The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

and the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. The arena is also used for concerts and other live entertainment. It was opened in 2001 at a cost of $420 million.

History and construction

By 1998, the Dallas Mavericks, then owned by

H. Ross Perot Jr. Henry Ross Perot Jr. (born November 7, 1958) is a real estate developer and American businessman who is best known for his development of Alliance, Texas, an inland port near Dallas–Fort Worth, and making the list of circumnavigations, first cir ...

, and the Dallas Stars were indicating their desire for a new arena to replace the aging and undersized

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The ...

. Dallas taxpayers approved a new hotel tax and rental car tax to pay for a new arena to cover a portion of the funding, with the two benefiting teams, the Mavericks and the Stars, picking up the remaining costs, including cost overruns. The new arena was to be built just north of

Woodall Rodgers Freeway Woodall may refer to: People Given name *Woodall Rodgers (1890–1961), attorney, businessman and mayor of Dallas Surname *Al Woodall (b. 1945), American football player *Corbet Woodall (1929–1982), British newsreader for the BBC * Derek Woodal ...

near Interstate 35E on the site of an old

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

. On March 18, 1999,

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

(AA) announced that it would be acquiring the naming rights for the arena for $195 million. AA is headquartered in nearby Fort Worth and is based at

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Ai ...

. From its opening in 2001 until 2013, the AAC had the then-current AA logo; thereafter the AAC has used the current AA logo. The first event occurred the next day with an

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

concert. Outdoors on the plaza before the Eagles concert, Tom Chaffee & the Saturnalia instrumental rock in jazz band played while patrons entered the venue. On the next night, the arena hosted the last show of Michael Flatley's

Feet of Flames ''Feet of Flames'' is an Irish dance show directed by Michael Flatley and scored by Ronan Hardiman. Flatley was known for the shows ''Riverdance'' and ''Lord of the Dance (musical), Lord of the Dance''. History Hyde Park 1998 The Hyde Park sho ...

tour. The first sporting event took place on August 19, 2001, with the Dallas Sidekicks of the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States-based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to crea ...

taking on the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

. The AAC includes a practice court for the Mavericks, who used it for regular practices until 2017 when a separate facility was built in the Dallas Design District near the arena. The Mavericks' lease on the AAC runs through to 2031, and once it runs out owner

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

has considered a new arena to replace the AAC.

Design

Principal design work was carried out by the

Driehaus Prize The Driehaus Architecture Prize, fully named The Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame, is a global award to honor a major contributor in the field of contemporary traditional and classical architecture. The Driehaus Prize was ...

winner and

New Classical New classical macroeconomics, sometimes simply called new classical economics, is a school of thought in macroeconomics that builds its analysis entirely on a neoclassical framework. Specifically, it emphasizes the importance of rigorous foundat ...

architect David M. Schwarz of Washington D.C.

Center was designed to be the heart of a new urban, commercial area designed to reinvigorate the city of Dallas called Victory Park. The facility itself features a conservative, traditional design with sweeping brick façades and smooth arches. The interior includes retractable seating, public art and a technological arena. Because of the

Quonset hut A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semi cylindrical cross-section. The design was developed in the United States, based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War ...

-like appearance of its roof and the fact that American Airlines holds the naming rights some fans have come to refer to it as "The Hangar".

PNC Plaza

On the south side of the arena, PNC Plaza (formerly called Victory Plaza and

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

Plaza) serves as the principal entrance into the facility. Designed by artist

Athena Tacha Athena Tacha ( el, Αθηνά Τάχα; born in Larissa, Greece, 1936-), is a multimedia visual artist. She is best known for her work in the fields of environmental public sculpture and conceptual art. She also worked in a wide array of materials ...

in 2000, the plaza provides an open space with fountains flanked by retail and office buildings. With several

HD video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (N ...

displays from

Daktronics Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. Founded in 1968 by ...

mounted on the side of the arena and office buildings, the plaza is often used for outdoor events and movie showings. File:American Airlines Center, 06-16-11.jpg, American Airlines Center-Mavericks Victory Party for NBA Championship 2011. File:American Airlines Center2242.JPG, Inside American Airlines Center prior to a Mavericks game. File:Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars January 2020 02 (in-game action).jpg, Inside American Airlines Center during a Stars game. File:American Airlines Center West Entrance.jpg, Western entrance of the American Airlines Center before game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators File:American Airlines Center NHL Playoffs.jpg, American Airlines Center during warmups before game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators

Notable events

Sports

*After the

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008. The franchise began play in as an expansion team, and have post ...

played their first season in the AAC, they moved to nearby

and played there for their second season. For their third season, they moved back to the AAC, where they played until the league folded. *The AAC hosted the Big 12 Basketball tournament in 2003, 2004 & 2006. *The

PBR PBR may refer to: Science and technology * Passive bistatic radar * Partition boot record * Pebble bed reactor, a type of nuclear reactor * Peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, another name for translocator protein * Phosphorus bromide * Photobio ...

hosted a

Built Ford Tough Series The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the elite series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 to 2017. The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002 with the Mohegan Sun Invitational in Uncasville, Connecticu ...

