Toyota Center
Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL), and the Houston Comets of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
This article is about the Houston, Texas, USA arena. For other uses, see Toyota Center (disambiguation).Address
1510 Polk Street
Harris County Houston Sports Authority
Basketball: 18,104
Hockey: 17,800
Concerts: 19,300
July 31, 2001
October 6, 2003
US$235 million
($389 million in 2023 dollars[1])
Populous (then HOK Sport)[2]
Morris Architects
John Chase Architects
Bovay Engineers, Inc.[4]
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander first began to request a new arena in 1995 and attempted to release the Rockets from their lease at The Summit, which ran until 2003. However, he was denied by arena owner Chuck Watson, then-owner of the Aeros, who also wanted control of a new arena. The two sides agreed to equal control over an arena in a deal signed in 1997, but the proposal was rejected by city voters in a 1999 referendum. It was not until the city and the Rockets signed an amended agreement in 2001, excluding the Aeros, that the proposal was accepted.
Construction began in July 2001, and the new arena was officially opened in October 2003. The total costs were $235 million, with the city of Houston paying the majority, and the Rockets paying for enhancements. Toyota paid US$100 million for the naming rights.
Attendance records[edit]
In its first year, the total attendance for events at the arena exceeded 1.5 million. The current attendance for a concert held at the arena was set on November 20, 2008, when Metallica played to a sold-out crowd of 17,962 during the Death Magnetic tour. The record for a basketball game is 18,583, set on March 26, 2010, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Rockets 109–101.[73]
Awards and recognitions[edit]
The arena was the winner of the Allen Award for Civic Enhancement by Central Houston, the "Rookie of the Year" award by the Harlem Globetrotters, and a finalist for Pollstar Magazine's "Best New Concert Venue" award.[57]