Philips Arena - History

History

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, many cities started building new state-of-the-art sporting venues for their NBA and/or NHL franchises, or in hopes of attaining one. Many of these arenas had modern amenities for their high-end customers, such as luxury boxes, club seats, and large, posh club-level concourses; some even had practice facilities on-site. These attractions were rarely found in arenas constructed in the early 1970s, when The Omni was built; its chief tenant, being the Atlanta Hawks. The operating manager of the current arena in place, Ted Turner, wanted an expansion hockey team but was told by the NHL that a new arena would have to be built. That, along with The Omni's faster-than-anticipated deterioration, led to a new venue being seriously considered. After much consideration of possible other sites both in Downtown Atlanta and in the suburbs, it was decided that The Omni would be demolished, and a new structure built in the same location, starting in 1997. This new coliseum would become the Philips Arena. The Philips Arena held its first event with a September 1999 concert by the musician Sir Elton John. The Omni's "center-hung scoreboard" now hangs in the lobby of Philips Arena, where it still displays The Omni's logo along with those of Philips Arena, the Hawks, and the Thrashers (who never played in The Omni). The scoreboard still functions and displays information relevant to the game taking place in the arena. On April 2, 2009, Philips Arena achieved LEED for Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance certification as specified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). It was the world's first LEED certified NBA/NHL arena. It has been nicknamed the "Highlight Factory."