Talking Stick Resort Arena

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Talking Stick Resort Arena
The Purple Place
The Snake Pit
The Stick
The Talking Stick Resort Arena (2015)
The Talking Stick Resort Arena (2015)
Earlier names

America West Arena (1992-2005)
US Airways Center (2005-2015)

Data
place 201 East Jefferson Street Phoenix , Arizona 85004
United StatesUnited States
Coordinates 33 ° 26 '46 "  N , 112 ° 4' 14"  W Coordinates: 33 ° 26 '46 "  N , 112 ° 4' 14"  W.
owner City of Phoenix
operator Phoenix Arena Development, LP
start of building August 1, 1990
opening June 6, 1992
Renovations 2001–2003, 2020–2021 (planned)
surface Concrete
parquet
ice surface
artificial turf
costs 089 million US dollars (1992)
067 million US dollars (2001-2003)
US $ 230 million (2020-2021, planned)
architect Ellerbe Becket
capacity 18,055 places (before the renovation 2020-2021)
Societies)
Events

The Talking Stick Resort Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the US city ​​of Phoenix in the state of Arizona . The arena is owned by the City of Phoenix and operated by Phoenix Arena Development, LP . The Phoenix Suns team from the National Basketball Association (NBA) is currently located in the arena . Near the Arena in 1998, the ballpark was Chase Field the Arizona Diamondbacks ( MLB ) completed. The arena is to be extensively modernized from spring 2020.

Surname

The title sponsor of the arena was initially the airline America West Airlines . The name was changed in January 2006 after the merger with US Airways . This contract expired in 2015. On December 2, 2014, was the hotel - and Casino - Resort Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale presented as the new namesake.

The hall is nicknamed The Stick , The Purple Place and The Snake Pit . The name Purple Place leaned against the purple spectator seats in the arena. The name Snake Pit ( German  snake pit ) goes back to the Arizona Rattlers , because Rattlers is the English term for rattlesnakes .

history

1987 acquired a group of investors, led by Jerry Colangelo , the basketball franchise the Phoenix Suns for the then record sum of 44 million US dollars . As the new owner, Colangelo pushed ahead with the construction of a new venue for the Suns to replace the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum , which was inaugurated in 1965 . Planning began in 1988 and the architecture firm Ellerbe Becket was commissioned to design the arena. Construction of the arena began with the groundbreaking on August 1, 1990.

Around 22 months later, on June 6, 1992, the opening of the America West Arena was celebrated with a concert by country singer George Strait . The construction costs amounted to 89 million US dollars . One week after the opening, on June 13th, the Arizona Rattlers will play their first indoor game against the Sacramento Attack (51:36) in front of a sold out house with 15,505 spectators. The premiere for the Phoenix Suns with their new player Charles Barkley in the first regular season game in front of 19,023 spectators against the Los Angeles Clippers (111: 105) took place on November 7th of that year. Barkley scored 37 points in that game.

The multi-purpose arena with 88 luxury boxes and more than 2,200 club seats was built on 11 acres (around 44,515 m 2 ) of building land in downtown Phoenix and has an area of ​​1,000,000 sq ft (around 92,903 m 2 ). In March 2003, the renovation and renovation work, which began in 2001 in three phases, was completed for around 67 million US dollars. The venue was given a glazed and air-conditioned atrium on the north side with an area of ​​16,000 sq ft (1,486 m 2 ). This means that visitors can wait in a cool environment before the events or to buy tickets instead of in the hot desert climate of Phoenix. Furthermore, the luxurious Verve! - Lounge , a fan shop (325 m 2 ), an Italian restaurant (418 m 2 ), a Starbucks - coffee (111 m 2 ), a foreign television studio for coverage before and after the games and fast food - snacks one and Bar the building. The modernization work was carried out in order to remain competitive with more modern arenas such as the Glendale Arena in neighboring Glendale, which opened in 2003 .

The America West Arena originally offered 19,023 places for basketball games. A reduction to 18,422 places took place in 2003 as a result of the renovations. For the 2014/15 NBA season, the space was reduced to 18,055. 16,210 spectators can attend ice hockey games. The playing field in Arena Football allows 14,398 seats for the fans.

