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US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in Phoenix, Arizona. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride[1]. The arena, which is situated down the street from Chase Field, is named after its sponsor, US Airways, under a naming rights arrangement. After America West's merger with US Airways, it was announced that America West Arena would be renamed to US Airways Center on November 14, 2005 with the name change taking place in January 2006.
Sports teams and eventsThe US Airways center is home of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the AFL's Arizona Rattlers, and the ECHL's Phoenix Roadrunners. The NHL's Phoenix Coyotes previously played here, from 1996 to 2003. Since then, the Phoenix Roadrunners of the ECHL have made this their home. It was also the home of the indoor soccer team Arizona Sandsharks. Three of the games of the 1993 NBA Finals between the Suns and the Chicago Bulls, including game six where John Paxson hit basketball's version of the shot heard around the world, were played there, as was one of the three 1998 WNBA finals games and two ArenaBowl games. In 1997, the Rattlers won ArenaBowl XI at America West Arena. It also hosted the 1995 NBA All-Star Game. In October 25 1998, Celine Dion gave a Let's Talk About Love Tour concert.
On March 5, 2007, US Airways Center hosted WWE Monday Night Raw and its first return to the Phoenix area in two years. HistoryConstruction of this arena began in 1988, as Suns owner Jerry Colangelo envisioned a need for a new playing facility to replace Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In 1993, the arena was officially inaugurated with an 111-105 Suns win over the Los Angeles Clippers. After the Suns failed to win the NBA championship that year, a parade that attracted more than 300,000 Suns fans finished up at the arena. Hockey ProblemsWhen the Winnipeg Jets announced their intention to move to Phoenix as the Coyotes for the 1996-97 season, the arena was quickly retrofitted for hockey. Unlike most modern arenas, the arena was not designed with a hockey rink in mind. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a regulation-size hockey rink. The building's sight lines, particularly in the upper deck, had been designed for the much smaller basketball floor. As a result, thousands of seats were obstructed. For example, one-fourth of the ice (including the net) was unviewable from four sections of the lower level and 10 sections of the upper level. A small section of seats in the lower level actually hung over the boards, obstructing the view from over 3,000 seats. Some fans reported seeing areas where the original concrete had been sheared off to create retractable seating for hockey. The problem was so serious that by the team's second season in Phoenix, listed capacity for hockey had to be cut down from over 18,000 seats to just over 16,000. Even then, the setup was completely inadequate for the Coyotes. In addition, an unfavorable lease caused financial troubles from which the franchise has never really recovered from yet. The Coyotes eventually moved out of thr America West Arena and into the suburban Glendale Arena in late 2003. References
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