also home to the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions of the 2002 Winter Olympics.

In addition to the Utah Jazz and Blaze, the arena has also been the home of the WNBA’s Utah Starzz from 1997-2002, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles from 1991-1994, and the Utah Grizzlies from 1995-1997 both of the International Hockey League. It also is and has been the host of the Utah Basketball League Salt Lake Devils since October 2005, the league’s creation.

Dan Roberts serves as the official EnergySolutions Arena public address voice for the Jazz. He has been the Jazz’ home game announcer since before the arena was built.

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Latest Golden State Warriors News

The Oracle Arena, also known by its former names of the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Oakland Arena, the Arena In Oakland, and The Arena is an indoor arena in Oakland, California. It was originally constructed as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena in 1966.

Seating Capacity: 19,596
Opened: 1966
Owner: City of Oakland
Operator: SMG Facility Management
Construction cost: $121 million USD (renovation in 1997)
Architect: HNTB

The arena has been home to the Golden State Warriors since 1966, excepting the one-year hiatus. The Cal Golden Bears have played a few games at the arena over the years, as well. The Coliseum also hosted the Bay Bombers (Roller Derby, 1966-1973) as well as the California Golden Seals (also known as the Oakland Seals and California Seals previously) of the NHL from 1967–1976. The Oakland Skates, a professional roller hockey team, also played here from 1993 to 1995.

Renovation

Over the years though, the arena became increasingly outdated, lacking the luxuries of newer ones. Rather than building a new arena in Oakland – or, for that matter, in San Francisco or San Jose, as some wanted – the decision was made to proceed with a $121 million renovation that tore down much of the old arena, leaving the external walls, roof and foundation, along with a few other features, intact, and then building a new seating bowl within the older confines, similar to what was done to the KeyArena in Seattle. The renovation began in mid-1996 and was completed in time for the Golden State Warriors to return in the fall of 1997 (they played the intervening season at the San Jose Arena). The new arena seats 19,596 for basketball and 17,000 for ice hockey.

The Oracle

On October 20, 2006, the Golden State Warriors and the Oracle Corporation announced a 10-year agreement in which the Oakland Arena would be known as The Oracle. The Oracle will continue to be managed by Oakland-Alameda County Authority (JPA) and SMG.

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Latest Portland TrailBlazers News

The Rose Garden Arena is the main sports arena in Portland, Oregon, USA and is currently managed by Global Spectrum, a company which manages sports facilities (and which also owns several sports franchises). The arena, which opened on October 12, 1995 with a ceremony to honor Blazers’ fans and the construction workers who built it, was originally capable of seating 20,340 spectators for NBA basketball. Its capacity has since been reduced to 19,980 by subsequent modifications. At the time of its construction, the arena was considered a state-of-the-art facility; newer facilties have since surpassed the Rose Garden in amenities. The first regular season game to be played at the Rose Garden was the Trail Blazers hosting the then-Vancouver Grizzlies on November 3, 1995.

	Capacity		Basketball: 19,980, Lacrosse:17,544
	Opened		October, 1995
	Owner		Portland Arena Management, LLC
	Operator		Global Spectrum
	Construction cost		$262 million USD
	Architect		Ellerbe Becket

The arena’s current primary tenant is the Portland TrailBlazers of the NBA. It is also home to the junior hockey team Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL and the Portland Lumberjax, an NLL expansion team that began play in January, 2006. Both the Trail Blazers and Winter Hawks played in the Memorial Coliseum and moved to the Rose Garden when it was completed in 1995. However, the Rose Garden and the Memorial Coliseum split Winter Hawks home games during the season.

The arena was also built to accommodate a NHL franchise and there has been speculation over the years about Portland landing a team. However, this has not yet occurred.

In 1997, an AFL team landed in Portland from Memphis as the Portland Forest Dragons. Two seasons later, they relocated to Oklahoma City.

The Rose Garden did host the 2000 WNBA expansion team Portland Fire. But due to low attendance and a bleak financial outlook, the team folded in 2002.

The Rose Garden and Portland Winter Hawks hold the Western Hockey League’s record for single game attendance with a crowd of 19,103 on March 15, 1997. The Winter Hawks tied the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds, 6-6.

The venue hosted several WWE events, a rarity in Oregon, including WWE Unforgiven in 2004 and a RAW show in Fall 2005. Smackdown! came to Portland for the first time in late-May 2006.

In the Winter of 2005, the Rose Garden hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

In 2004, Portland, Oregon was selected as one of 5 cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports francise to start in 2005. Titled the Vans Invitational, the event was held at the Rose Quarter from August 17-21. The Rose Garden hosted BMX: Dirt and Freestyle Motocross. The Dew Action Sports will return to Portland for year 2.

A number of rock concerts have also occurred at the venue. The first concert held in the Rose Garden was David Bowie with Nine Inch Nails. In November 2005 alone, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney both played the arena respectively.

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Latest Memphis Grizzlies News

FedExForum is a sports venue officially opened in September of 2004. It is in the southern part of downtown Memphis, Tennessee at 191 Beale Street and Third Street. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association and the men’s basketball program of the University of Memphis (the Tigers). Their previous home was the Pyramid Arena. The arena was built at a cost of $250 million and is owned by the City of Memphis; naming rights were purchased by Memphis’ most well-known business, FedEx. The venue also has the capability of hosting ice hockey matches, concerts, and family shows.

Seating Capacity: 18,165
Opened: September 2004
Owner: City of Memphis
Operator: City of Memphis
Construction cost: $250 million
Architect: Ellerbe Becket

FedExForum was designed by architectural firm Ellerbe Becket. The arena is 805,850 ft� (75,000 m�) in size covering 14 acres (57,000 m²). It is capable of seating 19,000 people and has 1,000 premiere courtside seats. There are 27 courtside suites, 32 club suites, 4 party suites, and 80 club boxes.

FedExForum was the first arena to utilize new “see-through” shot clocks which allow spectators seated behind the basket to see the action from the game without having the shot clock units interfere with their view. The idea came when an NBA fan in New Jersey who sits behind the basket at Continental Airlines Arena sent an e-mail to NBA Commissioner David Stern, asking for technology to improve his view, and Daktronics obliged with the experiment at FedExForum in 2004.

The NBA approved the unit a year later for full use, and has seen the new units installed at the Wachovia Center and Charlotte Bobcats Arena after the approval.

The facility has hosted the Conference USA men’s basketball tournament since 2005. It will be the site of the Midwest Regional finals in the 2009 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.

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Latest Minnesota Timberwolves News

The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota sponsored by Target Corporation that is home to the National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Women’s National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Lynx. In 1996 it was home to the Arena Football League team Minnesota Fighting Pike. The City of Minneapolis has owned the arena since 1995, although management has changed hands a few times. Most recently, the management was changed in May 2004 from Clear Channel Entertainment to Midwest Entertainment Group, a joint venture of the Timberwolves and Nederlander Concerts. The Timberwolves originally built and owned the arena in 1990.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 20,500, Hockey: 17,500
Owner: City of Minneapolis
Operator: Midwest Entertainment Group
Surface: Multi-surface
Construction cost: $104 million USD
Architect: KMR Architects

In 2004 Target Center underwent a major renovation that saw the replacement of all 19,006 of its original seats plus the addition of nearly 1,500 new seats as well as the reconfiguration of the lower bowl to make the arena more fan-friendly. In addition the arena’s original scoreboard was replaced with a new state-of-the-art 9-by-16 foot video screen and state-of-the-art LED signage, LED signage on the upper deck fascia, a new luxury lounge (Club Cambria) and improved access for fans with disabilities. Today Target Center seats 20,500 for basketball and from 13,000 to 19,000 for end-stage concerts, 19,500 for center-stage concerts and 17,500 for ice hockey.

Target Center is one of three NBA arenas with parquet floors, including TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, and TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando. It hosted the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, WWF SummerSlam 1999, WWE Judgment Day 2005 and the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) RAW and SmackDown! Super Show, which became a tribute show to Eddie Guerrero.

Target Center can convert into a 3,000-to-7,500-seat theater known as the U.S. Bank Theater. The Theater contains a moveable floor-to-ceiling curtain system that allows the venue to by transformed based on specific show needs. In addition to concerts, the U.S. Bank Theater can also be used for family and Broadway shows.

Target Center is a block away from the Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue terminus of the Hiawatha Line. The arena is also across the street from the well-known Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue and an entertainment complex known as Block E.

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Latest Denver Nuggets News

Latest Colorado Avalanche News

Pepsi Center is an arena located in Denver, Colorado, USA. The building is home to the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth and Colorado Crush. When not in use by one of Denver’s sports teams, the building frequently serves as a venue for concerts.

Ground was broken for the arena on November 20, 1997 on the 4.6 acre site. Its completion in October of 1999 was marked by a concert by Celine Dion. At the time, some commented on the irony of naming the home of the former Québec Nordiques after Pepsi, which is a common derogatory term for French-Canadians. Capacity for the building is listed at 19,099 for basketball games and 18,007 for hockey, arena football and lacrosse games. It hosted the 2001 NHL All-Star Game and the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.

	Capacity		Basketball 19,099, Hockey, Lacrosse 18,007
	Owner		Stan Kroenke
	Operator		Stan Kroenke
	Construction cost		$160 million USD
	Architect		HOK Sport

Pepsi Center was constructed as part of a 6-year sporting venue upgrade in Denver along with Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, and Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rapids.

Also included in the complex is a basketball practice facility used by the Nuggets and the Blue Sky Grill, a restaurant with access from the outside and from those within Pepsi Center as well. The atrium of the building houses a suspended sculpture depicting various hockey and basketball athletes in action poses.

