Energy Solutions Arena - History

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. 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 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.

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 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. 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.

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.

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. 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"

EnergySolutions Arena was the site of the West regional semifinals ("Sweet Sixteen") and championship ("Elite Eight") in the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. During the summer of 2010, EnergySolutions Arena was remodeled, which included the installation of Bear's Backyard, a playground for kids, a new dining area for adults and over 500 television screens. During the 2012 Utah Jazz Media Day, former General Manager Kevin O'Connor announced that the building would receive a new jumbo-tron, most likely to be installed during the 2013 off season.