The University of Phoenix Stadium is a prime example of sophisticated engineering, technology, and design in a sports facility. It is the first stadium in North America to have a retractable natural grass playing field, on top of a synthetic drainage system. The stadium was built as a multipurpose facility to host various sports and entertainment events, including soccer, football, motorsports, and rodeos. Known primarily as the Arizona Cardinals stadium, this multipurpose facility also hosts a number of corporate events and musical concerts, which makes it one of the most versatile arenas in North America. In addition, there is a huge array of hotels near University of Phoenix Stadium, which makes it a very traveler-friendly venue.

U. of Phoenix Stadium Tickets

The home field of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals is located in Glendale, Arizona, between Scottsdale and Phoenix. The construction of this multiuse facility began in 2003, and it was completed in August 2006. Designed by world-famous architect Peter Eisenmen in partnership with HOK Sports and Hunt Construction Group, the University of Phoenix Stadium was originally opened with the name Cardinals Stadium in August 2006. But the name soon changed when its corporate sponsor, the University of Phoenix, acquired the naming rights a month after the inaugural ceremony. The Arizona Cardinals stadium hosted its first preseason football game between the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers on August 12, 2006, and the first regular season game was played between against the San Francisco 49ers on September 10, 2006.

The 63,500-seat stadium, with its state-of-the-art natural field and retractable roof, is often considered an architectural wonder in Arizona. The retractable natural grass field is especially innovated—it can be completely removed and placed outside the stadium where it gets maximum sunshine and nourishment. This also takes away any humidity and moisture retained inside the stadium, and the venue can then be used for concerts and other sporting events such as basketball without any trouble. The stadium's striking exterior resembles a barrel cactus, a common variety of cactus plant in the Arizona desert.

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In addition to excellent architecture and innovative design, the University of Phoenix Stadium has set great standards when it comes to comfort and seating. The stadium's layout provides comfortable seats, numerous restrooms and concession stands, spacious concourses, and viewing decks. NFL fans can get unobstructed views of the field from both lower and upper concourses, and the positions of two high-definition scoreboards provide easy views of scores and other information to the audience. The University of Phoenix Stadium seating capacity is expandable from its 63,500 seats for the Arizona Cardinals games up to 72,800 for larger events including the Fiesta Bowl.

The Stadium is divided into Club Level, Main and Upper Concourse and the Suite Level. Each level features murals of the desert, mountain ranges, rivers, and other natural attractions of Arizona. The night sky mural, featured at the highest level, is especially beautiful and contains the names of state observatories. The Suite and Club Level offer the best seating arrangements regarding comfort and luxury, as the University of Phoenix Stadium seating arrangement at the Club Level features wide, comfortable seats for fans as well as club lounges complete with food, beverages and TV monitors. The stadium's Suite level features 88 luxury suites with multiple televisions, and these suites, called luxury lofts, also have restrooms, modern interior design, and preferred parking. To accommodate additional ticket-holders for big events such as the Super Bowl and college bowl games, the University of Phoenix Stadium seating capacity can be expanded by 9,600 by adding portable X-frame folding seats and risers. The stadium's end-zone area can also be expanded to accommodate additional viewers.

Besides exemplary architectural innovation and comfortable searing options, the Arizona Cardinals Stadium designers wanted to provide an excellent overall environment to enhance the game experience of fans. The open space surrounding the stadium, called Sportsman Park, was built to offer a perfect park-like ambiance for the public. The 160-acre region surrounds the University of Phoenix Stadium and includes twenty acres of turf with an eight-acre public area called the Great Lawn, which is surrounded by grass and sycamore trees and is a great destination for tailgating. The venue's location in Glendale means there are many convenient University of Phoenix Stadium hotels in a variety of price ranges, as well as a major airport.