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Philips Arena
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Philips Arena | |
|---|---|
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| Location | 1 Philips Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30303 |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Owner | Atlanta Spirit, LLC |
| Operator | Atlanta Spirit, LLC |
| Construction cost | $213.5 million |
| Architect | HOK Sport |
| Tenants | |
| Atlanta Hawks (NBA) (1999- present) Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) (1999-present) Georgia Force (AFL) (2002, 2005-present) |
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| Capacity | |
| Basketball: 20,300 Hockey and Arena football: 18,750 |
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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 Arena Football League's Georgia Force. 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.
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 (a similar arrangement exists at the Detroit Lions homefield Ford Field). 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. The Omni's "center-hung scoreboard" now hangs in the lobby of Philips Arena, where it still displays The Omni's logo along with that 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.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) hosted a number of professional wrestling events at Philips Arena before WCW went out of business in 2001. The arena was also host to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Royal Rumble event in January 2002, and will host Backlash in April 2007, and has hosted several episodes of Monday Night RAW and WWE SmackDown!.
It hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2003.
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. Ironically, the arena would not even play host to that 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 an All-Star Game planned in advance because of a labor dispute. Philips Arena would later be announced as home to the 56th NHL All-Star Game in 2008.
The sold out Destiny Fullfilled...And Loving It Tour by Destiny's Child was filmed there.
The facility also played host to the 2004 US Figure Championships.
| Preceded by Georgia Dome 1997–1999 |
Home of the Atlanta Hawks 1999–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the Atlanta Thrashers 1999–present |
Succeeded by current |
Atlanta Botanical Garden • Atlanta Civic Center • Atlanta Cyclorama • Atlanta History Center • Atlanta Symphony Hall • Atlanta University Center • Atlantic Station • Bobby Dodd Stadium • Centennial Olympic Park • Chattahoochee River • Clermont Lounge • CNN Center • Fernbank Museum of Natural History • Fernbank Science Center • Fox Theatre • Georgia Aquarium • Georgia Dome • Georgia Governor's Mansion • Georgia State Capitol • Georgia World Congress Center • Grant Park • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport • High Museum of Art • Jimmy Carter Library and Museum • Lenox Square • Margaret Mitchell House & Museum • Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site • Oakland Cemetery • Philips Arena • Phipps Plaza • Piedmont Park • Stone Mountain • The Varsity • Turner Field • Underground Atlanta • Woodruff Arts Center • Woodruff Park • World of Coca-Cola • Zoo Atlanta
Former: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium • Coca-Cola Olympic City • Loew's Grand Theatre • Omni Coliseum • SciTrek • Rich's
| Current arenas in the Arena Football League |
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| American Conference | National Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Allstate Arena | EnergySolutions Arena | HP Pavilion | Nashville Arena | Orleans Arena | Pepsi Center | Staples 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 at the Wachovia Center. 2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum. |
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Categories: Landmarks in Atlanta | 1999 establishments | Arena football venues | Atlanta Hawks | Atlanta Thrashers | Basketball venues in the United States | Indoor arenas in the United States | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | National Hockey League venues | National Basketball Association venues | Sports venues in Atlanta | Sports in Atlanta