Toyota Center
| File:Toycentlogo.png Inside of Toyota Center during a regular season game | |
 | |
| Location | 1510 Polk Street Houston, Texas 77002 |
|---|---|
| Owner | Harris County - Houston Sports Authority |
| Operator | Clutch City Sports and Entertainment |
| Capacity | Basketball: 18,300 Ice Hockey:17,800 Concerts: up to 19,000 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 6, 2003 |
| Construction cost | 202 million $USD |
| Architect | Morris Architects, HOK Architects, John Chase Architects |
| Tenants | |
| Houston Rockets (NBA) (2003-present) Houston Comets (WNBA) (2003-present) Houston Aeros (AHL) (2003-present) | |
The Toyota Center is an indoor arena located at 1510 Polk Street in Downtown Houston, Texas.
Named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota, the Toyota Center houses three sports teams: The Houston Rockets of the NBA, The Houston Aeros of the AHL and the Houston Comets of the WNBA.
History
In 2002, the Houston sports teams pressured the city for a new stadium to be built to replace the Compaq Center, formerly known as the Summit. As a result, the Toyota Center was built and has since become their new home.
The Toyota Center can seat 18,300 for basketball (10,063 for WNBA games), 17,800 for hockey, and up to 19,000 for concerts. It has 2,900 club seats and 103 luxury suites. There are over 10,000 parking spaces within a few blocks of the facility, including the 2,500-space Toyota Tundra garage connected to the arena via private skybridge.
The Toyota Center was the winner of the Allen Award for Civic Enhancement by Central Houston in 2003, the "Rookie of the Year" award by the Harlem Globetrotters in 2004 and was a finalist for Pollstar Magazine’s "Best New Concert Venue" award. Attendance at events during the facility's first year exceeded 1.5 million people.
Events
The first event after the arena's opening ceremony was a Fleetwood Mac concert on October 6, 2003. The first Rockets game at the Toyota Center was against the Denver Nuggets on October 30, 2003.
The Houston Toyota Center has been the host of some of the biggest events in the Houston area.
- Toyota Center was the host of the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.
- Heavy Metal band Metallica performed live November 16, 2004
- Toyota Center hosted WWE No Mercy 2005 on October 9, 2005.
- Paul McCartney performed live on November 19th in his 2005 "US Tour".
- Aerosmith performed on January 23, 2006
- Coldplay Performed live February 25 2006
- The High School Musical Concert CD/DVD Was Taped There On December 18, 2006
- Maná's Amar es Combatir World Tour Februay 24, September 1 & September 2 2007
- RBD Tour Generación 2006 October 30, 2007
- Eric Clapton performed on March 2, 2007.
- Justin Timberlake Future Love Sex Tour March 4, 2007.
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium Tour on March 7, 2007.
- UFC 69: Shootout on April 7, 2007.
- WWE pay-per-view Vengeance on June 24, 2007.
- Keith Urban July 5, 2007
- RBD Performed live Tour Celestial 2007 October 4 Official RBD Day Declared by Houstons Mayor Bill White
External links
| Preceded by Compaq Center 1975–2003 |
Home of the Houston Rockets 2003–present |
Succeeded by current |