University of Phoenix Stadium
Encyclopedia
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football
stadium
located in Glendale, Arizona
. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals
of the National Football League
(NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl
. The stadium is located next door to the Jobing.com Arena and it features the first fully retractable natural grass playing surface built in the United States on top of an AirField Systems drainage system. An opening on one side of the stadium allows the playing field to move to the exterior of the building, allowing the entire natural turf playing surface to be exposed to daylight.
The stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLII
, WrestleMania XXVI
and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
, a game that it hosts every four years, which set the venue's entertainment attendance record of 78,603 on January 11, 2011. It will again host Super Bowl XLIX
in 2015.
The University of Phoenix
acquired the naming rights
in September 2006, shortly after the stadium had opened under the name Cardinals Stadium. The "University of Phoenix" name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University (which has no intercollegiate athletics program).
) and roll-in natural grass field, similar to the Veltins-Arena
. It is the only American facility on the list. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium was held on April 12, 2003.
Light emitting diode (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 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.
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 & 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, AZ on December 2, 2006); an international soccer exhibition match; 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 No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 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 Jan. 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 Jan. 18, 2009, which the Cardinals won 32-25 in front of 70,650 fans in attendance.
The stadium has 88 luxury suites — called luxury lofts — with space for 16 future suites as the stadium matures.
The 25 acres (10.1 ha) surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is an 8 acres (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 9,600 for "mega-events" such as college bowls, NFL Super Bowls, and the 2008-09 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 twelve minutes. It is the first retractable roof ever built on an incline.
The shape of the stadium is loosely modeled after a barrel cactus
, a widespread plant in the Arizona desert.
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 game was mentioned as one of the biggest upsets of all time. 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 February 23, 2009 it was reported that the stadium will host WrestleMania XXVI
, the twenty-sixth edition of the annual supercard produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), which took place on March 28, 2010. Global Spectrum, the stadium's operator, had worked in previous years with WWE to recruit the event to their venue. Spearheaded by financial backer and New York Architect Ron Elsensohn, on January 18, 2008, Global Spectrum publicly announced its intentions to host WrestleMania
in 2010. The event gained media attention weeks prior when a photo of Wayne Gretzky
wearing a shirt promoting the event surfaced in the Swedish newspaper Expressen
. A press conference was held on February 24, 2009 at the University of Phoenix Stadium to formally announce the event for Glendale, Arizona
at the University of Phoenix Stadium; this marked the first WrestleMania event to be held in the state of Arizona
. WrestleMania XXVI grossed $
5.8 million and became the highest grossing and attended entertainment event ever hosted by the venue, breaking the previous record held by a U2
concert on October 20, 2009 that attracted 50,775 fans and grossed $4.9 million. 72,219 fans from all 50 U.S. state
s and 26 countries attended WrestleMania XXVI.
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.
On January 10, 2011 the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
had an attendance record setting 78,603 on hand for the game.
On October 11, 2011 it was announced by the owners that University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals
, will host Super Bowl XLIX
.
acquired the naming rights to the stadium totalling $154.5 million over 20 years.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
located in Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
. The stadium is located next door to the Jobing.com Arena and it features the first fully retractable natural grass playing surface built in the United States on top of an AirField Systems drainage system. An opening on one side of the stadium allows the playing field to move to the exterior of the building, allowing the entire natural turf playing surface to be exposed to daylight.
The stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
, WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
2011 BCS National Championship Game
The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was the final college football game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision season. The finale of the 2010-2011 Bowl Championship Series was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the host...
, a game that it hosts every four years, which set the venue's entertainment attendance record of 78,603 on January 11, 2011. It will again host Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX, the 49th edition of the Super Bowl and the 45th modern-era National Football League championship game, is scheduled to be played in 2015 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona...
in 2015.
The University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix
The University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
acquired the naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
in September 2006, shortly after the stadium had opened under the name Cardinals Stadium. The "University of Phoenix" name is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University (which has no intercollegiate athletics program).
Facility information
The 63,400-seat stadium (expandable to at least 78,600) opened on August 1, 2006 after three years of construction.. 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 to a scheme design by Buro HappoldBuro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
) and roll-in natural grass field, similar to the Veltins-Arena
Veltins-Arena
Veltins-Arena is a football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened in 2001, as the new home ground for German Bundesliga club Schalke 04....
. It is the only American facility on the list. The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new stadium was held on April 12, 2003.
Light emitting diode (LED) video and ribbon displays from Daktronics
Daktronics
Daktronics is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video board, scoreboards, digital billboards and related products. The company is best known for its electronic LED displays...
in Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher...
were installed in 2006 prior to Arizona's first game of the season.
The cost of the project was $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
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
Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority is a corporate and political body having the rights, powers and immunities of a municipal corporation. It was created on April 24, 2000 by Arizona Senate Bill 1220...
($302.3 million), the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
($143.2 million), and the City of Glendale
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
($9.5 million).
The first preseason football game was played August 12, 2006 when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, 21-13. The first regular season game was played September 10 against the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
(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
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in 1988.
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
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
defeat Mexico
Mexico national football team
The Mexican national football team represents Mexico in association football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation , the governing body for football in Mexico. Mexico's home stadium is the Estadio Azteca and their head coach is José Manuel de la Torre...
