Philips Arena
| Philips Arena | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 1 Philips Drive NW Atlanta, Georgia 30303 |
| Opened | September 18, 1999 |
| Owner | Atlanta Spirit, LLC |
| Operator | Atlanta Spirit, LLC |
| Construction cost | $213.5 million |
| Architect | Populous (formerly HOK Sport) Arquitectonica (Expansion) |
| Capacity | Basketball: 18,729 Ice hockey: 18,545 Concerts: 21,000+ wrestling: 16,697[1][2] |
| Tenants | |
| Atlanta Hawks (NBA) (1999–present) Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) (1999–present) Atlanta Dream (WNBA) (2008–present) Georgia Force (AFL) (2002, 2005–2007) |
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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 National Hockey League, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, and the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association.
It is owned and operated by Atlanta Spirit, LLC, the group of investors that also owns the Hawks and Thrashers.
Contents |
Layout
The arena seats 18,729 for basketball and 18,545 for ice hockey. The largest crowd ever for an Atlanta Hawks basketball game was in the 2010 NBA regular season (aganist the Los Angeles Lakers), where there was an approximate number of people of about 21,000. The arena includes 96 luxury suites and 2,893 club seats. For concerts and other entertainment events, the arena can seat 21,000. The arena has been recently ranked as a top venue in Pollstar magazine's Top 100 Worldwide Arena Venues, and for the first half of the 2009 calendar year it has been named as the No.1 concert and events venue in the United States, based on attendance figures released by the leading industry publication, beating traditional powerhouse larger-market venues such as the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The arena is 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 (the arrangement was later emulated at the Detroit Lions' home, Ford Field, and UCF Arena in Orlando, FL). This unique layout is a vast contrast to many of its contemporaries, which have their revenue-generating luxury boxes and club seats located in the 'belly' of the arena, thus causing the upper deck to be 2–4 stories higher. The layout at Philips 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 loges.
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 Electronics purchased the naming rights to the arena upon construction.
For the 2007-2008 season, Philips Arena utilized the new "see-through" shot clock units which allow spectators seated behind the basket to see the action without having the clocks interfere with their view and for basketball joining the FedExForum, Wachovia Center, TD Banknorth Garden, United Center, US Airways Center and the Time Warner Cable Arena. Video advertising panels replaced the traditional scrolling panels.
History
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, many cities starting building new state-of-the-art sporting venues for their NHL and/or NBA franchises, or in hopes of attaining one. Many of these arenas had modern amenities for their high-end customers, such as luxury boxes, club seats, and large, posh club-level concourses; some even had practice facilities on-site. These attractions were rarely found in arenas constructed in the early 1970s when The Omni was built and led to its chief tenant, the Atlanta Hawks, being put in a competitive disadvantage. The operating manager of the current arena in place, Ted Turner, wanted an expansion hockey team but was told by the NHL that a new arena would have to be built. That, along with The Omni's faster-than-anticipated deterioration, led to a new venue being seriously considered. After much consideration of possible other sites both in Downtown Atlanta and in the suburbs, it was decided that The Omni would be demolished, and a new structure built in the same location, starting in 1997. This new coliseum would become the Philips Arena. The Philips Arena held its first event with a September 1999 concert by the musician Sir Elton John. The Omni's "center-hung scoreboard" now hangs in the lobby of Philips Arena, where it still displays The Omni's logo along with those of Philips Arena, the Hawks, and the Thrashers (who never played in The Omni). The scoreboard still functions and displays information relevant to the game taking place in the arena. On April 2, 2009, Philips Arena achieved LEED for Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance certification as specified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). It was the world's first LEED certified NBA/NHL arena.
Events
Philips Arena is among the busiest arenas for concerts in the world, having sold well over 550,000 concert tickets in 2007.[3]
It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2003.
The facility played host to the 2004 US Figure Skating Championships.
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 was then moved 140 miles to the northeast along Interstate 85 to the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Oddly, the arena would not even be the host of that planned All-Star Game due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. As a result, Atlanta became the second (San Jose being the first) city to lose a planned All-Star Game because of a labor dispute. Philips Arena would later be announced as home to the 56th NHL All-Star Game in 2008.
The arena was also host to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Royal Rumble event in January 2002 and 2010, Backlash 2007 in April 2007.
Concerts
Since the opening in 1999, Philips Arena has been a hotspot for performances from many prominent singers and bands, being one of the highest-grossing arenas in the world.
Tornado
On March 14, 2008, an EF2 Tornado struck near Philips Arena. The arena only received minor exterior damage.
References
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Rumble_%282010%29|Official attendance at the event|Martin, Adam (2010-02-04). "Attendance for Royal Rumble PPV". WrestleView. http://www.wrestleview.com/news2009/1265300865.php?style=dark. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ↑ "Royal Rumble 2010". Pro Wrestling History. http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/usa/wwf/rumble.html#2010. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ↑ [1]
External links
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Georgia Dome |
Home of the Atlanta Hawks 1999 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Atlanta Thrashers 1999 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Arena at Gwinnett Center |
Home of the Georgia Force 2004 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Arena at Gwinnett Center |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Atlanta Dream 2008 – present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by First Union Center |
Host of the NBA All-Star Game 2003 |
Succeeded by Staples Center |
| Preceded by New Orleans Arena Joe Louis Arena |
Home of the Royal Rumble 2002 2010 |
Succeeded by FleetCenter TBD |
| Preceded by American Airlines Center |
Host of the NHL All-Star Game 2008 |
Succeeded by Bell Centre |
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