EnergySolutions Arena

EnergySolutions Arena
"ESA"
EnergySolutions Arena in 2006; the arena's former Delta Center sign is slightly visible beneath the sheet covering it
Former names	Delta Center (1991–2006) Salt Lake Ice Center (2002 Winter Olympics)
Location	301 W South Temple Salt Lake City, Utah  United States
Coordinates	40°46′6″N 111°54′4″W / 40.76833°N 111.90111°W / 40.76833; -111.90111Coordinates: 40°46′6″N 111°54′4″W / 40.76833°N 111.90111°W / 40.76833; -111.90111
Broke ground	May 22, 1990
Opened	October 4, 1991
Owner	Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc.
Operator	Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc.
Construction cost	93 million USD ($150 million in 2011 dollars[1])
Architect	FFKR Architecture
Structural engineer	R2H Engineers[2]
General Contractor	Ohbayashi/Sahara
Capacity	Basketball: 19,911 Ice hockey / Ice Floor: 14,000 Concert in the round: 20,000 End stage concert: 15,000 Dirt show: 15,000
Tenants
Utah Jazz (NBA) (1991–present) Utah Blaze (AFL) (2006–2008, 2011–present) Utah Starzz (WNBA) (1997–2002) Utah Grizzlies (IHL) (1995–1997) Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) (1991–1994) XIX Olympic Winter Games (February 2002)

EnergySolutions Arena (originally Delta Center) is an indoor arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, owned by Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc., the estate of Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for basketball, has 56 luxury suites, and 668 club seats.

Opened in 1991, the arena was known as the Delta Center, until EnergySolutions purchased the naming rights, after Delta Air Lines declined to renew their 15 year contact, effective November 20, 2006.

The arena is the home of the NBA's Utah Jazz and resuming in 2011, the AFL's Utah Blaze.^[3]

The arena was also home to the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions of the 2002 Winter Olympics (during the Olympics, the arena was referred to as the Salt Lake Ice Center).

History

The arena was originally imagined as 20,000-seat home for the Utah Jazz and Salt Lake Golden Eagles to replace the since-demolished Salt Palace arena, which had 12,616 seats.^[4] Under the leadership and private financing of Utah businessman Larry H. Miller, ground was broken on May 22, 1990, and it was completed on October 4, 1991 in time for late-October basketball games, at a cost of $93 million.^[5]

The first game played in the arena was a Golden Eagles match against the Peoria Rivermen on October 16, 1991, which the home team lost 4-2.^[6] The Eagles had also played the inaugural game in the Salt Palace when it opened on October 10, 1969.^[7] The Eagles, which were purchased by Miller in 1990, lost nearly a million dollars annually and would not long play in the Delta Center.

The first basketball game played in the arena was a Jazz pre-season loss against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks, 101–95.^[8] In addition to sports, the arena was intended to host large music concerts. On October 24, 1991, Oingo Boingo became the first headlining act to rock the Delta Center.^[9]

June 2005 photo of the venue, when it was known as the Delta Center.

The 1993-95 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournaments were held at the facility, as was the 1993 NBA All-Star Game. The Delta Center also hosted games of the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals between the Jazz and Chicago Bulls.

The arena's roof was damaged by severe winds associated with the Salt Lake City Tornado of August 11, 1999, costing $3,757,000 to repair.^[10]

The facility played host to the 1999 US Figure Skating Championships. The arena was also home to the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions of the 2002 Winter Olympics.^[11]

In addition to the Utah Jazz and Blaze, the arena has also been the home of the WNBA's Utah Starzz from 1997 to 2002, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles from 1991 to 1994, and the Utah Grizzlies from 1995 to 1997, both of the International Hockey League. Notably, on June 8, 1996, the Delta Center hosted the largest crowd in the history of American minor league hockey: 17,381 fans attended Game 4 of the 1996 Turner Cup Finals.^[12] The Grizzlies won 3-2 in overtime, completing a four-game sweep of the Orlando Solar Bears and earning the IHL championship in their first season in Utah.

In 2002, the arena upgraded its super system with ribbon display technology and auxiliary scoreboards from Brookings, South Dakota-based Daktronics.^[13]

The movie Legally Blonde 2 was partially filmed in the arena.

