American Airlines Center

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For the arena in Miami, Florida, see AmericanAirlines Arena.

American Airlines Center
Location	2500 Victory Avenue Dallas, Texas 75201
Opened	July 17, 2001
Owner	The City of Dallas
Construction cost	$420 million USD
Architect	David M. Schwarz/Architectural Services, Inc. HKS, Inc. Johnson/McKibben Architects, Inc.
Tenants
Dallas Stars (NHL) (2001-present) Dallas Mavericks (NBA) (2001-present) Dallas Desperados (AFL) (2002-present)
Seats
Hockey: 18,532 Basketball: 19,200

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

The American Airlines Center is home to the following sports teams:

• Dallas Stars (NHL)
• Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
• Dallas Desperados (Arena Football League)

Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Other notes 4 References 5 External link

[edit] History

By 1998, the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars were indicating their desire for a new facility to replace 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 35E on the site of an old power plant.

On 18 March 1999, American Airlines announced that it would be acquiring the naming rights for the arena for US$195 million.^[1][2]

On 27 July 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 19 August 2001 with the Dallas Sidekicks of the World Indoor Soccer League taking on the San Diego Sockers.

[edit] Architecture

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 Quonset hut-like 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 (pronounced aaahk).

[edit] Other notes

• Will host the 2007 NHL All-Star Game on January 24, 2007.
• The American Airlines Center as well as the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida hosted the 2006 NBA Finals, when the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat reached the Finals.
• Hosted WWE Survivor Series 2003 and Saturday Night's Main Event held on July 15th, 2006.
• A few weeks after the first event, it was found that the glass installed in the bathrooms was not the same as what was originally intended. Many who drove by the arena complained they had a clear view into the restrooms. The glass was quickly changed to the correct type the next week.
• After the Dallas Desperados played their first season in the American Airlines Center they moved to Reunion Arena and played there in their second season and after their second season and beyond they moved back to the American Airlines Center.

[edit] References

[edit] External link

• The American Airlines Center

Preceded by Reunion Arena 1980–2001

Home of the Dallas Mavericks 2001–present

Succeeded by current

Preceded by Reunion Arena 1993–2001

Home of the Dallas Stars 2001–present

Succeeded by current

Coordinates: 32°47′25.46″N, 96°48′37.02″W

Current arenas in the National Basketball Association
Western Conference		Eastern Conference
American Airlines Center | ARCO Arena | AT&T Center | EnergySolutions Arena | FedExForum | Ford Center | KeyArena | New Orleans Arena | Oracle Arena | Pepsi Center | Rose Garden Arena | Staples Center | Target Center | Toyota Center | US Airways Center		Air Canada Centre | AmericanAirlines Arena | Amway Arena | Bradley Center | Charlotte Bobcats Arena | Conseco Fieldhouse | Continental Airlines Arena | Madison Square Garden | Palace of Auburn Hills | Philips Arena | Quicken Loans Arena | TD Banknorth Garden | United Center | Verizon Center | Wachovia Center

Current arenas in the National Hockey League
Western Conference		Eastern Conference
American Airlines Center | Gaylord Entertainment Center | GM Place | HP Pavilion | Honda Center | Jobing.com Arena | Joe Louis Arena | Nationwide Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Scottrade Center | Staples Center | United Center | Xcel Energy Center		Air Canada Centre | BankAtlantic Center | Bell Centre | Continental Airlines Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden | Mellon Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Philips Arena | RBC Center | St. Pete Times Forum | Scotiabank Place | TD Banknorth Garden | Verizon Center | Wachovia Center

Current arenas in the Arena Football League
American Conference		National Conference
Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | Gaylord Entertainment Center | HP Pavilion | Pepsi Center | Staples Center | Thomas & Mack Center | US Airways Center | Van Andel Arena		American Airlines Center | Amway Arena | Frank Erwin Center | Kemper Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Nationwide Arena | New Orleans Arena | Philips Arena | St. Pete Times Forum | Wachovia Center1 | Wachovia Spectrum2
1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games only at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games only at the Wachovia Spectrum.