In 2003, Pepsi Center hosted WWE Vengeance and Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar and Big Show in a Triple Threat Match to win the WWE Championship. The complex was constructed in order to be readily accessible. The arena sits on Speer Boulevard, a main throughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by a nearby exit off of Interstate 25.

It has hosted the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Mountain West Conference men’s basketball tournament since 2004, and the annual Denver Grand Prix, held in part parking Lot. Future events at the building will include the NCAA Men’s ice hockey West Regional on March 24 and March 25, 2007, as well as the Men’s Frozen Four tournament on April 10 and April 12, 2008. The Pepsi Center will also host the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as a first and second round site. It hosted the tournament in the same fashion in 2004.

In 2004, Denver, Colorado was selected as one of 5 cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports franchise that began in 2005. Titled the Right Guard Open, the inagural event was held at the Pepsi Center from July 6-10.

Before the construction of Pepsi Center, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche played in McNichols Sports Arena, a building that has since been torn down.

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Latest Sacramento Kings News

The ARCO Arena is an indoor arena located in Sacramento, California. After playing in the make-shift facility called the Original ARCO Arena, this version was completed in 1988, at a cost of $40 million and entirely privately financed and it is home to the Sacramento Kings of the NBA and the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs. The arena seats 17,317 for basketball, and has 30 luxury suites and 412 club seats. The arena has been noted for its loud character and continual at-capacity crowds, which, combined with wood floors, make it a tough environment for visiting teams.

Seating Capacity: 17,317
Opened: 1988
Owner: The Maloof family
Operator: The Maloof family
Construction cost: $40 million USD
Architect: Rann Haight

The arena has also hosted the NCAA Tournament three times as a first and second rounds venue in 1994, 1998, and 2002. In 1993 and 1994, the arena also hosted several NHL neutral site games. It was the site of WWF Royal Rumble 1993 and WWF Judgment Day 2001 as well. There was another sports venue with that exact same name, which was known as the original ARCO Arena (1985-1988), where the Kings played their home games for three seasons (1985 to 1988), after moving from Kansas City. It had a capacity of just above 10,000 seats.

Many Sacramento Kings fans have expressed discontent and become unhappy with the arena, which is severely outdated in the modern era of NBA arenas in terms of number of luxury suites, amenities, concession stands, and entertainment options. The architecure is also notably plain and uninspired. It is located in a once isolated area on the expanding northern outskirts of the city.

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Latest Toronto Raptors News

Latest Toronto Maple Leafs News

The Air Canada Centre, often referred to simply as The ACC, is a multi-purpose arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, and the Toronto Rock of the NLL. It was also home to the Toronto Phantoms of the AFL during their brief existence. The ACC is owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., and is 665,000 square feet (62,000 m²) in size.

	Capacity		Basketball 19,800, Hockey 18,819, Lacrosse 18,819
	Opened		February 19, 1999
	Owner		Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
	Construction cost		$265 million Canadian
	Architect		Brisbin Brook Beynon, Architects

An early nickname for the venue was “The Hangar” due to the corporate sponsor of the arena, Air Canada. However this name was never quite adopted by the general public. The Air Canada Centre is most commonly referred to as simply “The ACC” and has been referenced as such on the official Air Canada Centre website. It is located just south of Union station.

Air Canada Centre was originally intended to be a basketball facility for the Toronto Raptors. The Maple Leafs, at the time, were looking at building their own new arena at a different location. When the Raptors were sold to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertaiment, the new ownership had the building redesigned as a multifunction arena. This allowed the Maple Leafs to move out of the aging Maple Leaf Gardens without having to purchase other real estate in the area. The redesign was completed and Air Canada Centre’s groundbreaking was performed in February of 1997.

The site was once occupied by the Canada Post Delivery Building. The current building retained the striking facades of the east and south walls of that structure, but the rest of the building was removed to make room for the arena. The 15 storey tower stands at 55 metres.

The first Maple Leafs home game took place on February 20, 1999 versus the Montreal Canadiens, won by the Leafs 3-2 on an overtime goal by Steve Thomas. The first Raptors game took place the following night versus the Vancouver Grizzlies. The facility hosted the 2000 NHL All-Star Game and the championship game of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

The highest attended event at the arena was on June 23rd 2003, when folk-rock legend and Toronto native son Neil Young performed in front of 23,000 fans. This concert was “over-sold”. The venue held WWE SummerSlam in 2004 and has held numerous other wrestling events. WWE Unforgiven will be held at the Air Canada Centre on September 17th, 2006. The Air Canada Centre will host the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, marking the first time in NBA history the All-Star Game is hosted outside of the United States.

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Latest Orlando Magic News

Amway Arena (is an indoor arena in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in downtown Orlando. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League and from 2007, the Orlando Sharks of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Seating Capacity: – 17,248 (basketball)
Opened: – January 29, 1989
Owner: – City of Orlando
Operator: – Orlando Centroplex
Construction cost: – $98 million (USD)
Architect: – Lloyd Jones Philpot; Cambridge Seven

History

TD Waterhouse, a division of Canadian finance company Toronto Dominion, purchased naming rights to the Orlando Arena in 1999, and named the venue the TD Waterhouse Centre (utilizing Canadian spelling). Before the Orlando Arena’s naming rights were sold, the other two buildings in the Orlando Centroplex–Orlando Expo Centre and Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre–utilized that spelling as well, so it was more than simply the fact that TD Waterhouse is a Canadian company that the building used the “Centre” spelling. Those naming rights expired on November 30, 2006, and TD Ameritrade, which bought TD Waterhouse’s U.S. operations earlier in the year, chose not to renew them. The venue was briefly known as “The Arena in Orlando” before the new naming rights contract was signed, a period of approximately one week. On December 7, 2006 it was announced that Amway would become the new sponsor, renaming the building as the Amway Arena. Amway will pay $1.5 million over 4 years, or $375,000 a year, for the rights. Amway will also have an initial exclusive option to negotiate for the right to name the new Orlando Events Center. Amway founder Richard DeVos owns the Orlando Magic team.

The nickname of the building for Predator games is “The Jungle”. During the 2005-2006 AFL seasons, the facility was referred to as Hummer Field at TD Waterhouse Centre.

It is also the former home of the IHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, and also the RHI’s Orlando Jackals. Completed in 1989 at a cost of $98 million – entirely publicly financed – the arena seats 17,248 for basketball and has 26 luxury suites. The naming rights were sold in 2000 to TD Waterhouse at $7.8 million for five years. It is also used for entertainment events, particularly large rock concerts.

The 1990 SEC men’s basketball tournament was held here, as was the WWF Royal Rumble that year. WCW held its Bash at the Beach there in 1994. WWE Armageddon 2003 was also held there. Early rounds of the NCAA Tournament were held there in the early- to mid-1990s.

In 1991, the facility was voted “Arena of the Year” by Performance Magazine. It was also nominated for “Best Indoor Concert Venue” in the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.

The 42nd annual NBA All-Star Game was held at the facility February 9, 1992.

During the 1993-94 NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning played five of their home games here.

Games One and Two of the 1995 NBA Finals were held at the facility. The Arena also hosted IHL Finals in 1996, 1999 and 2001, when the Orlando Solar Bears won the Turner Cup in the IHL’s last season of operations.

In 2004, Orlando, Florida was selected as one of five cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports francise to start in 2005. Titled the PlayStation Pro, the event was held at the TD Waterhouse Centre from October 12-October 16, 2005.

The facility was the site of the 1992 United States Figure Skating Nationals.

For several years, the PBR’s Challenger Tour series held an event, the Tater Porter Invitational, at this venue. In June 2008 the PBR will bring the Built Ford Tough Series to the Amway Arena for the first time.

On August 22, 2004, the City of Orlando evicted the Orlando Seals, a minor league hockey team, from the TD Waterhouse Centre. They were forced to sit out the first season of Southern Professional Hockey League play for 2004-2005 as a result. They ultimately moved to Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena and resumed play in 2005-2006 as the Florida Seals until they were evicted from Silver Spurs Arena on January 4, 2007. The franchise subsequently folded.

Successor Arena

Beginning around 1999, the Orlando Magic and the City of Orlando entered discussions for a complete refurbishment or demolition of the TD Waterhouse Centre in favor of a new facility. In recent years, arena and city officials had reported revenue losses, and criticized the facility for not being large enough compared to more recently constructed arenas. The media have offered rumors that the Orlando Magic may relocate to another city, but team officials denied such claims.[citation needed] The facility currently ranks near the bottom in the NBA as far as capacity and luxury.

On September 29, 2006, the City of Orlando and Orange County came to an agreement on a $1.1-billion improvement package that includes $480 million for a new arena. The Magic will provide $114 million in cash and up-front lease payments, and guarantee $100 million in bonds, toward the arena. The venue plan received final approval on July 26, 2007, and the arena is expected to be complete in time for the 2010-11 NBA season. Once the new arena is finished, the Amway Arena is expected to be sold off and potentially torn down.

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Latest Chicago Bulls News

Latest Chicago Blackhawks News

The United Center is a sports arena located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines, located at 1901 W. Madison Street, west of downtown Chicago. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. The plan to build the arena was created by Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf, the owners of the two sports teams, respectively. The United Center’s predecessor was the indoor Chicago Stadium, which was demolished after the newer arena opened for business on August 18, 1994. The famous statue of Michael Jordan is located on the east side of the arena.

Seating Capacity: Basketball: 22,879, Hockey: 20,500
Opened: August 18, 1994
Owner: Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf
Operator: Bill Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf
Architect: HOK Sport, Marmon Mok, W.E. Simpson Company

The privately-owned arena is 960,000 square feet big and is located on a 46 acre parcel west of the Chicago Loop. The arena claims to be the largest in the United States (in physical size, not in capacity; the arena seats 20,500 for hockey, 22,879 for basketball and up to 23,500 for concerts), and hosts over 200 events per year, drawing over 20 million visitors since its grand opening.

