Home Court:
US Airways Center
201 East Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena) is a sports and entertainment facility located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It opened in 1992, and is the home of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL, and the Phoenix Roadrunners of the ECHL
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.
Basketball, arena football, and ice hockey are all played here, in addition to concerts, professional wrestling, ice shows, and other events.
The Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL once called the US Airways Center home, starting with their move to Phoenix in 1996, and up until 2003, when they moved to Jobing.com Arena (formerly Glendale Arena), which was more suited for NHL hockey. It was also the home of the indoor soccer team Arizona Sandsharks of the CISL.
Its most common nickname is "The Purple Palace," though during the Rattlers' season it is known as "the Snake Pit."
Capacity for basketball was originally 19,023, but was downsized in recent years to 18,422.
Construction 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 which was nicknamed "The Mad House on McDowell" (the Coliseum was located just off a street by the name of McDowell in downtown Phoenix). In 1993, the new arena was officially inaugurated with a 111-105 Suns win over the Los Angeles Clippers. After the Suns lost the NBA championship series that year, a parade that attracted more than 300,000 Suns fans made its way through downtown and finished at the new arena.
Official Phoenix Suns Web Site
