The Delta Center now called the EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor entertainment venue located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena seats approximately 19,911 for basketball, 21,000 for concerts, 14,000 for hockey and 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, effective November 20, 2006. The EnergySolutions Arena is the home of the NBA's Utah Jazz.
In 2006, it became the home of the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze. 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).
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. 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.
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. The Eagles had also played the inaugural game in the Salt Palace when it opened on October 10, 1969. 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. 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.
The 1993-95 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournaments were held at the facility, as was the 1993 NBA All-Star Game.
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.
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.
In addition to the Utah Jazz and Blaze, the Arena has also been the home of the WNBA's Utah Starzz from 1997-2002, the Salt Lake Golden Eagles from 1991-1994, and the Utah Grizzlies from 1995-1997 both of the International Hockey League. It also is and has been the host of the Utah Basketball League Salt Lake Devils since October 2005, the league's creation.
The movie Legally Blonde 2 was partially filmed in the arena. It will also host the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds of the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, taking the Jon M. Huntsman Center's place as host of the tournament.
Dan Roberts serves as the official EnergySolutions Arena public address voice for the Jazz. He has been the Jazz' home game announcer since before the Arena was built.
Until November 20, 2006, EnergySolutions Arena was known as the Delta Center. 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. The new name was unveiled November 20, prior to the first 2006-2007 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.
Initial fan reactions to the new name have been predominantly negative. A scene from Saturday's Voyeur, a local theater production, satirizes the renaming with the Utah Jazz mascot bear in a hazmat suit. Early nicknames for the arena include "The Dump", a jab at EnergySolutions' radioactive and hazardous waste disposal operations. Other suggestions include The Glow Bowl, 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 and the Melta Center.
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