In addition to approximately 100 Bulls/Blackhawks games each year, the United Center has hosted other sporting events such as University of Illinois basketball, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament (hosted six times with a seventh scheduled for 2007), and the Great Eight Classic. Musical acts appearing at the United Center have included Dave Matthews Band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, U2, The Who, Madonna, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam and The Three Tenors.

The United Center has also provided a Chicago home for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and Disney on Ice. The United Center was also the site of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) SummerSlam in 1994, and the 1996 Democratic National Convention. It also hosted the last World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Spring Stampede in 2000.

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Latest Cleveland Cavaliers News

Quicken Loans Arena (aka “The Q”) is a multipurpose arena in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Until August 2005, it was known as Gund Arena, named for Gordon Gund, a former owner of the Cavaliers, after he paid for the naming rights. It is home to the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, and the Cleveland Gladiators of the AFL. It was previously home of the now-defunct Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL, the Cleveland Barons of the AHL, and the Cleveland Rockers of the WNBA. The arena was opened with a concert by Billy Joel on October 17, 1994; the Cavaliers played the first game in the arena a few weeks later. It is owned by the Gateway Economic Development Corporation, which leases it to the Cavaliers.

Seating Capacity: 20,562
Owner: Gateway Economic Development Corp.
Operator: Gateway Economic Development Corp.
Construction cost: $100 million USD
Architect: Ellerbe Becket

On May 16, 2006, the then-inactive Utah Grizzlies franchise of the AHL announced that it would move to the Quicken Loans Arena. On January 25, 2007, the team name was announced as the Lake Erie Monsters. It will begin play in the 2007-2008 season.

On October 16, 2007, the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League announced that they would move to Quicken Loans Arena.

The arena replaced the Coliseum at Richfield, which was located south of Cleveland near Akron. Part of the Gateway Project to revitalize downtown Cleveland, the arena and neighboring Jacobs Field were paid for with a sin tax on alcohol and tobacco. In the summer of 2005, Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert (owner of Quicken Loans) renovated the arena, installing new seats, state of the art scoreboards, video systems, sound systems, arena graphics, signage, security, locker rooms, and suite upgrades, all of which were in place for the start of the Cavaliers 2005-2006 season.

“The Q” seats 20,562 for basketball, including 2,000 in the club seats, and 92 luxury suites. In addition to its professional sports tenants, “The Q” has been home to the Mid-American Conference’s men’s and womem’s basketball tournaments since 2000. “MAC Madness”, as its more commonly known, has become a strong draw for the arena. The men’s semi-final and championship games routinely draw 10,000-15,000 attendees.

Additionally, the arena was the site of WWF SummerSlam 1996, the 2000 US Figure Skating Championships, the American version of WWF No Mercy 1999, WWF Invasion 2001, Survivor Series 2004, several episodes of Monday Night RAW, Friday Night SmackDown!, and Extreme Championship Wrestling. It is also scheduled to host WWE Unforgiven (2008). Major national events held at the facility include the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, the 2007 NCAA Women’s Final Four, and the 2009 United States Figure Skating Championships. It hosted games 3 and 4 of the 2007 NBA Finals.

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Latest Charlotte Bobcats News

Charlotte Bobcats Arena (also known locally as The Uptown Arena and CBA, and for hockey uses, St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice) is an 18,500-seat entertainment and sports venue located in the Uptown area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Its primary use is as the home court of the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. It made its grand opening in October of 2005 for a concert by The Rolling Stones and hosted its first Bobcats game on November 5, 2005. The arena’s center-hung Daktronics video screens measure 16 feet by 28 feet, making them the largest of any indoor arena.

Seating Capacity: – NBA Basketball: 19,026
Opened: – October, 2005
Owner: – City of Charlotte
Operator: – Charlotte Bobcats

Though the arena was constructed with the Bobcats in mind, the arena hosts many types of sports and entertainment events. As North Carolina is a hotbed for college basketball, it is expected that the arena will host many NCAA basketball games; indeed, the venue has already been chosen as a men’s regional site for the 2008 NCAA Tournament, and the Charlotte 49ers have tentatively agreed to play several high-profile games there over the next several seasons. The 2008 ACC men’s basketball tournament will be played there too. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), the oldest collegiate association of historically black colleges and universities in the United States, will hold their annual Men’s and Women’s conference basketball tournament at the venue beginning in 2006 and will continue to hold the event there until at least 2009 (the dates of the event will be February 6- March 4 each year).

In addition to the Bobcats, the arena currently has one other permanent tenant. The Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL vacated historic Cricket Arena to play in the new arena in the fall of 2005. The NASCAR Nextel All-Star Pit Crew Challenge, part of the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, is held on the Wednesday night of the race week at the arena, creating an indoor atmosphere so the pit competition will occur, rain or shine.

Controversy

The arena was originally intended to host the Charlotte Hornets, the city’s original NBA team. In 2001, a non-binding public referendum for an arts package, which included money to build the new uptown arena, was placed on the ballot for voters. This was done in order to demonstrate what was believed to be wide public support for construction of a new uptown venue. The arts package would be funded with the issuance of bonds by the city.

The referendum seemed to be on its way to passage despite extensive opposition, mostly from conservatives who felt that the city shouldn’t fund a new arena at all. However, Mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance just days before the referendum. As a result, Helping Empower Local People, a grass-roots organization supporting a living wage, launched a campaign to oppose the arena. It argued that it was immoral for the city to build a new arena when city workers didn’t earn enough to make a living. Many of the city’s black ministers switched sides in the arena deal and urged their parishioners to oppose it. As a result, the referendum went down to defeat.

City leaders then devised a way to build a new arena in a way that didn’t require voter support, but let it be known that they would not even consider building it unless Shinn sold the team. While even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, NBA officials felt such a statement would anger owners. As it turned out, the NBA approved the Hornets’ application to move to New Orleans. However, the league promised that the city would get a new team (what became the Bobcats) as part of the deal.

The total cost of the arena to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is not known, but estimated at around $260 million. The construction was approved by the city council, which did not opt to present another referendum to the public. In early 2006, the arena was again the center of controversy as the Bobcats charged a $15,000 fee to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for graduations. The fee was eventually waived following a story in the Charlotte Observer concerning the fees.

Some schools in the area have moved graduations to Cricket Arena because of the costs.

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Latest Atlanta Hawks News

Latest Atlanta Thrashers News

The Philips Arena is an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Completed in 1999 at a cost of $213.5 million, it is home to the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. It is owned and operated by Atlanta Spirit, LLC, the group of investors that also owns the Hawks and Thrashers. The arena seats 20,300 for basketball and 18,750 for ice hockey. It includes 96 luxury suites and 2,100 club seats. For concerts and other entertainment events, the arena can seat 21,000.

Seating Capacity: – Basketball: 20,300, Hockey and Arena football: 18,750
Opened: – 1999
Owner: – Atlanta Spirit, LLC
Operator: – Atlanta Spirit, LLC
Construction cost: – $213.5 million
Architect: – HOK Sport

The arena was laid out in a rather unusual manner, with the club seats and luxury boxes aligned solely along one side of the playing surface, and the general admission seating along the other three sides. This was done so as to be able to bring the bulk of the seats closer to the playing surface while still making available a sufficient number of revenue-raising club seats and lodges.

The arena is sponsored by and named for Philips Electronics and therefore contains a large number of television screens made by Philips. On the exterior, angled steel columns supporting the roof facing downtown spell out “ATLANTA” and the side facing the Georgia World Congress Center spells out “CNN.” The arena adjoins the CNN Center. The Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center rail station below the arena provides access to MARTA public transportation.

Philips Arena occupies the site of the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta’s former large sports arena that was demolished in 1997.

Prior to its demise, the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) hosted a number of professional wrestling events at Philips Arena. The arena was also host to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Royal Rumble event in January 2002, and Backlash in April 2007, and has hosted several episodes of Monday Night RAW and WWE SmackDown!.

The venue had been named the site of the 2005 Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament. However, when the NHL announced in early 2004 that the 55th NHL All-Star Game, scheduled for February 2005, would be held in Atlanta, arena officials withdrew the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament, which moved 140 miles northeast on Interstate 85 to the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

The 2004-05 NHL Lockout led to the cancellation of events in Philips Arena, and Atlanta became the second (Boston the first) city to lose an All-Star Game planned in advance because of a labour dispute. Atlanta received the 56th NHL All-Star Game in 2008.

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Latest Indiana Pacers News

Conseco Fieldhouse is a sports arena in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and the Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association. The Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League also use Conseco Fieldhouse as their home arena for a few games a year. Additionally, other entertainment events such as concerts are frequently scheduled there. The name is a result of the naming rights to the venue being sold to Conseco, the financially-troubled financial services organization based in nearby Carmel, Indiana.

Seating Capacity: 18,345
Opened: November 6, 1999
Owner: Capital Improvements Board, City of Indianapolis
Operator: Pacers Sports & Entertainment
Construction cost: $183 million USD
Architect: Ellerbe Becket Architects & Engineers

Conseco Fieldhouse replaced Market Square Arena as the home of the Indiana Pacers on November 6, 1999. It is notible for being the first modern “retro”-styled facility in the NBA.

In 2002, Conseco Fieldhouse served as one of two sites for the FIBA Men’s World Basketball Championship, sharing the honors with RCA Dome.

The venue has hosted three Big Ten Conference men’s basketball tournaments (2002, 2004, and 2006). Conseco Fieldhouse hosted WWE’s The Great American Bash 2006 on July 23, 2006, the first WWE PPV in Indianapolis in nearly 10 years. The last was WWF In Your House: Buried Alive on October 20th, 1996 at the Market Square Arena.