Dan Roberts serves as the official EnergySolutions Arena public address voice for the Jazz. He has been the Jazz's home game announcer since before the arena was built.^[14]

The EnergySolutions Arena is well known for being one of the hardest places to play for visiting teams in the NBA. According to an NBA Players Poll taken by Sports Illustrated on February 11, 2008, the ESA is considered "the most intimidating arena in the NBA" with 20% of the vote made up of 240 current NBA players.^[15] Many commentators referred to the arena as the "Decibel Center", a play on the name "Delta Center". During Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, a decibel meter installed at floor level had readings of over 110 decibels, close to the noise generated by a jet takeoff. Also, during the 1997 NBA Finals, Hannah Storm of NBC called the then-named Delta Center "one of the loudest places in sports"^[16]

EnergySolutions Arena was the site of the West regional semifinals ("Sweet Sixteen") and championship ("Elite Eight") in the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Renaming

The first renaming of the arena happened during the Salt Lake City Olympics, due to IOC policies about having corporate sponsorship for venue. The arena was renamed the Salt Lake Ice Center during the games.

EnergySolutions Arena with the new signage in 2009.

After Delta Air Lines declined to renew their 15-year naming rights contract, which expired on September 30, 2006, the stadium's owner, Larry H. Miller, opted to sell naming rights to EnergySolutions, a low-level nuclear waste disposal company headquartered in Salt Lake City.^[17] The new name was unveiled November 20, prior to the Jazz home game against the Toronto Raptors. Two stickers were placed on the court, covering up the arena's old name with the new one.^[18] The temporary logos were replaced with official logos on the court sometime in December.

Initial fan reactions to the new name were predominantly negative. Early nicknames for the arena included "the Dump", a jab at EnergySolutions' radioactive and hazardous waste disposal operations.^[19] Other suggestions included the Glow Dome, Radium Stadium, the Isotope, ChernoBowl, JazzMat (short for Jazzardous Materials), the Big Bang, the Tox Box, the Power House, the Hot Spot, Plutonium Palace, the Fallout Shelter, the Melta Center, and Energy Pollutions Arena.^[20]

John Stockton and Karl Malone statues

Outside the arena are statues of two players regarded as among the greatest in the history of the Jazz. The John Stockton statue was unveiled on March 30, 2005. The Karl Malone statue was unveiled on March 23, 2006. The Jazz played games on each of those nights but lost both games.

Larry H. Miller Court

On April 15, 2010, over a year after the death of Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, the Jazz basketball court was named in his honor. The official name is Larry H. Miller Court at EnergySolutions Arena.

Notable events

Sports

• 1993 NBA All-Star Game
• 1993 US Gymnastics Championships
• Site of 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals, most notably Game 5 in the 1997 series, when Michael Jordan scored 38 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, despite suffering from a stomach ailment. It was also here where Jordan made his final shot as a Chicago Bull controversial game-winning basket (Most Jazz fan's say Jordan pushed off Bryon Russell before the shot), to help the Bulls clinch the 1998 series in Game 6. Many conspiracy theories have came out on the officials connection with the Italian Mob.
• 1999 US Figure Skating Championships
• PBR Bud Light Cup event in 1999 and 2000
• The figure skating and short track speed skating competitions were held there during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
• The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds of the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