, 2–0.
2007 BCS National Championship Game
The 2007 BCS National Championship Game, sponsored by Tostitos, was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007. The BCS No. 2 Florida Gators defeated the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, 41–14. The Buckeyes secured a spot by finishing...
January 8, 2007. These events included Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
games; public grand opening tours held August 19 & 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, AZ on December 2, 2006); an international soccer exhibition match; 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
Foothill High School (Pleasanton, California)
Foothill High School is a four-year secondary school in Pleasanton, California. It was built in 1973. It is one of two comprehensive high schools and one alternative high school in the Pleasanton Unified School District. The current enrollment is 2,343 students. The school mascot is the falcon...
, from Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
on December 29, 2006); the Fiesta Bowl
2007 Fiesta Bowl
The 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
January 1, 2007 featuring the Boise State Broncos vs. the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
Sooners (Boise State won 43-42 in overtime); and the BCS National Championship January 8, 2007 between the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 2 University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
Gators, which the Gators won 41-14. It also held the 2008 Fiesta Bowl
2008 Fiesta Bowl
The 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game sponsored by Tostitos. It was part of the 2007–2008 Bowl Championship Series of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played annually since 1971, first at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe,...
between the Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma Sooners
The University of Oklahoma features 19 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's teams are called the Sooners, a nickname given to the early participants in the land rushes which initially opened the Oklahoma Indian Territory to non-native settlement. They participate in the NCAA's Division I-A,...
and the West Virginia University Mountaineers, as well as the 2009 Fiesta Bowl
2009 Fiesta Bowl
The 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns on Monday, January 5, 2009, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona...
between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
. It has also held many high school graduations.
The Cardinals' first home playoff game since the 1940s took place at the stadium on Jan. 3, 2009, with Arizona beating the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 30-24. The stadium also hosted the 2008-09 NFC Championship Game between the Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on Jan. 18, 2009, which the Cardinals won 32-25 in front of 70,650 fans in attendance.
The 25 acres (10.1 ha) surrounding the stadium is called Sportsman's Park. Included within the Park is an 8 acres (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
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
can be expanded by 9,600 for "mega-events" such as college bowls, NFL Super Bowls, and the 2008-09 NFC Championship Game
NFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
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 twelve minutes. It is the first retractable roof ever built on an incline.
The shape of the stadium is loosely modeled after a barrel cactus
Barrel cactus
Barrel cacti are classified into the two genera Echinocactus and Ferocactus, both of which are found in the Southwest Desert of North America. Their pineapple-shaped fruits can be easily removed but are not recommended for eating. The barrel cactus may reach over a metre in height. Its ribs are...
, a widespread plant in the Arizona desert.
University of Phoenix Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
on February 3, 2008 in which the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the previously undefeated New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
17-14 with a paid attendance crowd of 71,101. This game was mentioned as one of the biggest upsets of all time. This was the second time the Phoenix area
Phoenix Metropolitan Area
The Phoenix metropolitan area, often referred to as The Valley of the Sun, is a metropolitan area, centered on the city of Phoenix, that includes much of the central part of the US state of Arizona...
hosted a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, the other being Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
held in nearby Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
at Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor football stadium, located on the campus of Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The stadium's current seating capacity is 71,706 and the playing surface is natural grass...
in 1996 when the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
On February 23, 2009 it was reported that the stadium will host WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI
WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. This was the fourth WrestleMania to...
, the twenty-sixth edition of the annual supercard produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), which took place on March 28, 2010. Global Spectrum, the stadium's operator, had worked in previous years with WWE to recruit the event to their venue. Spearheaded by financial backer and New York Architect Ron Elsensohn, on January 18, 2008, Global Spectrum publicly announced its intentions to host WrestleMania
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
in 2010. The event gained media attention weeks prior when a photo of Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
wearing a shirt promoting the event surfaced in the Swedish newspaper Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
. A press conference was held on February 24, 2009 at the University of Phoenix Stadium to formally announce the event for Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
at the University of Phoenix Stadium; this marked the first WrestleMania event to be held in the state of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. WrestleMania XXVI grossed $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.8 million and became the highest grossing and attended entertainment event ever hosted by the venue, breaking the previous record held by a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
concert on October 20, 2009 that attracted 50,775 fans and grossed $4.9 million. 72,219 fans from all 50 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s and 26 countries attended WrestleMania XXVI.
On August 1, 2009, the stadium hosted Monster Jam
Monster Jam
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour and television show operated by Feld Entertainment. The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association and takes place primarily in the United States and around the world...
Summer Heat, with Maximum Destruction defeating Captain's Curse in the racing finals and Grave Digger winning the freestyle event.
On January 10, 2011 the 2011 BCS National Championship Game
2011 BCS National Championship Game
The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was the final college football game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision season. The finale of the 2010-2011 Bowl Championship Series was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the host...
had an attendance record setting 78,603 on hand for the game.
On October 11, 2011 it was announced by the owners that University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, will host Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX, the 49th edition of the Super Bowl and the 45th modern-era National Football League championship game, is scheduled to be played in 2015 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona...
.
Naming rights
On September 26, 2006 the University of PhoenixUniversity of Phoenix
The University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...
acquired the naming rights to the stadium totalling $154.5 million over 20 years.