Awards & Recognitions

Conseco Fieldhouse has received widespread acclaim as one of the finest facilities in all of the sports world. It is designed after Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler University and the other great fieldhouses that covered the state of Indiana with standing room only crowds on Friday nights in the formative years of high school basketball. The fieldhouse is a veritable museum to the rich heritage that is Indiana basketball.

In 2005, 2006, and 2007, Conseco Fieldhouse was ranked the No. 1 venue in the NBA according to the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Reader Survey. In 2006 The Ultimate Sports Road Trip reaffirmed Conseco Fieldhouse as the best venue in all 4 of the major sports leagues. “The Ultimate Sports Road Trip has recently concluded a re-scoring and re-evaluation of all 122 franchises in the four major sports, based on our personal visits to each of the teams in a journey that began in 1998. Based on our criteria, Conseco Fieldhouse has once again withstood scrutiny to be named the “best of the best” in the four major sports. Everything about Conseco Fieldhouse is top notch, a sparkling venue in a sparkling city, said Farrell and Kulyk.”

In October 2004, Conseco Fieldhouse hosted the 2004 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships. A 25 meter 300,000 gallon competition pool and 175,000 gallon warm-up pool were temporarily installed. A total of 71,659 tickets were sold for the four day event. The crowd on the evening of Saturday, October 11th, 2004 set a record for the largest attendance at a U.S. Swimming event outside of the Olympics with 11,488 people.

Conseco also played host to WCW Sin, a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling, on January 14, 2001.

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Latest Detroit Pistons News

The Palace of Auburn Hills (a.k.a. The Palace) is a large sports and entertainment venue in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb located 33 miles north of downtown Detroit. Since its completion in 1988, it has been the home of the Detroit Pistons of the NBA; since 1998 it has also hosted the Detroit Shock of the WNBA. It was also the home of the now-defunct Detroit Vipers of the IHL (1994 – 2001), Detroit Safari of the CISL (1994 – 1997), and the Detroit Fury of the AFL (2001 – 2004). It has also hosted numerous concerts and other special events throughout its history.

Seating Capacity: 22,076
Opened: 1988
Owner: William Davidson (majority owner)
Operator: Palace Sports and Entertainment
Construction cost: $70 million

Before the Palace opened, the Pistons had lacked a suitable home venue. From 1957 to 1978, the team competed in Detroit’s Olympia Stadium and Cobo Arena, both considered undersized for NBA purposes. In 1978, owner Bill Davidson elected not to share the new Joe Louis Arena with the Detroit Red Wings, and instead chose to relocate the team to the Pontiac Silverdome, a venue constructed for football, where it remained for the next decade. While the Silverdome could accommodate massive crowds, it offered substandard sight lines for basketball viewing. A group led by Davidson built the Palace for the relatively low cost of $70 million, using entirely private funding.

The Palace’s large seating capacity (22,076 for basketball; up to 23,000 for end-stage concerts and 24,276 for center-stage concerts) and suburban location have also made it very popular for large concerts and, to a slightly lesser degree, major boxing matches. The Palace was built with 180 luxury suites, considered an exorbitant number when it opened, but it has consistently managed to lease virtually all of them. In December 2005, The Palace added five underground luxury suites, each 450 square feet and renting for $450,000 per year. Eight more luxury suites, located below arena level, were opened in February 2006. They range from 800-1,200 square feet and rent for $350,000 annually.

The Palace has been used as the basis for the development of other luxury sports arenas elsewhere in North America, but the majority of these were built in downtown locations rather than suburban ones.

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Latest Milwaukee Bucks News

The Bradley Center is an indoor arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is home to the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL (and formerly of the IHL) and the Marquette University men’s basketball team. It was also the former home of the Milwaukee Wave of the MISL from 1987-2003, the Milwaukee Mustangs of the AFL from 1994-2001, and the Badger Hockey Showdown from 1989-2002.

Seating capacity: – Concerts: 20,000, NBA games: 18,717, Ice hockey: 17,800
Opened: – 1988
Owner: – State of Wisconsin

Currently, the Bradley Center is one of the oldest arenas used in the NBA.

The arena was completed in 1988 at a cost of $90 million. It was meant to be a modern replacement of The MECCA, which was built in 1950. It was gift to the State of Wisconsin by philanthropists Jane Pettit and Lloyd Pettit in memory of her late father, Harry Lynde Bradley of Allen-Bradley fortune. The arena seats 20,000 for end-stage concerts, 18,717 for NBA games, 19,000 for college basketball, and 17,800 for ice hockey.

The Bradley Center hosted the Frozen Four in 1993, 1997, and 2006. The 2006 tournament was unique because the eventual champion University of Wisconsin Badgers had an unofficial home-rink advantage because of the statewide appeal of the Badgers and the location of the tournament in Wisconsin.

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Latest Philadelphia 76ers News

Latest Philadelphia Flyers News

The Wachovia Center (formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $206 million, largely privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). The building lies at the southeast corner of the South Philadelphia sports complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and the arena’s predecessor, The Spectrum.

	Capacity		21,600 (basketball), 19,519 (hockey), 17,486 (arena football)
	Opened		August 31, 1996
	Owner		Comcast Spectator L.P.
	Operator		Global Spectrum
	Construction cost		$210 million
	Architect		Ellerbe Becket

The arena seats 21,600 for basketball and 19,519 for hockey. It has 126 luxury suites and 1,880 club seats. The arena was originally named for CoreStates Bank, which agreed to pay $40 million over 21 years for the naming rights, with additional terms to be settled later for an additional eight year period at the end of the contract. The naming rights were taken by First Union Bank in a merger in 1998 and then by Wachovia Bank in a 2003 merger with First Union. While under the First Union name, it was affectionately referred to as the “F.U. Center” by Philadelphians. Due to this, a name alteration was considered, the “First Union National Center.” However, this was met with much derision from fans and athletes who played in the facility, such as former Philadelphia Flyers forward Brantt Myhres, who said the name change would make the building sound like a “circus venue.”

Because of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and later in the season, the unavailability of ice at the Wachovia Spectrum caused by other events at that venue, the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, played selected games in the arena, including the entire 2004-05 Phantoms playoff schedule, including a record 20,103 in the Calder Cup clinching Game 4. This was repeated for the first two games of the 2005-06 season.

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Latest New York Knicks News

Latest New York Rangers News

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, known colloquially simply as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City, United States. It is also the name of the entity which owns the arena and several of the professional sports franchises which play there. There have been four incarnations of the arena. The first two were located at Madison Square, thus the name. Subsequently a new 20,000-seat Garden was built at 50th Street and 8th Avenue, and the current Garden is at 7th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station. The present arena is informally known to some by its advertising slogan, “The World’s Most Famous Arena”.

	Capacity		Basketball: 19,673, Hockey: 18,200
	Opened		1968
	Owner		Cablevision (through Madison Square Garden L.P.)
	Operator		Cablevision (through Madison Square Garden, L.P)
	Construction cost		$123 million USD
	Architect		Charles Luckman Associates, Ellerbe Becket

Madison Square Garden derives its name from the park where the first two gardens were located (Madison Square) on Madison Avenue at 23rd Street. As the venue moved to new locations the name still stuck.

As of September 2005, the Garden’s current owner, Cablevision, has plans to build a fifth Garden. If the project moves forward, a new Garden would be built at the western end of the James Farley Post Office, on 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue across the street, which is also eyed for a western expansion of Pennsylvania Station. The new Garden, which would remain home to the Rangers and the Knicks, would feature wide concourses with stores and restaurants, luxury boxes with better sight lines for basketball and hockey games, a museum, and a hall of fame. The current garden would be torn down to be replaced with an office tower.

World Wrestling Entertainment considers it its home arena as well. However, in 2005, World Wrestling Entertainment temporarily broke off their relationship with ‘The Garden’ due to the fact that WWE felt that since rental costs for the building have gone up, they could no longer make a profit in the building. However, a year later, World Wrestling Entertainment patched things up with MSG, and have agreed to host the 2007 edition of SummerSlam in the venue.

MSG is also known for its place in the history of boxing. Many of boxing’s biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including many of Joe Louis, the Roberto Duran-Ken Buchanan affair, and the first and second Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali bouts. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing.

Most large popular-music concerts in New York City take place in Madison Square Garden. Particularly famous ones include The Concert for New York City following the September 11 attacks and John Lennon’s final concert appearance before his murder in 1980.

Many musical acts released seminal live albums recorded at MSG, including Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, Phish, and Elvis Presley. Pearl Jam released a DVD of a concert at the Garden. Bands including Phish, Cream and The Jacksons have had reunion shows there.

The arena is also used for other special events, including Tennis, Circus, and Wrestling events. The New York Police Academy also holds its annual graduation ceremony for new officers at Madison Square Garden. It has become the New York site of the annual Grammy Awards, (which are normally held in Los Angeles) and hosted the 2005 Country Music Association Awards (normally held in Nashville).

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Latest Washington Wizards News

Latest Washington Capitals News

The Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications. The name of the arena was previously MCI Center, but when MCI was acquired by Verizon, the name was changed to “Verizon Center” effective March 5, 2006. The arena has been nicknamed the “Phone Booth” because of its association with telecommunications companies.

Seating capacity: – 20,173 (basketball), 18,277 (hockey)
Opened: – December 2, 1997
Owner: – Washington Sports and Entertainment (land leased from the City of Washington)
Operator: – Washington Sports and Entertainment
Former names: – MCI Center (1997-2006)

The arena opened on December 2, 1997 in downtown Washington’s Chinatown. The building replaced the US Air Arena, which was located on the Capital Beltway in Landover, Maryland. Some complained that the building’s construction, by closing off a block of G St, corrupted the historic L’Enfant layout of the Washington city streets. Others were concerned it would lead to the displacement of Chinese businesses in Chinatown. While largely considered a commercial success, the Verizon Center was the catalyst that led to gentrification of Washington’s Chinatown, with rent increases after construction of the Arena forcing many small Chinese businesses to close. On the other hand, the Arena is not only a popular venue for sports and concerts, but helped to turned “Gallery Place/Chinatown” neighborhood into one of the prime sites for commercial development in Washington. Virtually all Chinese residents in the D.C. area already live in the suburbs, and displacement that occurred over the years has been mostly commercial rather than residential.