Concerts

• Oingo Boingo - October 24, 1991
• Queensrÿche - December 5, 1991 and May 10, 1995
• Jethro Tull - December 6, 1991
• Metallica - February 10 and June 4, 1992, with Metal Church, January 2, 1997 and November 3, 2008, with Down and The Sword
• Bryan Adams - May 6, 1992
• Rush - May 29, 1992, with Primus, May 20, 1997 and August 23, 2002
• The Cure - July 7, 1992, with The Cranes and August 8, 1996
• Def Leppard - September 11, 1992 and November 8, 2005, with Bryan Adams
• KISS - December 8, 1992 and September 5, 1996
• Guns N' Roses - April 7, 1993
• Peter Gabriel - July 26, 1993
• Aerosmith - August 10, 1993, April 18, 1998, May 17, 1999, January 7, 2002, with Fuel and October 22, 2003, with KISS and Saliva
• The Moody Blues - September 27, 1993, September 13, 1994 and March 19, 2003
• Depeche Mode - November 4, 1993 and December 1, 1998, with Stabbing Westward
• INXS - April 15, 1994 and June 7, 2006
• Janet Jackson - April 26–27, 1994 and October 12, 2001
• Celine Dion - June 11, 1994, with Michael Bolton and February 22, 2009
• Phil Collins - July 28, 1994
• The Eagles - January 14, 1995
• The Grateful Dead - February 19–21, 1995
• R.E.M. - May 23, 1995, with Sonic Youth
• Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - August 10, 1995, with Pete Droge
• Live - August 21, 1995, with PJ Harvey and Veruca Salt
• Elton John - September 18, 1995 and August 11, 1998
• Van Halen - September 19, 1995 and August 3, 2004, with Shinedown
• Page & Plant - October 10, 1995
• Pearl Jam - November 1–2, 1995, with The Fastbacks
• Bush - May 3, 1996, with No Doubt and The Goo Goo Dolls
• The Beach Boys - October 26, 1996
• The Dave Matthews Band - November 2, 1996, with Meshell Ndegeocello and August 28, 2001, with Iguanas
• No Doubt - June 5, 1997
• Tina Turner - May 29, 1997, with Cyndi Lauper and May 15, 2000, with Lionel Richie
• Fleetwood Mac - October 28, 1997, August 2, 2003 and June 3, 2009
• James Taylor - July 25, 1998 and July 15, 2010, with Carole King
• The Rolling Stones - February 4, 1999, with Bryan Adams and November 22, 2005 (They also gave a two song performance, via satellite, for the 2005 American Music Awards, with an introduction by Nicole Richie.)
• 'N Sync - April 28, 1999, with Britney Spears and B*Witched
• Sarah Brightman - June 3, 1999, November 7, 2000 and March 6, 2004
• Bob Dylan - June 9, 1999, with Paul Simon
• Bad Company - August 6, 1999, with Blue Öyster Cult
• ZZ Top - November 19, 1999, with Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Ricky Martin - November 27, 1999
• Cher - January 28, 2000, August 14, 2002 and January 31, 2005
• The Dixie Chicks - June 24, 2000 and July 9, 2003, with Michelle Branch
• Tim McGraw - July 28, 2000, with Faith Hill, July 3, 2001, with Kenny Chesney and Mark Collie, May 1, 2003, August 4–5, 2006, with Faith Hill and June 11, 2007, with Faith Hill
• Britney Spears - August 14, 2000, with A-Teens, November 13, 2001 and April 14, 2009, with The Pussycat Dolls
• Billy Joel - January 29, 2001, with Elton John and February 19, 2010, with Elton John
• 98 Degrees - April 27, 2001, with Tracy Lawrence
• Bon Jovi - April 28, 2001, April 5, 2003 and March 22, 2011
• Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - May 18, 2001, with Jack Johnson
• Eric Clapton - August 1, 2001 and March 8, 2007, with The Robert Cray Band
• The Backstreet Boys - August 20 and October 5, 2001, with Krystal Harris and June 23, 2010
• U2 - November 9, 2001, with Garbage and No Doubt and December 17, 2005
• Brooks & Dunn - May 11, 2002, with Alabama, Trick Pony, Dwight Yoakam and Chris Cagle
• Kenny Chesney - June 5, 2002, with Montgomery Gentry, Jamie O'Neal and Phil Vassar
• Creed - December 10, 2002
• Toby Keith - February 1, 2003
• Styx - May 28, 2003, with Journey and REO Speedwagon
• American Idol Live! - August 23, 2003, July 14, 2004, August 26, 2005 and July 31, 2007
• Alan Jackson - October 2, 2003, with Joe Nichols
• Shania Twain - December 2, 2003
• Josh Groban - February 5, 2004, August 28, 2007 (recorded and later released as Awake Live) and August 13, 2011
• Sammy Hagar & The Waboritas - March 24, 2004
• Kelly Clarkson - March 26, 2004, with Clay Aiken and October 10, 2008, with Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman
• Simon & Garfunkel - June 29, 2004, with The Everly Brothers
• Hilary Duff - August 25, 2004
• Avril Lavigne - November 15, 2004
• Duran Duran - March 12, 2005
• Sting - April 11, 2005, with Phantom Planet
• Green Day - September 21, 2005, with Jimmy Eat World and August 16, 2009, with Franz Ferdinand
• Clay Aiken - November 15, 2005
• Nickelback - August 11, 2006, with Hoobastank and Chevelle and October 20, 2010, with Three Days Grace and Buckcherry
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers - August 16, 2006
• The Blue Man Group - October 30, 2006 and February 2, 2008
• The Who - November 13, 2006, with The Pretenders
• The Rascal Flatts - March 9, 2007, with Jason Aldean, March 7, 2008, with Taylor Swift and February 26, 2009, with Jessica Simpson
• Keith Urban - September 11, 2007 and September 9, 2009, with Little Big Town
• Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus - October 26–27, 2007, with The Jonas Brothers (one was filmed and released, as Disney Digital 3D, in select theaters, for a limited run worldwide and on DVD.) and September 29, 2009, with Metro Station
• The Trans-Siberian Orchestra - November 27, 2007, November 25, 2009 (2 shows) and November 18, 2010 (2 shows)
• Coldplay - November 22, 2008
• Neil Diamond - December 19, 2008
• Lil Wayne - March 31, 2009, with Gorilla Zoe and Young Money
• Taylor Swift - May 26, 2009 and September 28, 2011, with Charlie Worsham
• Il Divo - June 5, 2009
• Tool - July 19, 2009
• Jason Aldean - March 19, 2010
• The Neon Trees - September 17, 2010
• The Judds - December 9, 2010, with The Palmetto State Quartet
• Linkin Park - February 25, 2011, with The Prodigy
• Lady Gaga - March 19, 2011, with The Scissor Sisters
• Katy Perry - July 25, 2011, with Robyn and DJ Skeet Skeet
• The Used - September 9, 2011
• Diana Ross - September 19, 2011