In addition to the Phoenix Suns, the hall was used by other teams from Phoenix. The Phoenix Mercury from the WNBA Women's Basketball League will play at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum from the 2020 season due to the upcoming renovation . For the same reason, the Arizona Rattlers from the Indoor Football League (IFL) left the hall towards the suburb of Glendale in the Gila River Arena . The Phoenix RoadRunners , the former farm team of the San Jose Sharks , from the ECHL ice hockey league , lived in the hall for four years from 2005 to 2009. The Phoenix Coyotes ( National Hockey League ) ice hockey team played there from the 1996/97 season to December 2003 . Since the arena's ice surface was actually too small for the NHL's specifications of 200 × 85 ft (around 61 × 26 m ), the capacity was reduced to 16,210 places. Even so, the view from some seats was so restricted that the Coyotes moved to the newly built Glendale Arena at the end of the year. Between 1993 and 1997, the Arizona Sandsharks ( CISL ) indoor soccer team also played in what was then the America West Arena.

In January 2019, an extensive renovation of the almost 30-year-old hall was decided. The city ​​of Phoenix and the Phoenix Suns are planning the redesign for the equivalent of around 209 million euros (230 million US dollars). The work at the venue should be completed by October 2021 at the start of the new season . The city is investing around 135 million euros, with the remaining 74 million euros from the Suns . In the course of the renovation, the franchise extended its lease for the hall until 2037. At the beginning of November of that year, the HOK architects' design for the modernization was published. The construction company Okland Construction will implement the plans. See the plans u. a. the replacement of around 17,000 seats with new upholstered seats, a new video cube with a screen area of ​​330 m² (six times larger than before and a 600 percent higher image resolution ), 5G ultra broadband coverage for faster cellular connections for mobile ticketing and e-payment via smartphone , a family-friendly food court and a large bar with a view of the arena. The construction project is scheduled to start in spring 2020.

Events

Various events have been held in the hall over the years. In 1995 the NBA All-Star Game took place in the former America West Arena . The 2009 NBA All-Star Game took place a second time in Phoenix. 2000 made the WNBA All-Star Game Station in the arena. The arena was also the venue for the wrestling events WWE SummerSlam 2003 and WWE Judgment Day 2006. The arena is also used as a venue for boxing matches. Among other things, Óscar de la Hoya and Michael Carbajal fought there. In addition to sports, exhibitions, concerts and family shows such as Disney on Ice or the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are still held in the hall .

gallery

  • Exterior view (2013)

  • Tip-off at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game

  • The Arena from Above (2007)

  • The US Airways Center during the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - West Regional 2008

Web links

Commons : Talking Stick Resort Arena  - collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Russ Wiles: US Airways Center's new name: Talking Stick Resort Arena. In: azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic , December 2, 2014, accessed November 27, 2019 .
  2. ↑ So long US Airways, hello Talking Stick Resort Arena ( Memento from May 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ a b c d e Talking Stick Resort Arena Timeline. In: talkingstickresortarena.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Boxscore Phoenix Suns - Los Angeles Clippers. In: basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference, accessed November 27, 2019 .
  5. ↑ nba.com: Facelift At Arena Keeps It In Vogue Article from October 27, 2003 (English)
  6. ↑ Suns hopes rise with 'reinvented' NBA arena ( Memento from October 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  7. ↑ 2014-2015 Phoenix Suns Media Guide - page 344. ( PDF ) In: i.cdn.turner.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Media Guide Arizona Rattlers 2014 - page 5. ( PDF ) In: azrattlers.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Arena in Phoenix is ​​undergoing major renovations. In: stadionwelt.de. January 25, 2019, accessed November 27, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Renderings for arena reconstruction in Phoenix published. In: stadionwelt.de. November 27, 2019, accessed November 27, 2019 .
  11. ^ Adam Stratton: 5 revelations from the Phoenix Suns' arena renovation rendering reveal. In: valleyofthesuns.com. November 9, 2019, accessed November 27, 2019 .
  12. ↑ All-time events. In: talkingstickresortarena.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019 .