January 21, 2006 – Georgetown Hoyas vs. Duke Blue Devils: The then-unranked Georgetown University Hoyas would defeat the then-undefeated #1 ranked Blue Devils 87-84, marking the first notable game of coach John Thompson III’s career, as well as an important boost enroute to the NCAA tournament, where they would reach the Sweet Sixteen.

The arena is owned by Washington Sports & Entertainment (which owns the Wizards and formerly owned the Capitals), but on land leased from the city of Washington. At the end of the 30 year lease, the land is set to revert back to the ownership of the city, with the mayor of Washington to make mandatory biennial reviews of the city’s continuing need for the arena.

The Verizon Center sits atop the Gallery Place-Chinatown station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines of the Washington Metro, making it the second major sports venue to sit atop a train station, after Madison Square Garden was built above New York Penn Station.

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Latest New Jersey Nets News

The Izod Center (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, and later, Continental Airlines Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is home to the New Jersey Nets NBA basketball team, and was also the home of the New Jersey Devils NHL hockey team and the men’s basketball games of Seton Hall University. Official seating capacity as of 2004 is 19,040 for hockey; 20,029 for college basketball; 20,049 for NBA games; and a maximum 20,000 for concerts. The arena attracts spectators and fans from New Jersey and the entire New York Metropolitan Area.

Seating capacity: 19,968 (NBA Basketball), 20,029 (NCAA Basketball), 19,040 (Hockey), 20,000 (Concerts)
Opened : July 2, 1981
Owner: New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Operator: New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
Construction cost: $85 million
Architects: Grad Partnership and Dilullo, Clauss, Ostroki & Partners

History

Construction on a new arena across New Jersey State Highway 20 (now 120) from Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack began in 1977. Originally named Brendan Byrne Arena (after the sitting governor of the state, who was also a member of the ownership group seeking to bring an NHL team to the State), the arena opened July 2, 1981, with the first of six concerts by New Jersey rock musician Bruce Springsteen. This was followed by an ice show later that month. Although named after Byrne, many people and some tickets and press releases simply referred (and still refer) to it as Meadowlands Arena.

On October 30, 1981, the Nets, who had played their previous four seasons at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers University, made their debut at the arena, losing to the New York Knicks, 103-99. Later that season, on January 31, 1982, the NBA All-Star Game was played at the arena.

The New Jersey Devils played their first ever regular season game here on October 5, 1982, resulting in a 3-3 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

College basketball arrived at the arena with the opening rounds of the 1984 NCAA basketball tournament. Seton Hall moved its Big East Conference men’s basketball games to the arena for the 1985-1986 season, enhancing a tradition that would soon become rich. The arena hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1996, the last traditional arena to do so as of 2007. On eleven occasions (1986-91, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007) the arena hosted the semifinals and finals of the tournament’s East Regional. Only Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium, which hosted 13 regional finals from 1940-52, has hosted more. It also hosted the 1982-1989 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and 1986 Atlantic Ten Conference men’s basketball tournaments.

Other teams that have called the arena home include the New Jersey Rockets of the Major Soccer League, the New Jersey Rockin Rollers of Roller Hockey International, and the New Jersey Red Dogs / Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Two different National Lacrosse League teams have played at the arena — the New Jersey Saints from 1987-1988, and the New Jersey Storm from 2002-2003. The New York Cosmos also used the arena to host indoor soccer games. The venue also hosted WWF SummerSlam in 1989, 1997 and 2007, as well as the King of the Ring tournament in 2001 and No Mercy 2004, and has hosted several episodes of WWE RAW, as well as SmackDown!. At SummerSlam 2007, the official attendance was 17,414. It was also the scene of one of Ric Flair’s NWA World Heavyweight title vicories on January 11, 1991, as Flair beat Sting in front of a mostly empty arena due to a blizzard. The win was Flair’s eighth world championship title win. In 2008, heavy metal legends Iron Maiden will play at the venue on the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour.

The arena has been a popular site for concerts, due to it having been designed with acoustics in mind and to it having a lesser facility fee for artists than competing venues, such as Madison Square Garden. Bruce Springsteen remains the most popular concert act to perform in the Arena; his appearances have included a 10-night, sold-out run in 1984, an 11-night run in 1992, and a 15-night, sold-out run in 1999. This last feat is commemorated by a large banner hanging from the rafters, next to the banners representing the achievements of the resident sports teams. A 1999 concert by Dave Matthews Band was recorded for a PBS special, and subsequently released as a concert album and DVD under the name Listener Supported. Portions of the Rolling Stones 1983 concert film, Let’s Spend the Night Together, were filmed at the arena. The concert footage was filmed in the fall of 1981.

The arena has seen the Devils clinch two Stanley Cup championships before a home crowd. The franchise won its first Cup on June 24, 1995, and then clinched its third title in nine years on June 9, 2003. The arena also was host to the Los Angeles Lakers winning an NBA Championship by sweeping the Nets on June 12, 2002, and the Anaheim Bullfrogs winning the 1997 Murphy Cup, the championship of Roller Hockey International, over the New Jersey Rockin’ Rollers. SummerSlam was held here live on August 26, 2007. On May 5, 2007, the Devils played their last game at the arena losing 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators, eliminating them from the playoffs 4-1. Scott Gomez scored the final goal in the building.

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Latest Boston Celtics News

Latest Boston Bruins News

Boston Garden is a sports arena in the North End neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the home arena for the Boston Bruins, an NHL team, and the Boston Celtics, an NBA team. It is site of the annual Beanpot, and hosts the annual Hockey East Championships. The arena has also hosted many major national sporting events including the 1999 and 2003 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball First and Second Rounds and the 2006 Women’s Final Four. In addition, the facility has hosted the 2001 US Figure Skating Championships, the 1996 and 2000 US Gymnastics Trials, the 2004 and 1998 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship (aka the Frozen Four), the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, and the World Wrestling Federation’s WrestleMania XIV in 1998. Like most sports arenas, it also hosts other events, such as concerts, shows, conventions, graduations, seminars, ice shows, circuses, and most notably the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Seating Capacity: – 18,624 (basketball), 17,565 (hockey)
Opened: - September 30, 1995
Owner: - Delaware North Companies
Operator: - Delaware North Companies
Construction cost: - $160 million
Architect: - Ellerbe Becket, Inc.

When constructed to replace the aging Boston Garden as the home of the Boston Bruins hockey team and the Boston Celtics basketball team, the arena was called FleetCenter. The arena opened on September 30, 1995.

During the construction phase, the naming rights to the “New Garden” were sold to a major Boston-based regional bank, the Shawmut Bank. However, just as the Shawmut Center was being completed, Shawmut merged with its somewhat larger rival, the Providence-based Fleet Bank. The merger was negotiated in secret while Shawmut and Fleet’s marketing departments were simultaneously engaged in a spirited bidding war for the arena’s naming rights. The post-merger bank had effectively been bidding against itself. The bank which won the competition for the “New Garden’s” naming rights, Shawmut, was the bank whose name disappeared during the merger. Shortly before the new arena opened, every seat, which had been stamped with the Shawmut logo, had to be replaced. Also, the entire color scheme for the interior had to be adjusted.

The name of the arena was expected to change as a result of the April 1, 2004 merger of FleetBoston Financial Group with Bank of America. On January 5, 2005, Bank of America and FleetCenter’s owner, Delaware North Companies, announced an agreement under which the bank made a payment to be released from the remaining six years on the naming rights agreement. The agreement left Delaware North free to sell the naming rights to another sponsor. On March 3, 2005, Maine-based TD Banknorth, the U.S. subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank, announced its purchase of the naming rights. The first major event after the announcement was the 2005 Hockey East men’s tournament.

The company named the facility “TD Banknorth Garden” in honor of the original Boston Garden. The name officially became the TD Banknorth Garden on July 1, 2005. Prior to that date, it went under the name “YourGarden.”

Just as the Boston Garden was, The TD Banknorth Garden is built on top of Boston’s North Station, a major transportation hub. The Commuter Rail waiting area becomes crowded during events due to this design: the fans share a relatively small area with commuters and several fast food concessions. (There is a concourse on the second floor which is about the same size as the main ground floor concourse, but this is utilized only as an entryway for the arena.) There are current plans under development to enlarge the MBTA’s North Station concourse.

Connections to the Orange Line and Green Line are at the eastern entrance. The Green Line formerly ran on an el in front of the building: however, a Green Line tunnel was completed in 2004. (The original plan was to tear down the el before the 2004 Democratic National Convention, but in the end the tracks were purposely left up through the Convention, to serve as a platform for security forces.)

In 2006, the MBTA announced plans to double the size of North Station’s concourse.

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Latest Seattle Seahawks News

Qwest Field is a multipurpose stadium located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It serves as the home field for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, and Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC beginning in 2009. It opened in July 2002 and was built on the site of the Kingdome, the previous stadium for the Seahawks, Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, and several other Seattle sports teams. On March 26, 2000, to make way for the construction of the stadium, the Kingdome fell in the world’s largest implosion of a single concrete structure.