Other events

• 1999 Salt Lake City tornado
• Auditions for the eighth season of American Idol on July 29, 2008.^[21]

References

1. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
2. ^ http://www.r2h.com/dgh-energysolutions.html
3. ^ http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/51113519-77/arena-blaze-energysolutions-lake.html.csp
4. ^ Hemphill, Lex (1991-09-29). "Will Delta Center Pack in the Fans? Ticket Sales Say Yes". Salt Lake Tribune. p. A6. 
5. ^ Sandomir, Richard (1991-10-21). "Truss erection system scores at Utah arena". Engineering News-Record vol. 226. p. 16. 
6. ^ Kragthorpe, Kurt (1991-10-17). "Eagles Disappoint". Salt Lake Tribune. p. C1. 
7. ^ Rosetta, Dick (1991-10-17). "Golden Eagles Jazz up Delta Center". Salt Lake Tribune. p. C1. 
8. ^ Luhm, Steve (1991-10-24). "Knicks win to spoil Jazz debut". Salt Lake Tribune. p. D1. 
9. ^ Butters, Lori (1991-10-24). "Elfman makes Delta Center roll in rock-concert debut". Salt Lake Tribune. p. D1. 
10. ^ Woolf, Jim (2000-08-10). "A REAL TWISTER: 1 Year Later: A Whirlwind of Memories; Salt Lake City recalls devastating tornado that changed lives forever". Salt Lake Tribune. 
11. ^ 2002 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 93-4.
12. ^ "Orlando Ousted in OT" (Orlando Sentinel)
13. ^ "Daktronics Photo Gallery: EnergySolutions Arena". http://www.daktronics.com/ProductsServices/PhotoGallery/Pages/default.aspx?photoID=WP-13076&keywords=energy%20solutions&filters. 
14. ^ Fricks, Patti T (1991-05-11). "Palace Earsplitting But Not Deafening". Salt Lake Tribune. p. A1. 
15. ^ "Si Players Nba Poll". CNN. February 11, 2008. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1109385/index.htm. Retrieved May 2, 2010. 
16. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vWHDxG0YLk
17. ^ "Delta Center's out, EnergySolutions Arena is in". Salt Lake Tribune. 2006-11-20. ; see also Cortez, Marjorie (2006-11-21). "EnergySolutions Arena? It's a mouthful". Deseret Morning News. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650208779,00.html. 
18. ^ Koreen, Mike (2006-11-21). "Utah understands Hoffa". Toronto Sun. http://torontosun.ca/Sports/Basketball/2006/11/21/pf-2432303.html. 
19. ^ Gorrell, Mike (2006-11-21). "Arena's new name a winner, Miller says". Salt Lake Tribune. 
20. ^ Sandomir, Richard (2006-11-29). "In Utah, the Half-Life of Arena Naming Rights". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/sports/basketball/29stadium.html. 
21. ^ Who Will Be The Next Singing Superstar? - American Idol News

External links

• Official site
• Arena picture

Events and tenants
Preceded by Salt Palace	Home of the Utah Jazz 1991 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Orlando Arena	Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1993	Succeeded by Target Center