State Farm Stadium

State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in Glendale, a suburb west of Phoenix. It serves as the home venue for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and has hosted major events including the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four, and the Fiesta Bowl. The stadium is notable for its innovative retractable roof and a unique roll-out natural grass playing field.

History

The drive for a new stadium for the Arizona Cardinals began in the late 1990s, as the team played in the outdated Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe. Following a contentious public vote in 2000, Maricopa County approved a tourism tax to fund a portion of the project through the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. Groundbreaking occurred on April 12, 2003, on land formerly part of the Luke Air Force Base range. Designed by renowned architect Peter Eisenman and engineered by Walter P Moore, the stadium opened on August 1, 2006, with a preseason game between the Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Its construction, managed by the Hunt Construction Group, was completed on time and under its $455 million budget, a rarity for major public projects.

Architecture and features

The stadium's most distinctive architectural feature is its retractable roof, designed by the firm Schlaich Bergermann Partner, which can open or close in approximately 12 minutes. Equally innovative is its roll-out natural grass field, a Bermuda grass tray that weighs over 18 million pounds and is stored outside the stadium to receive sunlight when not in use. The stadium's exterior is clad in metal panels and features a barrel-shaped form, while the interior bowl is designed to maximize sightlines and fan proximity to the field. Other notable features include a large, retractable glass window on the north end, a massive video board known as the "ViziBlast" by Daktronics, and extensive club and suite levels operated by Levy Restaurants.

Events

State Farm Stadium has been the site of numerous high-profile sporting and entertainment events. It hosted Super Bowl XLII in 2008, where the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots, and Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, featuring the Patriots' victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The stadium is the permanent home of the Fiesta Bowl and has hosted the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2016 and 2023. It was also the venue for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Final Four in 2017. Beyond sports, the stadium has held major concerts for artists like Taylor Swift, U2, and The Rolling Stones, and was a venue for WrestleMania 26 in 2010.

Home teams and tenants

The primary tenant is the Arizona Cardinals, who signed a long-term lease upon the stadium's opening. The stadium also serves as the host for the annual Fiesta Bowl, a premier college football bowl game traditionally associated with the Big 12 Conference and Big Ten Conference champions. From 2017 to 2019, it was the home field for the Arizona Hotshots of the short-lived Alliance of American Football. The facility is managed by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority but is operated on a day-to-day basis by the Cardinals organization.

Naming rights

Upon opening, the stadium was named University of Phoenix Stadium through a 20-year, $154.5 million naming rights agreement with the for-profit University of Phoenix, then owned by the Apollo Education Group. In 2018, State Farm acquired the naming rights, effective at the start of the 2018 NFL season. The insurance giant, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, signed a long-term agreement reported to be worth significantly more than the previous deal, leading to the venue's current designation.