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

event at the AAC, annually, between 2005 & 2009. *The American Airlines Center, as well as the then-named

American Airlines Arena FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture f ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, hosted the 2006 and 2011 NBA Finals, in which the Dallas Mavericks played the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

in both franchises' first two Finals appearances. The Heat won the 2006 series 4-2, closing out in Dallas, and the Mavericks won the 2011 series 4-2, closing in Miami. Because American Airlines held the rights to both venues in the NBA Finals, these series were nicknamed by some as the "American Airlines series". *Hosted the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game on January 24, 2007. *Hosted a watch party for the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals between the

and

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. However, the Stars lost to the Lightning in six games. * On Saturday June 18, 2011, it played host to Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. * UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was held at the Center on September 19, 2009. UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler was held at the Center on March 15, 2014. UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos was held at the Center on March 14, 2015. UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos 2 was held at the Center on May 13, 2017. UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till was held at the Center on September 8, 2018. UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 was held at the Center on July 30, 2022. *On September 24, 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. *American Airlines Center hosted the opening round of round-robin matches of

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV ...

G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...

series on July 6, 2019. *The arena also hosted the Junior Gold Championships Opening Ceremony. The Junior Gold championships is an annual bowling tournament every July, for the best youth bowlers in the country and in the world. *American Airlines Center hosted first and second round games of the 2006 and 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournaments. For the NCAA women's basketball tournament the American Airlines Center hosted the Finals in 2017, along with the regional semifinals/finals in 2016 and 2011. *Two Mavericks games in early 2022--one against the Timberwolves on March 21 and a playoff against the Golden State Warriors on May 24--had to be delayed when the roof developed a leak. *American Airlines Center has also hosted

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

events as well, including its regular weekly shows ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' and ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...

'', and it's PPV events including

Survivor Series 2003 The 2003 Survivor Series was the 17th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The ...

, Night of Champions 2008,

Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fen ...

2010 and 2014, TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2016),

WWE Great Balls of Fire WWE Great Balls of Fire was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division. The event took place on July 9, 2017, at the America ...

, and

NXT Stand & Deliver (2022) The 2022 NXT Stand & Deliver was the second annual Stand & Deliver professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held primarily for wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The event took place on Saturday, April ...

, the arena also hosted the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on April 1, being notable for

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...

being inducted and headlining this year's aforementioned event.

In film and TV

*The AAC was pictured in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

The Burns and the Bees "The Burns and the Bees" is the eighth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2008. In the episode, during a poker game, M ...

" as "Dallas Arena". *On Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22, 2011, it played host to the Dallas audition stages in the first season of the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

singer search programme ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''.

Other events

*On Monday, September 14, 2015, Republican Party presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

held a campaign rally in the arena. * A rally for President Donald Trump was held Thursday, October 17, 2019 in the arena.

Other information

*Built on and in the shadows of the former Dallas neighborhood of

Little Mexico Little Mexico is a former neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, encompassing the area bordered by Maple Avenue, McKinney Avenue and the MKT (Missouri, Kansas, Texas) Railroad. Formerly a Polish Jewish neighborhood, it was settled by a wave of Mexican im ...

, the beginnings of the Mexican American population in the Dallas area. *A few weeks after the first event, it was found that the glass installed in the bathrooms was not the same as what was originally intended. Many who drove by the arena complained they had a clear view into the restrooms. The glass was quickly changed to the correct type the next week.

References

External links

American Airlines CenterArena map and directionsStadiumJourney Dallas Mavericks reviewStadiumJourney Dallas Stars review
{{Authority control 2001 establishments in Texas American Airlines Arena football venues Basketball venues in Texas Dallas Mavericks venues Dallas Stars arenas Gymnastics venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States Ice hockey venues in Texas Mixed martial arts venues in Texas Music venues in Dallas National Basketball Association venues National Hockey League venues Wrestling venues in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports venues completed in 2001 Sports venues in Dallas David M. Schwarz buildings Indoor arenas in Texas Northland Properties New Classical architecture