The Desert, The Well (Former) | |
.jpg) 2014 | |
  Desert Financial Arena Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona Desert Financial Arena Location in the United States Show map of the United States | |
| Former names | ASU Activity Center(1974–97) Wells Fargo Arena(1997–2019) |
|---|---|
| Address | 600 E Veterans Way |
| Location | Tempe, Arizona, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°25′28″N111°55′51″W / 33.424524°N 111.930948°W /33.424524; -111.930948 |
| Public transit |   Veterans Way/College Ave |
| Owner | Arizona State University |
| Capacity | 14,198 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1972 |
| Opened | April 29, 1974[2] |
| Construction cost | $8 million ($60.1 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Drover, Welch & Lindlan, Inc.[2] |
| General contractor | Olson Construction Company[2] |
| 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 | |
Desert Financial Arena[3] (formerlyASU Activity Center andWells Fargo Arena) is a 14,198-seat[4] multi-purposearena located at 600 E Veterans Way inTempe, Arizona, United States, in thePhoenix metropolitan area. It sits immediately east ofMountain America Stadium on the northern edge of the Tempe campus ofArizona 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 ofmen'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 replacedSun Devil Gym as the primary arena for the Sun Devils' basketball team.
The former naming rights for the arena were purchased byWells Fargo & Co. in 1997. The current naming rights for the arena were purchased byDesert Financial Credit Union in 2019 for $1.5 million for 5 years.
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.
In 2010, a temporary wall was placed on the upper bowl, reducing the arena's capacity from 13,947 to 10,754 due to the lack of fans attending games.[5] In 2018, due to the success of the men's basketball team, the wall was removed, increasing the capacity to 14,100.[6][7]
Bruce Springsteen & theE Street Band performed at the arena on November 5, 1980 during theRiver Tour. Video and audio of the show were released in 2015 in conjunction with the band'sThe Ties That Bind commemorative box set, and their performance of "Badlands" was included on 1986'sLive 1975–85 album.
The arena hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds of theNCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in both2015 and2016.
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