The 63,400-seat stadium (expandable to 73,000) opened on August 1st, 2006 after three years of construction. It is considered an architectural icon for the region and was named by Business Week as one of the 10 “most impressive” sports facilities on the globe due to the combination of its retractable roof and roll-in natural grass field. It is the only American facility on the list. The cost of the project is $455 million.
Contributors to the stadium are:
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority = $302.3 million;
The Arizona Cardinals = $143.2 million;
The City of Glendale = $9.5 million.
The stadium's air-conditioning makes it possible for the Cardinals to play at home on the opening weekend of the NFL season for the first time since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Upcoming events include Super Bowl XLII in 2008 and it will also be the site for the West Regional Finals of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The stadium's retractable roof is a state-of-the-art, computer controlled feature that provides either an arena-like atmosphere or a more traditional open-air stadium feel for events. Having an enclosed, air-conditioned environment is important for fan comfort during games and events during the summer and early fall months in the Arizona desert.
The facility's fully-retractable, natural-grass playing surface is the first to be built in the United States and was designed by Uni-Systems. The field is 234 feet wide by 403 feet-4 inches long, has a 2.2 acre playing surface and is contained in a moveable field tray that is like a gigantic cookie sheet.
The stadium also features oversized 30-foot tall gate identifiers outside of each parking lot. This was done to differentiate the stadium from others that use multiple small signs within each parking lot.
Award-winning architect Peter Eisenman designed the facility, which is said to resemble a barrel cactus with a coiled rattlesnake around it. Eisenman's Southwestern design cues are found on top of, around and throughout the building. Looking down on the stadium, there is a Native-American design, or "mandala", on the roof which is repeated on the seats inside. The rays of the design radiate out the 21 different vertical glass slots of the stadium into the surrounding parking lot as walkways. The glass slots represent the unique "slot canyons" found in northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Structural engineering and structural design was provided by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants. Design- Builder of the facility was the nations #1 sports facility builder, Hunt Construction Group, Inc.
A plaza surrounding the stadium is named the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza in memory of the former Cardinals defensive back who was killed in action while serving with the United States Army Rangers in Afghanistan. There is a life-sized bronze of Tillman as an Arizona Cardinal situated across from a reflecting pond in the northwest corner of the plaza.The stadium has 88 luxury suites - called luxury lofts - with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.
The 25 acres surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is an eight-acre landscaped tailgating area called the Great Lawn.
There are no obstructed view seats in the stadium. There are visible areas in the upper deck of the end zone where seats could have been put in but were not due to the giant super columns supporting the roof structure.
The stadium seating capacity can be expanded by 9,600 for "mega-events" such as college bowls and NFL Super Bowls by adding risers and ganged, portable "X-frame" folding seats. The endzone area on the side of the facility where the mobile turf moves in and out of the facility can be expanded to accommodate the additional ticketholders.
On September 26, the University of Phoenix acquired the naming rights to the stadium totalling $154.5 million over 20 years. The University does not field any intercollegiate sports teams, because it is a non-traditional university, specializing in providing access to higher education for adults already in the workforce.
External links
Super Bowl XLII website
Arizona Cardinals' website
www.universityofphoenixstadium.com
Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
Contributors to the stadium are:
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority = $302.3 million;
The Arizona Cardinals = $143.2 million;
The City of Glendale = $9.5 million.
The stadium's air-conditioning makes it possible for the Cardinals to play at home on the opening weekend of the NFL season for the first time since moving to Arizona in 1988.
Upcoming events include Super Bowl XLII in 2008 and it will also be the site for the West Regional Finals of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
The stadium's retractable roof is a state-of-the-art, computer controlled feature that provides either an arena-like atmosphere or a more traditional open-air stadium feel for events. Having an enclosed, air-conditioned environment is important for fan comfort during games and events during the summer and early fall months in the Arizona desert.
The facility's fully-retractable, natural-grass playing surface is the first to be built in the United States and was designed by Uni-Systems. The field is 234 feet wide by 403 feet-4 inches long, has a 2.2 acre playing surface and is contained in a moveable field tray that is like a gigantic cookie sheet.
The stadium also features oversized 30-foot tall gate identifiers outside of each parking lot. This was done to differentiate the stadium from others that use multiple small signs within each parking lot.
Award-winning architect Peter Eisenman designed the facility, which is said to resemble a barrel cactus with a coiled rattlesnake around it. Eisenman's Southwestern design cues are found on top of, around and throughout the building. Looking down on the stadium, there is a Native-American design, or "mandala", on the roof which is repeated on the seats inside. The rays of the design radiate out the 21 different vertical glass slots of the stadium into the surrounding parking lot as walkways. The glass slots represent the unique "slot canyons" found in northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Structural engineering and structural design was provided by Walter P Moore Engineers and Consultants. Design- Builder of the facility was the nations #1 sports facility builder, Hunt Construction Group, Inc.
A plaza surrounding the stadium is named the Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza in memory of the former Cardinals defensive back who was killed in action while serving with the United States Army Rangers in Afghanistan. There is a life-sized bronze of Tillman as an Arizona Cardinal situated across from a reflecting pond in the northwest corner of the plaza.The stadium has 88 luxury suites - called luxury lofts - with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.
The 25 acres surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is an eight-acre landscaped tailgating area called the Great Lawn.
There are no obstructed view seats in the stadium. There are visible areas in the upper deck of the end zone where seats could have been put in but were not due to the giant super columns supporting the roof structure.
The stadium seating capacity can be expanded by 9,600 for "mega-events" such as college bowls and NFL Super Bowls by adding risers and ganged, portable "X-frame" folding seats. The endzone area on the side of the facility where the mobile turf moves in and out of the facility can be expanded to accommodate the additional ticketholders.
On September 26, the University of Phoenix acquired the naming rights to the stadium totalling $154.5 million over 20 years. The University does not field any intercollegiate sports teams, because it is a non-traditional university, specializing in providing access to higher education for adults already in the workforce.
External links
Super Bowl XLII website
Arizona Cardinals' website
www.universityofphoenixstadium.com
Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
© 2006 by "DiscoveringArizona Inc." · All Rights Reserved · E-Mail: jayq@discoveringarizona.com
University of Phoenix Stadium is located in Glendale, Arizona and its primary tenants are the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The University of Phoenix, a for-profit university specializing in adult education, acquired the naming rights in September 2006, shortly after the stadium had opened under the name Cardinals Stadium. It is important to note that the University of Phoenix name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University.
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