State Farm Stadium

Did You Know?

• The stadium has approximately 14,000 on-site parking spaces, plus 12,000 adjacent spaces, with 2,000 disabled parking spaces.
• Parking spaces are zoned with preferred leaving directions to achieve the fastest possible movement of traffic.
• The University of Phoenix terminated its naming rights deal on April 11, 2017, citing financial woes, and State Farm secured the rights on September 4, 2018, through 2036.

History

After moving from St. Louis in 1988, the Arizona Cardinals played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, expecting a short stay until a new Phoenix stadium could be built. The savings and loan crisis of the 1990s halted funding, and the Cardinals grew frustrated as tenants in a college facility, lacking revenue streams available to other NFL teams. In 2000 and 2001, the team explored locations, with Tempe and Avondale as early frontrunners; later, Mesa and Glendale submitted bids. Mesa residents voted against the stadium, while Glendale offered $36 million in infrastructure improvements and 11,000 parking spots. The ceremonial groundbreaking occurred on April 12, 2003, and after three years of construction, the 63,400-seat venue opened on August 1, 2006. Designed by Eisenman Architects and HOK Sport (now Populous), the stadium features a retractable roof engineered by Walter P Moore and a roll-in natural grass field, similar to the GelreDome and Veltins-Arena. Daktronics installed LED video and ribbon displays before the Cardinals' first game of the season.

Events

The stadium opened with public tours on August 19–20, 2006, attended by 120,000 people. The first preseason football game on August 12, 2006, saw the Cardinals defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21–13, and the first regular season game on September 10 resulted in a 34–27 win over the San Francisco 49ers. On October 16, 2006, the Chicago Bears overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Cardinals. Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008, drew 71,101 spectators as the New York Giants defeated the previously undefeated New England Patriots 17–14. The Cardinals' first home playoff game since 1947 occurred on January 3, 2009, a 30–24 win over the Atlanta Falcons, followed by the 2008 NFC Championship Game on January 18, 2009, where the Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Eagles 32–25 to advance to Super Bowl XLIII. The 2015 Pro Bowl was held at the same location as that year's Super Bowl, and on February 1, 2015, the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 in Super Bowl XLIX.