	Capacity		67,000
	Opened		2002
	Owner		Washington State Public Stadium Authority
	Cost		$300 million
	Architect		Ellerbe Becket & First and Goal, Inc

The stadium was originally named Seahawks Stadium. The name Qwest Field was announced on June 2, 2004, after Qwest bought the naming rights for $75 million (for 15 years). Although some people began using the new name immediately, the official approval wasn’t given until twenty-two days later (June 24) by the Washington State Public Stadium Authority. Seahawks owner Paul Allen funded $160 million of the stadium’s $460 million cost out of his pocket, the remainder being paid by a funding package of user fees, sports lottery revenue, and taxes on related industries. Construction was authorized by a state-wide special election paid for by the Seahawks ownership.

Allen was intimately involved in the stadium design. He rejected plans for a retractable roof and directed the architects to minimize the stadium footprint as much as possible to bring fans closer to the action. A special feature was added in 2003 after Allen hired star sports marketing executive Tod Leiweke as the Seahawks’ new CEO. Leiweke, who had turned the Minnesota Wild into one of the hottest tickets in the NHL, notably had a large flagpole installed in the south end zone. Leiweke began a pregame tradition in which a local celebrity, often a former Seahawk, raised a large blue flag numbered “12″ on this flagpole to the roars of the crowd. The “12″ represents the fans as the “12th man”; the Seahawks had retired #12 in honor of their fans in the 1980s. The flag-raising is now a regular feature of network television coverage of Seahawks games.

Qwest Field has earned a reputation as arguably the loudest stadium in the NFL. Allen had the architects design the structure of the stadium, especially the roof, to direct as much crowd noise as possible on the field. In addition, the north end zone seating, called the “Hawks Nest”, was specifically designed for rowdy fans; the seating consists of metal bleachers which reflect sound, and fans often stomp to create even more.

The biggest crowd ever to attend a Seattle Seahawks football game was 68,331 on Monday, November 12, 2007 against the San Francisco 49ers. Fans experienced their first snow game in the history of Qwest Field on November 27, 2006 against the Green Bay Packers with the Seahawks winning 34-24 with Shaun Alexander rushing for 202 yards. The first playoff game in the history of Qwest Field was on January 8, 2005, when the St. Louis Rams beat the Seahawks team for the third time that season, 27-20.

Features

Within Qwest Field, there is a Seahawks tribute to high school football of the State of Washington. A section of the Stadium entitled “The State of Football”, features a large depiction of the State of Washington and holds replica football helmets from every high school football team in the State. Another tribute to the high school sport is hosting the annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic, a season opening series of games between some of the best teams in the state. The games also feature a meeting between one of the best teams in Washington and one of the best from another state. The most memorable of these games was in 2004 when the 3 time consecutive Washington State 3A champions the Bellevue Wolverines ended the high school record 155 game winning streak of the De La Salle Spartans of Concord, California.

College Football

The stadium has hosted a Washington State University “home game” each year since its opening in 2002. The Cougars have won all but one of these games, losing to University of Colorado in 2004. The University of Washington played an “away” game in the stadium in 2005, falling to the Air Force Falcons in Tyrone Willingham’s first game as the head coach.

The NCAA Division II football teams of Western Washington University and Central Washington University face each other every year at Qwest Field in game called the “Battle in Seattle”. The Western Vikings and Central Wildcats are intense rivals.

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Latest San Francisco 49ers News

Candlestick Park (also commonly referred to as Candlestick or The Stick) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco, California. The stadium was originally built as the home of the San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 until moving into Pacific Bell Park (since renamed AT&T Park) in 2000. Currently it is the home field of the San Francisco 49ers NFL team, who moved in for the 1971 season. Candlestick Park may be replaced by New 49ers Stadium as early as 2012.

The stadium is situated at Candlestick Point on the western shore of the San Francisco Bay. Due to its location next to the bay, strong winds often swirl down into the stadium, creating unusual playing conditions. At the time of its construction in the late 1950s, the stadium site was the cheapest plot of land available in the city that was suitable for a sports stadium.

The surface of the field is natural bluegrass, but for nine seasons the stadium had artificial turf, from 1970 to 1978. A “sliding pit” configuration, with dirt cut-outs only around the bases, was installed in 1971, primarily to keep the dust down from the breezy conditions. Following the 1978 football season, the artificial turf was removed. Natural grass was re-installed before the 1979 baseball season.

	Capacity		70,207
	Opened		April 12th 1960
	Owner		The City and County of San Francisco
	Cost		$15 million
	Architect		John Bolles

History

Ground was broken in 1958 for the new home of the National League’s San Francisco Giants, who had moved west from New York following the end of the 1957 season. The Giants selected the name of Candlestick Park after a name-the-park contest on March 3, 1959. Prior to that, its construction site had been shown on maps as the generic Bay View Stadium. It was the first modern baseball stadium, as it was the first to be built entirely of reinforced concrete. Richard Nixon threw out the first baseball on the opening day of Candlestick Park on April 12, 1960, and the Oakland Raiders played their 1961 American Football League season at the stadium.

The Beatles played their last live commercial concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.

The stadium was enclosed during the winter of 1971–72 for the 49ers, with stands built around the outfield. The result was that the wind speed dropped marginally, but often swirled around throughout the stadium, and the view of the Bay was lost.

Currently, Candlestick Park is the only NFL stadium that began as a baseball-only facility and underwent extensive reconstruction to accommodate football, as evidenced the stadium’s unusual oblong design that leaves many seats on what was the right-field side of the stadium behind the eastern grandstand of the stadium during football games. Candlestick is also currently the only NFL football stadium in which upper-deck supports obstruct sight lines from the first-deck seating.

Candlestick Park was also home to dozens of commercial shoots as well as the location for the climatic scene in both the 1962 thriller Experiment in Terror and the 1973 Richard Rush comedy Freebie and the Bean.

On October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake (measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale) struck San Francisco, minutes before Game 3 of the World Series was to begin at Candlestick. Remarkably, no one within the stadium was injured, although minor structural damage was incurred to the stadium. Al Michaels and Tim McCarver, who called the game for ABC, later credited the stadium’s design for saving thousands of lives. The World Series between the Giants and Oakland Athletics was subsequently delayed for 10 days, in part to give engineers time to check the stadium’s (and that of nearby Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum) overall structural soundness. During this time, the 49ers moved their game against the New England Patriots on October 22 to Stanford Stadium.

In 2000, the Giants moved to the new Pacific Bell Park (now called AT&T Park) in the South Beach neighborhood, leaving the 49ers as the sole professional sports team to use Candlestick. The final baseball game was played on September 30, 1999, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 9–4. Ironically, the last game was played under blue skies with no fog and a game time temperature of a very non Candlestick like 82 degrees.

Future

Plans were underway to construct a new 68,000-seat stadium at Candlestick Point. However, on November 8, 2006, the 49ers announced that they would abandon their search for a location in San Francisco and begin to actively pursue the idea of building a stadium in Santa Clara, California. As a result, San Francisco withdrew its bid for the 2016 Olympics on November 13, 2006, as its centerpiece stadium was lost. However, 49ers ownership is still willing to hear any offers San Francisco may want to bring, including the Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard.

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Latest St. Louis Rams News

The Edward Jones Dome (more formally known as the Edward Jones Dome at America’s Center, and previously known as The Trans World Airlines Dome or TWA Dome) is a multi purpose stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, and home of the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. It was constructed largely to lure an NFL team back to St. Louis, and to serve as a convention center. The Dome provides multiple stadium configurations that can seat up to 70,000 people. Seating levels include: a private luxury suite level, a private club seat and luxury suite level, a concourse level (lower bowl) and terrace level (upper bowl). The dome was completed in 1995.

	Capacity		66,000
	Opened		November 12, 1995
	Owner		St. Louis Regional Sports Authority
	Cost		$280 million
	Architect		HOK Sport

The Edward Jones Dome hosted the first Big 12 Conference football championship game in 1996 (Nebraska versus Texas). The third game, in 1998, was also held in the dome (Kansas State versus Texas A&M). The dome has also been a neutral site for regular-season college football matchups between the University of Illinois and the University of Missouri. Missouri has won all three games.

Also in 1998 at the Dome, the Rolling Stones recorded a memorable show from their 1998 Bridges to Babylon Tour. The show was later released on VHS/DVD.

The dome became the site of the biggest indoor gathering in United States history in 1999 when Pope John Paul II held mass in the stadium. Over 104,000 people attended the service.

Also in 1999 the Rev. Billy Graham held The Greater St. Louis Billy Graham Crusade with well over 200,000 people attending in its four days. Michael W. Smith and Kirk Franklin were among the musical artists that performed.

Metallica’s 2003 Summer Sanitarium Tour made a stop at The Edward Jones Dome on July 25, 2003. The tour featured headliner Metallica, with bands Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Deftones and Mudvayne.

In April 2005, the Edward Jones Dome hosted the 2005 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament Final Four where the University of Louisville, the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, and the University of North Carolina faced off, with UNC winning the National Championship game against the University of Illinois. It also hosted the NCAA Men’s Basketball St. Louis Regional for the 2007 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, where the University of Florida defeated Butler University and the University of Oregon (who had defeated the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) en route to winning its second consecutive championship.

Starting in 2006, Edward Jones Dome has become the home of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Urbana missions conference. The event had outgrown its former home on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. Also, the Edward Jones Dome hosted the 2005 General Conference Sessions of Seventh-day Adventists.

The dome was also host to Nazarene Youth Conference “Water Fire Wind” in July 2007. The conference was noted for renovating 35 public schools in the St. Louis area, saving the school system over $150,000 in labor costs. The conference also built two homes in one week in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, sponsored over 1,500 children in third-world areas (in partnership with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and World Vision), and fed over 10,000 families in the St. Louis area for one week.

