University of Phoenix Stadium

Facility information and history

Since moving to Arizona in 1988, the Cardinals had played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University. The Cardinals had only planned to play there until a new stadium could be built in Phoenix. However, the savings and loan crisis derailed funding for a new stadium. Over time, the Cardinals expressed frustration at being merely tenants in a college football stadium. Lack of having their own stadium denied them additional revenue streams available to other NFL teams. The Cardinals campaigned several years for a new and more modern facility.

The 63,400-seat stadium opened on August 1, 2006 after three years of construction. The stadium was designed by Eisenman Architects and HOK Sport (now Populous). The stadium 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 (engineering design by Walter P Moore) and roll-in natural grass field, similar to the GelreDome and the Veltins-Arena. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium was held on April 12, 2003.

LED video and ribbon displays from Daktronics in Brookings, South Dakota were installed in 2006 prior to Arizona's first game of the season.

The cost of the project was $455 million. That total included $395.4 million for the stadium, $41.7 million for site improvements, and $17.8 million for the land. Contributors to the stadium included the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority ($302.3 million), the Arizona Cardinals ($143.2 million), and the City of Glendale ($9.5 million).

The stadium has 88 luxury suites — called luxury lofts — with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.

The 25 acres (10 ha) surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) 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 8,800 for "mega-events" such as college bowls, NFL Super Bowls, and the NFC Championship Game by adding risers and ganged, portable "X-frame" folding seats. The endzone area on the side of the facility where the field tray rolls in and out of the facility can be expanded to accommodate the additional seats.

The roof is made out of translucent "Bird-Air" fabric and opens in 12 minutes. It is the first retractable roof ever built on an incline.

Events

The first preseason football game was played August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-13. The first regular season game was played September 10 against the San Francisco 49ers (the Cardinals won 34–27). The stadium's air-conditioning system made 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.

On October 16, 2006, the stadium hosted a notable game between the Cardinals and the undefeated Chicago Bears where the Bears came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat the Cardinals. The Bears would later go on to play in Super Bowl XLI.

The stadium hosted the highest attended soccer match in the state of Arizona on February 7, 2007, when 62,462 fans watched the United States men's national soccer team defeat Mexico, 2–0.

The multipurpose nature of the facility has allowed it to host 91 events representing 110 event days between the dates of August 4, 2006 through the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007.

These events included Arizona Cardinals games; public grand opening tours held August 19 and 20, 2006 (attended by 120,000 people); various shows, expositions, tradeshows and motor sport events; the Rolling Stones concert November 8, 2006; the AIA 4A and 5A state championship games for football (the first high school to win a football championship at the stadium was Cactus Shadows High School of Cave Creek, Arizona on December 2, 2006); an international soccer exhibition match.

Other events included the Fiesta Bowl National Band Championship High School Marching Band competition (the first marching band to ever play on the field was Foothill High School, from Pleasanton, California on December 29, 2006); the Fiesta Bowl January 1, 2007 featuring the Boise State Broncos vs. the University of Oklahoma Sooners (Boise State won 43-42 in overtime); and the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007 between the (1) Ohio State Buckeyes and the (2) University of Florida Gators, which the Gators won 41-14.

It also held the 2008 Fiesta Bowl between the Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia University Mountaineers, as well as the 2009 Fiesta Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes. It has also held many high school graduations.

The Cardinals' first home playoff game since the 1940s took place at the stadium on January 3, 2009, with Arizona beating the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24. The stadium also hosted the 2008-09 NFC Championship Game between the Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles on January 18, 2009, which the Cardinals won 32-25 in front of over 70,000 fans in attendance.

University of Phoenix Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 in which the New York Giants defeated the previously undefeated New England Patriots 17-14 with a paid attendance crowd of 71,101. This was the second time the Phoenix area hosted a Super Bowl, the other being Super Bowl XXX held in nearby Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium in 1996 when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On August 1, 2009, the stadium hosted Monster Jam Summer Heat, with Maximum Destruction defeating Captain's Curse in the racing finals and Grave Digger winning the freestyle event.

The stadium hosted the WWE event WrestleMania XXVI with 72,219 fans in attendance. The event was held in the stadium on March 28, 2010. WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on March 28, 2010, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XI with a non-title match as a main event, the first WrestleMania to be held in the state of Arizona and the third to be held in an open-air venue, after WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania XXIV. WrestleMania XXVI was a joint-promotion event, with performers both from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The event's card consisted of eight matches, including three main matches. The first of these matches was a no disqualification, no count-out match, in which The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels to improve his undefeated WrestleMania streak to 18–0. Per the pre-match stipulation, Michaels was forced to retire. The second was a singles match for the WWE Championship that saw John Cena defeat Batista to win the championship. The third saw World Heavyweight Champion, Chris Jericho, defeat Edge to retain the title. The undercard also included a No Holds Barred match between Bret Hart and Mr. McMahon and the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match. Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 7, 2009. WrestleMania XXVI generated approximately 885,000 PPV buys, grossing US$49 million in revenue. With an attendance of 72,219, the event grossed $5.8 million in ticket sales, making the event the highest grossing and attended entertainment event held at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

On January 10, 2011, the 2011 BCS National Championship Game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks had an attendance record setting 78,603 on hand for the game.

On January 21, 2012, the United States men's national soccer team played against the Venezuela national football team and won the match 1-0.

On September 21, 2012, Ron Elsensohn, former troubadour of the hardcore country punk band Scrotum Grinder, performed a harp rendition of Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

On January 30, 2013, the Mexico national football team played against the Denmark national football team. The game was broadcast on Televisa Deportes, UniMás, TV Azteca, and more. The match ended in a 1-1 tie

The stadium hosted the inaugural Stadium Super Trucks race on April 6, 2013.

On September 16, 2014, One Direction show was a sellout.

The 2015 Pro Bowl was the first Pro Bowl to be held at the same location as the same year's Super Bowl since 2010. The Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii in 2016. On February 1, 2015 the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX held at the stadium.

On January 30, 2016, Monster Jam returned to the stadium for the first time since 2009, with 16 of the best trucks. On February 6, the AMA Supercross Championship raced for the first time, after visiting Chase Field from 1999 to 2015.

It was announced on November 14, 2014, that the University of Phoenix Stadium will host the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 2017.

On January 11, 2016, the University of Phoenix Stadium hosted the College Football Playoff National Championship Game featuring No. 2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 1 ranked Clemson Tigers. Alabama defeated Clemson, 45-40, giving Alabama its fourth national championship in seven years and 16th overall.

On November 19, 2015, the stadium was one of the sites selected for the 2016 Copa América Centenario. The stadium hosted three matches, including Mexico vs. Uruguay on June 5, 2016, and the third-place match on June 25.

Naming rights

On September 26, 2006 the University of Phoenix acquired the naming rights to the stadium totalling $154.5 million over 20 years.

Parking space

The stadium has approximately 14,000 on-site parking spaces (plus 12,000 adjacent spaces), located in numerous lots that surround the stadium's 2,000 disabled parking spaces. The design improvement, featured for example in a Discovery program about this stadium, is zoning. Parking spaces for guests are zoned with preferred leaving directions, to achieve the fastest possible movement of traffic.