Jobing.com Arena
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Jobing.com Arena | |
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Location | 9400 West Maryland Avenue, Glendale, Arizona 85305 |
Broke ground | 2002 |
Opened | 2003 |
Closed | Open |
Demolished | N/A |
Owner | City of Glendale |
Operator | City of Glendale |
Construction cost | $180 million |
Architect | HOK Sport |
Former names | |
Glendale Arena (2003-2006) | |
Tenants | |
Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) (2003-present) Arizona Sting (NLL) (2003-present) |
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Seats | |
Hockey: 17,799 |
Jobing.com Arena (formerly Glendale Arena) is an arena located in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. It is home to the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL and the Arizona Sting of the NLL. Completed in 2003, the arena cost $180 million. It seats 17,500 for hockey and lacrosse. Jobing.com Arena sits across the street from University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Coyotes moved into the arena in late 2003. The team had spent its first several seasons since relocating from Winnipeg in 1996 in the America West Arena (now the US Airways Center) in downtown Phoenix. The AWA was not an old arena (it had made its debut as the new home of the NBA's Phoenix Suns only three years earlier, in 1993) but it was primarily designed for NBA basketball. It was quickly retrofitted for hockey. However, unlike most modern arenas, the arena floor was not designed with a hockey rink in mind, and several seats had badly obstructed views. As a result, before the team's second season in Phoenix, it had to be cut down from over 18,000 seats to just over 16,000--the second-smallest capacity in the NHL at the time, until the Colorado Avalanche moved into the Pepsi Center in 1999; after that point, America West Arena was the smallest NHL venue. Even then, it was obvious that America West Arena was a terrible place to watch a hockey game. A small section of seats on one end of the arena actually hung over the boards, obstructing the views from 3,000 seats. Some fans actually reported seeing locations where the original concrete was sheared off to create retractable seating for hockey.[citation needed] In addition, an unfavorable lease put the Coyotes on shaky financial ground.[citation needed]
When the Coyotes were sold to a partnership led by Steve Ellman, that group committed to building a new arena in suburban Glendale. Originally promised to open in 2001, "Glendale Arena" opened midway through the 2003-04 season, on December 26th, 2003, with the Arizona Sting of the National Lacrosse League defeating the Vancouver Ravens, 16-12. The first NHL game was held the next evening, as the Coyotes dropped a 3-1 decision to the Nashville Predators on December 27, 2003.
Jobing.com Arena is expected to gain the 2009 NHL All-Star Game after losing the 2006 All-Star Game because of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement ratification in the National Hockey League. Under the terms of the new agreement, the All-Star Game would not be held during the year of the Winter Olympics for players to participate in the Winter Olympics. Philips Arena in Atlanta, which lost the All-Star Game in 2005 because of the lockout, has been awarded the 2008 All-Star Game.
Beginning in 2005, Jobing.com Arena has been host to the Arizona state high school basketball, wrestling and cheerleading tournaments in a mega-event called "February Frenzy," as the result of a formal agreement between the city of Glendale and the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA).
The arena is part of the larger Westgate development, which is going to be an entertainment and retail hub located around the arena; a 320-room Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center is planned for Westgate.
On Wednesday, October 25, 2006, local online company Jobing.com signed a 10-year, $30 million naming rights deal. [1]
[edit] External links
Current arenas in the National Hockey League |
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Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
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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 | 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 |
Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League | ||
Eastern Division | Western Division | |
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Air Canada Centre | Blue Cross Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden1 | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum2 | Sears Centre | Wachovia Center | Xcel Energy Center | HP Pavilion | Jobing.com Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Rose Garden Arena | |
1The New York Titans play four of their home games at Madison Square Garden. 2The New York Titans play four of their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | Buildings and structures in Arizona | Indoor arenas in the United States | 2003 establishments | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | Indoor lacrosse venues in the United States | National Hockey League venues | Phoenix Coyotes | Sports in Phoenix | Sports venues in Arizona