Desert Financial Arena

Desert Financial Arena
The Desert, The Well (Former)
	(2014)
	Desert Financial Arena Location in Arizona Desert Financial Arena Location in the United States
Former names	ASU Activity Center (1974–97); Wells Fargo Arena (1997–2019)
Address	600 E Veterans Way
Location	Tempe, Arizona
Coordinates	33°25′28″N111°55′51″W / 33.424524°N 111.930948°W
Public transit	Veterans Way/College Ave
Owner	Arizona State University
Capacity	14,198
Construction
Broke ground	1972
Opened	April 29, 1974
Construction cost	$8 million; ($58.3 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Drover, Welch & Lindlan, Inc.
General contractor	Olson Construction Company
Tenants
	Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball (NCAA) (1974–present); Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball; Arizona State Sun Devils women's volleyball

Last updated April 13, 2024

Desert Financial Arena^[3] (formerly ASU Activity Center and Wells Fargo Arena) is a 14,198-seat^[4] multi-purpose arena located at 600 E Veterans Way in Tempe, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. It sits immediately east of Mountain America Stadium on the northern edge of the Tempe campus of Arizona State University (ASU).

Constructed in the spring of 1974 as the University Activity Center (or the "You-Ack") and at the cost of $8 million, it is the home of men's basketball, women's basketball, and women's volleyball and former home of women's gymnastics and men's wrestling. The facility also plays host to graduation ceremonies and a variety of concerts and shows. The building replaced Sun Devil Gym as the primary arena for the Sun Devils' basketball team.

The former naming rights for the arena were purchased by Wells Fargo & Co. in 1997. The current naming rights to arena were purchased by Desert Financial Credit Union in 2019 for $1.5 million for 5 years.

Design

The structure is 403 feet (123 m) long, 340 feet (100 m) wide and six stories high. The structure contains offices and locker rooms for men's basketball, women's basketball, women's volleyball, and the men's and women's track and field team, along with a weight room, coaches and film rooms, and an equipment room.

Events

The Eagles played at the facility on October 15, 1976, with the setlist including the first live performance of “Hotel California.” ^[5]^[6]

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band performed at the arena on November 5, 1980 during the River Tour. Video and audio of the show were released in 2015 in conjunction with the band's The Ties That Bind commemorative box set, and their performance of "Badlands" was included on 1986's Live 1975–85 album.

The arena has also hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in both 2015 and 2016.

Related Research Articles

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References

1 2 3 "ASU Tempe Campus Buildings Survey, 1960-2007" (PDF). Arizona State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
↑ Staff, Arizona's Family Digital News. "ASU's Wells Fargo Arena getting new name". AZFamily. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
↑ "Thesundevils.com". Phoenix. December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
↑ "Eagles Setlist at ASU Activity Center, Tempe". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
↑ "Iconic Eagles song has Arizona connection". 12news.com. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

External links

Desert Financial Arena on the ASU virtual tour

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[archcon-1] 1 2 3 "ASU Tempe Campus Buildings Survey, 1960-2007" (PDF). Arizona State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.

[inflation-US-2] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.

[azfamily.com-3] Staff, Arizona's Family Digital News. "ASU's Wells Fargo Arena getting new name". AZFamily. Retrieved 2019-10-15.

[4] "Thesundevils.com". Phoenix. December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.

[5] "Eagles Setlist at ASU Activity Center, Tempe". setlist.fm. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

[6] "Iconic Eagles song has Arizona connection". 12news.com. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-26.

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v t e Arizona State University
Academics	W. P. Carey School of Business Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering School for the Future of Innovation in Society Barrett, The Honors College Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law College of Integrative Sciences and Arts College of Liberal Arts and Sciences New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences College of Nursing and Health Innovation College of Health Solutions Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions Morrison Institute for Public Policy School of Sustainability Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
Campuses	Main (Tempe) Downtown (Phoenix) Mesa (future) Polytechnic (Mesa) West (Phoenix) ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City (Lake Havasu City) Thunderbird School of Global Management (Phoenix) ASU Online
Athletics	Arizona State Sun Devils "Maroon & Gold" Baseball (Phoenix Municipal Stadium) Men's basketball (Desert Financial Arena) Women's basketball (Desert Financial Arena) Women's beach volleyball (PERA Club) Women's gymnastics (Mullett Arena) Football (Mountain America Stadium) Golf (Karsten Golf Course) Men's ice hockey (Mullett Arena) Women's ice hockey (Mullett Arena) Soccer (Sun Devil Soccer Stadium) Softball (Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium) Swimming (Mona Plummer Aquatic Center) Wrestling (Mullett Arena) State Farm Territorial Cup Series
Media	Bilingual Review Press Journal of Policy History The State Press KASC KAET KBAQ (50%)
Buildings	Arboretum at Arizona State University Arizona State University Art Museum Arizona State University Research Park The Biodesign Institute Center for Meteorite Studies Decision Theater Gammage Memorial Auditorium Louise Lincoln Kerr House and Studio Old Main Skysong
Other	2004 U.S. presidential debates Alumni "A" Mountain ASU Foundation Fraternities and sororities Colleges and schools History Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve Karsten Golf Course Frank Kush Field Palm Walk Sparky the Sun Devil Stomp the Bus Sun Devil Marching Band
Founded: 1885 Students: 135,729 (77,881 on campus and 57,848 digital) Endowment: $1.39 billion

v t e Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball
Venues	College Gym Mesa Civic Center Sun Devil Gym (1953–1974) Desert Financial Arena (1974–present)
Rivalries	Arizona
Culture & lore	Sparky the Sun Devil "Maroon & Gold" Marching Band
People	Head coaches NBA draftees NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Arizona State Sun Devils women's basketball
Venues	Desert Financial Arena (1975–present)
Culture & lore	Sparky the Sun Devil "Maroon & Gold"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Music venues of Arizona
Outdoor venues	Ak-Chin Pavilion Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater Chase Field Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Mesa Amphitheatre The Pool at Talking Stick Salt River Fields State Farm Stadium Sun Bowl Amphitheatre Sun Devil Stadium
Theaters and clubs	Arizona Federal Theatre Celebrity Theatre Chandler Center for the Arts Club Congress Fox Tucson Theatre Gammage Memorial Auditorium Marquee Theatre The Mason Jar Mesa Arts Center Orpheum Theater Orpheum Theatre Phoenix Symphony Hall Rialto Theatre Rhythm Room Safford Center for the Arts The Showroom at Talking Stick Skrappys Trunk Space Tempe Center for the Arts Tucson Music Hall
Arenas	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Desert Diamond Arena Desert Financial Arena Findlay Toyota Center Footprint Center Global Credit Union Arena Mojave Crossing Tucson Arena Walkup Skydome
Historic venues	Compton Terrace Graham Central Station Long Wong's Phoenix Show Palace