The
EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena in Salt Lake City
, Utah
, United States
owned by the estate of
the late Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for
basketball, 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 arena is the home of the
NBA's
Utah Jazz.
From 2006 to 2008, the arena was the home of the
Arena Football League's
Utah Blaze. It 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).
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.

June 2005 photo of the venue, when it
was known as 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 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.
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.
Renaming

2006 photo of the name change taken by
a local resident.
Until
November 20,
2006, the 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 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. The EnergySolutions temporary logos were replaced with
official EnergySolutions logos on the court, sometime between the
December 16, 2006 game vs the Sacramento Kings and the 12-26-06
game vs the Los Angeles Clippers.
Initial fan reactions to the new name were predominantly negative.
Early nicknames for the arena included "the Dump", a jab at
EnergySolutions' radioactive and hazardous waste disposal
operations. Other suggestions included the Glow Dome, 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, the Melta Center, and
Energy Pollutions Arena. Many Salt Lake City residents still refer
to it as the Delta Center.
John Stockton and Karl Malone statues
Outside the arena are statues of two players regarded as among the
greatest in the history of the Jazz. The
John Stockton statue was unveiled on
March 30,
2005. The
Karl Malone statue was unveiled on
March 23,
2006. The Jazz played
games on each of those nights but both games were lost.
Notable events
1999 Salt Lake City
tornado
- Hosted the 1993 US Gymnastics Championships.
- Home of the 1999 US Figure Skating
Championships
- Hosted a PBR Bud Light Cup event in 1999 and
2000.
- The figure skating and short track speed skating
competitions were held there during the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Hosted a sold out Rolling Stones
A Bigger Bang Tour concert in
2005. The group performed a two song
performance via satellite for the 2005 American Music Awards, with an
introduction by Nicole Richie.
- U2 played a sold out concert here during
their Vertigo Tour
- Metallica played a concert here during
their Death Magnetic tour on November
3, 2008.
- Josh Groban's live concert DVD,
Awake Live was filmed at the arena in
2007.
- Blue Man Group Performed their
famed "How To Be A Megastar Tour" at the arena on October 30, 2006,
and February 2, 2008.
- Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus performed two sold out concerts here
during her Best of Both Worlds
Tour. One of the concerts was filmed and released in 2008 in
Disney Digital 3D in select
theaters for a limited run worldwide and on DVD.
- Hosted auditions for the eighth season of American Idol on July 29, 2008.
- Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire performed their 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008 at
the arena on October 10, 2008.
- Celine Dion performed her Taking Chances Tour at the arena on
February 22, 2009.
- Britney Spears recently played a
sold out concert The
Circus Starring: Britney Spears which came to the arena on
April 14, 2009.
- Will host the Sweet Sixteen
and Elite Eight Rounds of the 2010 NCAA Men's
Division I Basketball Tournament
- Miley Cyrus will return to the arena
for part of her Wonder World Tour
September 29, 2009
- Taylor Swift performed here on her Fearless Tour
Hosted the 1993 NBA All-Star Game
References
External links