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Latest Arizona Cardinals News

University of Phoenix Stadium is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. The new stadium is located next door to the Jobing.com Arena, where the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes play, and it has the first fully retractable natural grass playing surface built in the United States. An opening on one side of the stadium allows the playing field to move to the exterior of the building, both allowing the entire natural turf playing surface to be exposed to daylight when it is not in use and allowing the floor to be used for other purposes without damaging the playing surface. University of Phoenix Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII and the 2007 BCS National Championship Game, a game that it hosts quadrennially.

The University of Phoenix, a for-profit university specializing in adult education, acquired the naming rights in September 2006, shortly after the stadium had opened under the name Cardinals Stadium. The “University of Phoenix” name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University (which has no intercollegiate athletics program).

	Capacity		63,000
	Opened		August 12, 2006
	Owner		Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
	Cost		$355 million
	Architect		Peter Eisenman HOK Sport

Facilities

The 63,400-seat stadium (expandable to 73,719) opened on August 1, 2006 after three years of construction. It is considered an architectural icon for the region and was named by Business Week as one of the 10 “most impressive” sports facilities on the globe due to the combination of its retractable roof and roll-in natural grass field[2]. It is the only American facility on the list. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium was held on April 12, 2003.

The cost of the project was $455 million. That total included $395.4 million for the stadium, $41.7 million for site improvements, and $17.8 million for the land. Contributors to the stadium included the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority ($302.3 million), the Arizona Cardinals ($143.2 million), and the City of Glendale ($9.5 million).

The first preseason football game was played August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-13. The first regular season game was played September 10 against the San Francisco 49ers (the Cardinals won 34–27). The stadium’s air-conditioning system made it possible for the Cardinals to play at home on the opening weekend of the NFL season for the first time since moving to Arizona in 1988.

The stadium hosted the highest attended soccer match in the state of Arizona on February 7, 2007 when 62,462 fans watched the United States men’s national soccer team defeat Mexico, 2–0.
University of Phoenix Stadium from a bird’s eye view

The multipurpose nature of the facility has allowed it to host 91 events representing 110 event days between the dates of August 4, 2006 through the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007. These events included Arizona Cardinals games; public grand opening tours held August 19 & 20, 2006 (attended by 120,000 people); various shows, expositions, tradeshows and motor sport events; the Rolling Stones concert November 8, 2006; the AIA 4A and 5A state championship games for football (the first high school to win a football championship at the stadium was Cactus Shadows High School of Cave Creek, AZ on December 2, 2006); an international soccer exhibition match; the Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship High School Marching Band competition (the first marching band to ever play on the field was Foothill High School, from Pleasanton, California on December 29, 2006); the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl January 1, 2007 featuring the Boise State Broncos vs. the University of Oklahoma Sooners (Boise State won 43-42 in overtime); and the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007 between the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 2 University of Florida Gators. It also held the 2008 Fiesta Bowl between the Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. It has also held many high school graduations.

The stadium has 88 luxury suites — called luxury lofts — with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.

The 25 acres surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman’s Park. Included within the Park is an eight-acre landscaped tailgating area called the Great Lawn.

There are no obstructed view seats in the stadium. There are visible areas in the upper deck of the end zone where seats could have been put in but were not due to the giant super columns supporting the roof structure.

The stadium seating capacity can be expanded by 9,600 for “mega-events” such as college bowls and NFL Super Bowls by adding risers and ganged, portable “X-frame” folding seats. The endzone area on the side of the facility where the mobile turf moves in and out of the facility can be expanded to accommodate the additional ticketholders.

The roof is made out of translucent “Bird-Air” fabric and opens in twelve minutes. It is the first retractable roof ever built on an incline.

The shape of the stadium is loosely modeled after a barrel cactus, a widespread plant in the Arizona desert.

On January 15, 2008 it was officially announced that the stadium is attempting to host WrestleMania in 2010. A stir was caused weeks prior when Wayne Gretzky wore a shirt while in Sweden that promoted the event in Arizona, dubbing the event “Destruction in the Desert”.

Super Bowl XLII

University of Phoenix Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 in which the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 17-14. This was the second time the Phoenix area hosted a Super Bowl, the other being Super Bowl XXX held in nearby Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium in 1996 when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Latest Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

Raymond James Stadium is a stadium for football and soccer located in Tampa, Florida. It is home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as the University of South Florida football team, and was formerly home to the MLS’s Tampa Bay Mutiny. The stadium seats just over 65,000, and it is expandable for special events. The stadium also hosts the annual Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day, and the Superbowl of Motorsports monster truck event in mid-January. Super Bowl XXXV was held there on January 28, 2001 between the Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants. It will host Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.

	Capacity		65,647
	Opened		September 20, 1998
	Owner		Tampa Sports Authority
	Cost		$168.5 million
	Architect		HOK Sport

Raymond James Stadium was built primarily to replace the aging Houlihan’s Stadium, formerly located adjacent to the property. It is located on the former site of the now-demolished Al Lopez Field. The stadium officially opened September 20, 1998, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Chicago Bears, 27-15. The final cost of the stadium was $168.5 million, publicly financed. Originally referred to as Tampa Community Stadium, the naming rights were bought for $32.5 million for a thirteen-year deal by St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial. On April 27, 2006 an extension was signed to maintain naming rights through 2015.

One of the most recognizable features of the stadium is a 103-foot, 43-ton steel-and-concrete replica pirate ship, which fires soft-rubber footballs and confetti each time that the Bucs score points. The cannons fire six times for a touchdown, once for an extra point or if the Bucs get into their opponent’s red zone, twice for a safety or two point conversion, and three times for a field goal. In addition, when the Buccaneers enter their opponent’s red zone, stadium hosts hoist team flags around the perimeter of the upper deck.

When it opened, Raymond James Stadium was dubbed the “crown jewel” of the NFL. Buc Vision, a pair of 92-foot wide video screens, are among the largest in the league. Buccaneer Cove features a weathered, two-story fishing village facade, housing stadium concessions and restrooms. All areas of the stadium are ADA compliant.

Temporary bleachers were erected in the endzones for Super Bowl XXXV, and the attendance was a stadium record 71,921.

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Latest New Orleans Saints News

The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was designed in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis, which also designed the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library (1956-58). The Superdome is home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.

The Superdome is the largest fixed domed structure in the world, but it lost its title as the largest domed structure when the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was completed in 1992. (Both the Superdome and Georgia Dome were surpassed in size by London’s Millennium Dome in 1999, which has since been renamed the O2 Arena.) Nonetheless, its structural steel frame covers a thirteen-acre expanse. Its 273-foot (83 m) tall dome is made of a Lamella multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet (210 m).

In 2005, the Superdome came to international attention when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina.

	Capacity		72,003
	Opened		August 3, 1975
	Owner		Louisiana Stadium/Expo District
	Cost		$134 million
	Architect		Curtis & Davis

The brainchild of local sports visionary David Dixon, (who decades later founded the USFL), the idea for the Superdome was born while Dixon was attempting to convince the NFL to award a franchise to New Orleans. After hosting several exhibition games at Tulane Stadium during typical New Orleans summer thunderstorms, Dixon was told by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that the NFL would never expand into New Orleans without a domed stadium. Dixon then won the support of the governor of Louisiana, John J. McKeithen. When they toured the Astrodome in Houston, Texas in 1966, McKeithen was quoted as saying, “I want one of these, only bigger,” in reference to the Astrodome itself. Bonds were passed for construction of the Superdome on November 8, 1966, seven days after commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded New Orleans the 25th professional football franchise. Blount International of Montgomery, Alabama was chosen to build the stadium.

It was hoped the stadium would be ready in time for the 1972 NFL season, and the final cost of the facility would come in at $46 million. Instead, due to political delays which are all too familiar in Louisiana, construction did not start until August 11, 1971 and was not finished until August 1975, seven months after Super Bowl IX was scheduled to be played in the stadium. Since the stadium was not finished in time for the Super Bowl, the game had to be moved to Tulane Stadium and was played in cold and rainy conditions. Factoring in inflation, construction delays, and the increase in transportation costs caused by the 1973 energy crisis, the final price tag of the stadium skyrockted to $165 million.

The New Orleans Saints opened the 1975 NFL season at the Superdome, losing 21-0 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first regular season game in the facility. Tulane Stadium was condemned on the day the Superdome opened, although the original concrete sections stood on the Tulane University campus until November 1979.

The Superdome’s look was the work of local architect, Nathaniel “Buster” Curtis of Curtis & Davis. The contractor was Huber, Hunt & Nichols.

The Superdome is located on 52 acres (210,437 m2) of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has an interior space of 125,000,000 cubic feet (3,500,000 m3), a height of 253 feet (77.1 m), a dome diameter of 680 feet (207.3 m), and a total floor area of 269,000 square feet (24,991 m2).

The New Orleans Arena, a smaller indoor arena adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome, opened on October 19, 1999. It was designed by Arthur Q. Davis, whose former firm had designed the Superdome.

The Superdome converted to a Fieldturf artificial grass surface during the 2003 football season, with the first game on FieldTurf played on November 16, 2003. The FieldTurf replaced the AstroPlay surface. After being damaged in flooding from Hurricane Katrina, a new FieldTurf surface was installed for the 2006 football season.

Post Katrina

The Superdome cost $193 million to repair and refurbish. To repair the Superdome, FEMA put up $115 million, the state spent $13 million, the Louisiana Stadium & Expedition District refinanced a bond package to secure $41 million and the NFL contributed $15 million.

On Super Bowl XL Sunday (February 5, 2006), the NFL announced that the Saints would play their home opener on September 24, 2006 in the Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons. The game was later moved to Monday night, September 25, 2006.

The dome reopened amid a wave of pomp and circumstance, including a free outdoor concert by the Goo Goo Dolls before fans were allowed in, a pregame performance by the rock bands U2 and Green Day performing a cover of The Skids’ “The Saints Are Coming”, and a coin toss conducted by former President George H. W. Bush. In front of ESPN’s largest-ever audience (at that time), the Saints won the game 23–3 and went on to a successful season reaching the NFC Championship Game.

