Philips Arena
Encyclopedia
Philips Arena is an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia
.
Completed in 1999 to replace (and occupying the former site of) The Omni, at a cost of $213.5 million, it is home to the Atlanta Hawks
, of the National Basketball Association
, and the Atlanta Dream
, of the Women's National Basketball Association
. It is owned by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by Atlanta Spirit, LLC
, the group of investors that also owns the Hawks.
and 18,545 for ice hockey
. The largest crowd ever for an Atlanta Hawks basketball game was in the 2010 NBA regular season (against 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 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
, Wells Fargo Center, TD Garden, United Center
, US Airways Center
and the Time Warner Cable Arena. Video advertising panels replaced the traditional scrolling panels.
and early 1990s
, many cities started building new state-of-the-art sporting venues for their NBA and/or NHL
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; its chief tenant, being the Atlanta Hawks
. 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. It has been nicknamed the "Highlight Factory."
It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2003.
The facility played host to the 2004 US Figure Skating Championships.
The first playoff game in Philips Arena was in 2007, the Thrashers' first appearance in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
. The first NBA playoff game in Philips Arena was in 2008, when the Hawks made the 2008 NBA Playoffs
after an eight-season drought of missing the playoffs.
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. Also, Philips Arena hosted game three of the 2010 WNBA Finals, where the Seattle Storm defeated the Atlanta Dream.
The arena has hosted three WWE pay-per-view events: Royal Rumble (2002)
, Backlash (2007)
, and Royal Rumble (2010)
. Eight episodes of WWE Raw
have also taken place at the arena (on July 9, 2001; June 10, 2002; April 21, 2003; February 6, 2006; September 4, 2006; November 17, 2008; April 13, 2009; April 4, 2011; and an ninth one took place on October 31, 2011). Three episodes of WWE SmackDown ECW and WWE NXT
(on December 12, 2002; September 21, 2007; July 9, 2010) The Philips Arena also hosted the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony
on April 2, 2011.
2 Tornado struck near Philips Arena. The arena only received minor exterior damage.
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
Completed in 1999 to replace (and occupying the former site of) The Omni, at a cost of $213.5 million, it is home to the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
, of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, and the Atlanta Dream
Atlanta Dream
The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...
, of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
. It is owned by the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by Atlanta Spirit, LLC
Atlanta Spirit, LLC
Atlanta Spirit, LLC is an Atlanta, Georgia-based partnership who owned the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and their home arena, Philips Arena. The seven partners who comprise the group are Michael Gearon, Jr., Bruce Levenson, Ed Peskowitz, J. Rutherford Seydel, Todd Foreman, J. Michael Gearon, Sr., and Beau...
, the group of investors that also owns the Hawks.
Layout
The arena seats 18,729 for basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and 18,545 for ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. The largest crowd ever for an Atlanta Hawks basketball game was in the 2010 NBA regular season (against the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
), 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 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
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
' home, Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
, and UCF Arena
UCF Arena
The UCF Arena is a multi-purpose arena complex located on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, USA. It is the home to the UCF Knights men's and women's basketball teams...
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
Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 3.9 million ft2 and hosts more than a million visitors each year. At the time opened in 1976 the Georgia World Congress Center was the first state...
spells out "CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
." The arena adjoins the CNN Center
CNN Center
The CNN Center is the world headquarters of the Cable News Network . The main newsrooms and studios for several of CNN's news channels are located in the building...
. The Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center (MARTA station)
Dome / GWCC / Philips Arena / CNN Center is an at-grade rail station on the Blue and Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. As the station name suggests, the station provides service to the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, Philips Arena, and...
rail station below the arena provides access to MARTA
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA is the principal rapid-transit system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting...
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
FedExForum
The FedEx Forum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena...
, Wells Fargo Center, TD Garden, United Center
United Center
The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...
, US Airways Center
US Airways Center
US Airways Center is a sports and entertainment arena located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1992, and is the home of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena...
and the Time Warner Cable Arena. Video advertising panels replaced the traditional scrolling panels.
History
During the late 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
, many cities started building new state-of-the-art sporting venues for their NBA and/or NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
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
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, when The Omni was built; its chief tenant, being the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
. The operating manager of the current arena in place, Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
, wanted an expansion hockey team but was told by the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
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
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
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. It has been nicknamed the "Highlight Factory."
Events
Philips Arena is among the busiest arenas for concerts in the world, having sold well over 550,000 concert tickets in 2007.The facility played host to the 2004 US Figure Skating Championships.
The first playoff game in Philips Arena was in 2007, the Thrashers' first appearance in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the...
. The first NBA playoff game in Philips Arena was in 2008, when the Hawks made the 2008 NBA Playoffs
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
after an eight-season drought of missing the playoffs.
The venue had been named the site of the 2005 Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
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
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...
to the BI-LO Center
Bi-Lo Center
The BI-LO Center is an arena located in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, that is used for concerts, football, and hockey. The arena is currently used by the Greenville Force of the Southern Indoor Football League and the Greenville Road Warriors of the ECHL.- History :The BI-LO Center was...
in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
. 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
56th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on January 27, 2008 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Thrashers, during the 2007–08 NHL season....
in 2008. Also, Philips Arena hosted game three of the 2010 WNBA Finals, where the Seattle Storm defeated the Atlanta Dream.
The arena has hosted three WWE pay-per-view events: Royal Rumble (2002)
Royal Rumble (2002)
Royal Rumble was the fifteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 20, 2002 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia...
, Backlash (2007)
Backlash (2007)
Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 29, 2007 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Following WrestleMania, all pay-per-views became tri-branded...
, and Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble (2010)
Royal Rumble was the twenty-third annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 31, 2010 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown and ECW brands...
. Eight episodes of WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
have also taken place at the arena (on July 9, 2001; June 10, 2002; April 21, 2003; February 6, 2006; September 4, 2006; November 17, 2008; April 13, 2009; April 4, 2011; and an ninth one took place on October 31, 2011). Three episodes of WWE SmackDown ECW and WWE NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
(on December 12, 2002; September 21, 2007; July 9, 2010) The Philips Arena also hosted the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony
WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
on April 2, 2011.
Plaudits
For the first half of the 2010 calendar year, Philips Arena has been named as the No. 2 concert and events venue in the United States and the No. 5 concert and events venue in the world, based on attendance figures released by Pollstar magazine in its July 16 edition.Tornado
On March 14, 2008, an EFEnhanced Fujita Scale
The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause.Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale:...
2 Tornado struck near Philips Arena. The arena only received minor exterior damage.