State Farm Arena (Atlanta)

State Farm Arena
"The Highlight Factory"
Location	1 State Farm Drive NW Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Opened	September 1999
Owner	Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority
Operator	Atlanta Hawks
Construction cost	$213.5 million
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Former names	Philips Arena (1999-2018)
Tenants	Atlanta Hawks (National Basketball Association) (1999-present) Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) (1999-2011) Atlanta Dream (Women's National Basketball Association) (2008-2016, 2019) Georgia Force (Arena Football League) (2002, 2005-2007)
Capacity	Basketball: 19,445 Ice hockey: 18,545 Concerts: 21,000+

State Farm Arena (formerly 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 Hawks of the National Basketball Association. It also served as the home of the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League from the Thrashers' inception in 1999 until their relocation to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2011, becoming the current Winnipeg Jets.

It is owned by the city of Atlanta and Fulton County under the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority and operated by the Atlanta Hawks. The arena seats 19,445 for basketball and 18,545 for ice hockey. The largest crowd ever for an Atlanta Hawks basketball game was in the 2008 NBA Playoffs (Game 6 against the Boston Celtics), where there was an approximate crowd of about 20,485. The arena includes 92 luxury suites and 1,866 club seats. For concerts and other entertainment events, the arena can seat 21,000. The arena has been recently ranked as a top venue in Pollstar magazine's Top 100 Worldwide Arena Venues, and for the first half of the 2009 calendar year it has been named as the No.1 concert and events venue in the United States, based on attendance figures released by the leading industry publication, beating traditional powerhouse larger-market venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Layout

The arena was originally 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). 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. However, substantial renovations in 2017 and 2018 removed the upper levels of the suite wall in favor of premium seating spread throughout the arena.

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 rail station below the arena provides access to Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) public transportation.

Philips Electronics purchased the naming rights to the arena upon construction; in August 2018, the naming rights were acquired by insurance company State Farm after Philips elected not to renew its naming rights agreement.

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, Phoenix Suns Arena and the Spectrum Center. Video advertising panels replaced the traditional scrolling panels.

In the Hawks' 2017 and 2018 off-seasons, the arena was substantially renovated at a cost of $192.5 million, making it the third most-expensive renovation of an NBA/NHL arena after New York's Madison Square Garden and Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena. The upper levels of the suite wall were demolished, reducing the number of traditional luxury suites from 90 to 40, in favor of installing an upper deck and new premium seating areas spread throughout the arena. The renovations optimized the seating bowl for basketball, possibly precluding the ability of the arena to host any future hockey games. The renovations also repurposed several areas of the arena formerly occupied by the Thrashers.

History

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, many cities starting building new state-of-the-art sporting venues for their NHL and/or NBA 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 and led to its chief tenant, the Atlanta Hawks, being put in a competitive disadvantage. 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 fact that The Omni was rapidly deteriorating, led to a new venue being built. After much consideration of possible other sites, it was decided that the Omni would be demolished, and a new arena built in the same location, starting in 1997. This new coliseum became the Philips Arena. The Philips Arena held its first event with a September 1999 concert by the musician Sir Elton John.

State Farm Arena occupies the site of the Omni Coliseum, Atlanta's former sports arena. The Omni's "center-hung scoreboard" now hangs in the lobby of State Farm Arena, where it still displays The Omni's logo along with those of State Farm 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.

Tornado

On March 14, 2008, an EF2 Tornado struck near Philips Arena. The arena only received minor exterior damage.

External links

• Official site

Preceded by first arena	Home of the Atlanta Thrashers 1999 – 2011	Succeeded by Canada Life Centre (as the Winnipeg Jets)
Preceded by American Airlines Center	Host of the NHL All-Star Game 2008	Succeeded by Bell Centre