The first bowl game played in the Superdome after Katrina was the New Orleans Bowl won by the Troy University Trojans 41–17 over the Rice Owls.

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Latest Carolina Panthers News

Bank of America Stadium is a football stadium located in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the home facility of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise. It also hosts the annual Meineke Car Care Bowl which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East.

	Capacity		73,298
	Opened		1996
	Owner		Carolinas Stadium Corp
	Cost		$248 million
	Architect		HOK Sport

The Panthers played their Inagural Season at Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium while the stadium was being completed.

The organization had considered several possible sites for the stadium’s location prior to choosing the Charlotte Center City Site. One was near NASCAR’s Lowes Motor Speedway and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in northeast Mecklenburg County. Another was at the intersection of I-85 and US-74 in western Gaston County. A popular option was locating it near Paramount’s Carowinds Amusement Park, with the 50 yard line being on the state border of North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Carolina Panthers played their first game at Ericsson Stadium on September 14, 1996. The stadium sits on 33 acres (130,000 m²) of land and has a capacity of 73,298. Bank of America Stadium is mostly used as a football facility, though it hosted the Rolling Stones on October 10, 1997, and has been a site of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship in 1999 and 2000. A Billy Graham crusade was held there as well.

The stadium, originally known as Carolinas Stadium, opened in 1996, as Ericsson Stadium after the Swedish telecom company purchased naming rights to the stadium. The Panthers debuted there during the 1996 NFL season. In 2004, the stadium received its current name after Bank of America purchased the naming rights for 20 years.

Since Bank of America has acquired naming rights, many fans now refer to the stadium as “The Vault” or “The Bank”.

The Panther’s are undefeated in playoff games at Bank of America Stadium. In 1996, on their way to their first NFC Championship Game, they defeated the defending Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys. Again they defeated the Cowboys on their way to Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston in 2004.

Bank of America Stadium was a finalist to host the annual ACC Football Championship Game, eventually losing the first four year contract to Jacksonville’s ALLTEL Stadium. It is considered a prime candidate to reapply for the contract for the games after 2008 due to its central location in ACC territory, and the relatively mild winter climate of Charlotte.

At the time of it’s construction in the early 90’s, the stadium was a pioneering project for the use of Personal Seat Licenses. It was the first large scale project funded and constructed in the USA using mostly PSL’s. It was the strength of PSL pledges that impressed the NFL owners and resulted in the Carolinas receiving the first new expansion team in nearly two decades.

The stadium is also credited with being a major cause for the recent round of new stadium construction in the NFL. Only a decade after its construction, it already is in the oldest third of current NFL stadiums. Only nine other current NFL stadiums are older which have not received major renovations. The last two to open before the stadium broke ground was the Georgia Dome in 1992 and Dolphin Stadium in 1987. Twenty one other teams have moved into new facilities since it opened in 1996, averaging 1.9 new stadiums per year. It is a credit to the design’s innovations, which have been copied in many of the newer stadiums, that no major upgrades are planned in the near future.

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Latest Atlanta Falcons News

The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium is home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and the annual Chick-fil-A Bowl postseason college football game. It was also home to the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks during the construction of Philips Arena from 1997 to 1999, as well as hosting basketball and gymnastics during the 1996 Summer Olympics. Since 1994, the Dome has annually hosted the SEC football championship game. Less often, it has hosted the SEC and ACC basketball championship tournaments.

	Capacity		71,228
	Opened		1992
	Owner		Georgia World Congress Center Authority
	Cost		$214 million
	Architect		Heery International

It also hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994 and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, the Goldberg vs. Hulk Hogan WCW Heavyweight Title match, as well as the NCAA Final Four in 2002 along with regional semi-finals and finals in 2001 and 2006 and NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2003. A return engagement for the Men’s Final Four will be in 2007. Since 2004, the Georgia Dome has annually hosted the FIRST Robotics Championship Event. Also, Drum Corps International will hold its first event at the Georgia Dome in July 2006 when the Dome will host DCI Atlanta – The Southeastern Championship. As a result of damage done to the Superdome in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, the Sugar Bowl game was played at the Georgia Dome on January 2, 2006, finishing a string of three football games in four days that started with the Peach Bowl (the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s former name) and an NFL game between the Falcons and the Carolina Panthers two days later. While playing at the Georgia Dome the Atlanta Hawks broke the NBA single-game attendance record with 62,046 fans.

Completed in 1992 at a cost of $214 million, it seats 71,228 for football, up to 75,000 for concerts, and up to 40,000 for basketball and gymnastics. The structure is located on 9.19 acres (37,200 m²) of land; the dome has a height of 270.67 feet (82.5 meters), a structure length of 744.75 feet (227 meters), a structure width of 606.96 feet (185 meters), and a total floor area of 102,149.51 ft² (9,490 m²). The dome is the largest cable-supported dome in the world. Its roof is made of teflon-coated fiberglass fabric (which is strong and lightweight) and has an area of 374,584.08 ft² (34,800 m²). From its completion until December 31, 1999 with the opening of the 20-acre Millennium Dome in London, it was the largest domed structure of any type in the world.

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Latest Green Bay Packers News

Lambeau Field is the home stadium of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Originally opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced Green Bay’s original City Stadium as the Packers’ home field. In 1955, the other owners in the league had threatened to force a move to Milwaukee if the stadium conditions in Green Bay were not improved. In 1956, Green Bay voters responded by approving (70.3%) a bond issue to finance the new stadium. The original cost in 1957 was $960,000 (paid off in 1978) and its seating capacity was 32,500. The new City Stadium was renamed “Lambeau Field” by the city in 1965, following the death of Packers founder E.L. (Curly) Lambeau (and over the mild objections of Vince Lombardi). Besides founding the team in 1919, Lambeau played for the Packers and was the team’s coach through 1949, leading the Packers to six NFL championships. Also in 1965, the seating capacity of the renamed stadium was increased to 50,852. The bowl was fully enclosed in 1970, increasing capacity to 56,263.

	Capacity		72601
	Opened		1957
	Owner		City of Green Bay
	Cost		$960,000
	Architect		Somerville Associates

Although they now had a modern facility, the Packers continued their tradition (1934-1994) of playing two or three regular-season games a year at County Stadium in M2ilwaukee, 120 miles to the south. Beginning in 1995, regular season games were no longer scheduled in Milwaukee and Lambeau Field became their only home field.

Renovation

A massive $295 million reconstruction was begun in 2001 to update the facilities and add more premium and suite seating, while preserving the seating bowl and keeping the storied natural grass playing field of the “frozen tundra.” This nickname was spawned by the 1967 NFL Championship Game between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. The game was played in temperatures of -13°F with sharp winds, and has come to be known as the “Ice Bowl.” The name supposedly came from a highlight film of the game that included in its narration the phrase, “the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field,” spoken by “the voice of God,” the late John Facenda. However, Steve Sabol of NFL Films has denied that Facenda used the phrase; it is believed that an imitation of Facenda by ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman popularized the phrase. Ironically, an underground electric heating system had been installed the previous summer, but when it was needed the most, it failed to operate properly. The field had been covered overnight with the heater on, but when the cover was removed in the sub-zero cold, the moisture atop the grass flash-froze. (The underground heating & drainage system was redone in 1997.)

The renovation project was completed in 2003, and current capacity is 72,601. Lambeau Field is the longest continuously-occupied stadium in the NFL, completing its 49th year in 2005. (Soldier Field in Chicago has been the site of a football stadium longer, but was not the home of the Chicago Bears until 1971.) In 2007, Lambeau Field’s 50th anniversary, Packers will begin their 51st season at the stadium, breaking the 50-year occupancy record held by the Bears at Wrigley Field (1921-1970).

Traditions

Whenever the Packers score a touchdown, the Todd Rundgren hit “Bang the Drum all Day” is played. Many Packer players jump into the end zone stands in a celebration affectionately known as the “Lambeau Leap.” The Lambeau Leap was invented on December 26, 1993 by former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler. During a game between the Packers and the Los Angeles Raiders, Raiders quarterback Vince Evans completed a pass to wide receiver Randy Jordan, who took the ball to the Raiders 40 yard-line. There, Butler forced Jordan to fumble the football, which was recovered by Reggie White at the Raiders 35.

White ran 10 yards and then lateraled to Butler, who ran the remaining 25 yards to the end zone for a Packers touchdown. Overcome by the moment and the outstanding play, Butler jumped into the bleachers (and into the arms of 6 or 7 lucky Packers fans), thus coining the term “Lambeau Leap.” (The Packers would go on to win 28-0.)

Today, the Lambeau Leap is a popular touchdown celebration done by many players on many teams. Though it is always known as a Lambeau Leap when a Green Bay Packer does it, the term is also sometimes used when another player on another team does it.

Other events

Since the renovation, the stadium has been used for other purposes, including snowmobile racing. (The 2005 snowmobile racing event took place over the turf, but even with proper snow cover, it ruined the playing field. In 2004, the event was held in the parking lot due to a lack of snow.)

Hockey

On February 11, 2006, collegiate hockey teams from Wisconsin and Ohio State met in the “Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic”, an outdoor game played on a temporary rink inside the stadium. The Badgers defeated the Buckeyes 4-2 before a capacity crowd of 40,890. There were some problems as the ice began to crack during play, but overall it was a success, ending with the Badgers doing the “Lambeau Leap” following their victory. (The Badgers went on to win the 2006 NCAA hockey championship.)

Shortly after the game, newspaper reports said the Wisconsin football team might be interested in moving a non-conference road game to Lambeau Field, but the Packers said they would probably not host such a game because of concerns over damage to the playing field.

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