Journey to the Valley of the Suns

Official Review by Joe Camp, Stadium Journey Correspondent

US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena in the Charles Barkley days) in downtown Phoenix opened in 1992. It also serves as the home for the WNBA franchise Phoenix Mercury (league champs in '07 and '09) and a host of other minor league soccer, hockey and football teams.

The Suns have represented Phoenix since 1968, and no other team existed there before the late 80s when the football Cardinals moved there in 1988. The Cardinals play in suburban Glendale in a stadium complex adjacent to the arena for the Phoenix Coyotes who arrived in 1996 via the Winnipeg Jets. Also arriving in the 90s were the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. Their home, Chase Field, is also downtown and only a block east of the US Airways Center.

So while an inception of 1968 doesn't ring with historical significance it does give them historical priority locally. Be very clear, this is a Suns town. The Suns have consistently had good, competitive teams. They've made the conference finals multiple times in every decade they've been around and twice lost in six games in the NBA Finals - the first was the "Sunderella" team of 1975-76 that eventually lost to the Celtics and the Barkley-lead team that were beaten by the Bulls in 1993. As any Cubs or Vikings fan will tell you, losing only makes the heart grow fonder. Phoenix is definitely fond of its Suns.

Food & Beverage    5

In addition to the standard stadium fare, there are many edible alternatives available to the more sophisticated palate. Steak sandwiches, Chinese fare, boutique popcorn joints and smoothie shops are all supplementary options. They even had a Cold Stone Creamery that was reasonably priced (although your options are limited and pre-made - a bit of a bummer for a Cold Stone professional like myself).

Most appealing to me was their beverage options. Again, they offered the standard domestics, but there were multiple import options, margarita stands, several vendors offering mixed drinks, and even a Jagermeister stand. Bottoms up!

Beers and some of the food options were a bit overpriced, but I've never seen the diversity of options that they had available at US Airways. I came away impressed.

Atmosphere    4

US Airways is a surprisingly small arena. There are only two seating decks and mid-level boxes are limited. This means that there is no such thing as a bad seat. We were 3 rows from the top in the second deck and I thought our view of the court was fine.

One thing I couldn't help but notice was the corporate logos and marketing that completely covered the walls of the walkways. Also conspicuous was a belt of cheesy advertising that encircled the inner arena. There wasn't a scrap of uncovered wallspace to be found. To be honest, though, other than the cheesy local ads in the inner area, the more professional, well though-out advertising/marketing around the walkways made it a richer experience. Given the exposed concrete alternative I'll take the logos.

Also worth mentioning is the 2nd level kids area they have called "Gorilla Green House." I'm not sure if there is an entry fee, but I'm 32 and I would have paid $10 to climb through the jungle gym and go down the zip line. I didn't, but I wanted to, and more importantly, if you have kids they will want to. And deservedly so. It looks like a lot of fun.

Neighborhood    5

US Airways is located on the southern end of the downtown area of Phoenix. I like this type of arrangement as it offers relativity close proximity to downtown entertainment options, but is manageable when it comes to logistics such as parking. Also worth mentioning is a light rail stop that drops you off directly in front of the arena.

We began our Stadium Journey at Majerle's - a nice bar and grill option with an upscale exterior and a classy, but comfortable interior. Named after, and presumably affiliated with, the sweet-shooting Dan Majerle, the décor is your typical sports bar, with lots of memorabilia from Majerle's playing days. A highlight for me was the lifesize picture of Thunder Dan launching another arching 3-ball while sporting the short shorts and Hi-top Nike Air Force STS's - for my money the best-looking basketball shoe of all time. Drinks were good, reasonably priced, and the servers were above average. Bonus points for multiple TVs in the mens restroom. I need a live sports feed while I pee.

Sticking with the Players: Past and Present theme, we then moved on to Stoudemire's, which is across the street from US Airways and part of a food court/shopping center. It looked very upscale from the exterior and that carried through inside, although it was more of a nightclub than a sports bar. We were there 2hrs+ before the game and the place was empty, but it's reasonable to think that this place could be the place to go postgame. This being the day after the NBA trading deadline and Amare Stoudemire being the subject of many trade rumors, I asked about job security. Our bartender shared that Amare only licensed his name to the place and that the owners had been in the process of exiting from that relationship since the beginning of the season. Apparently the city is ready to say goodbye to their once beloved STAT. Note: Stoudemire's has closed since the original publishing of this review.

Last but certainly not least, we ventured to the south side of the stadium to Alice Cooper's Cooperstown bar and grill. I'm pretty sure this is now my favorite bar on the planet. In addition to being huge, with outside seating and a stage area, this is a first-rate sports bar with lots of big screen TVs and a great menu of cleverly titled bar food (ie WMDs: Wings of Mass Destruction, Bruce Lee's Chopped Chicken Salad). It also celebrates the musical magic of Mr. Cooper and his era - all the employees sported Alice's trademark eye make-up and at one point I abandoned taking obsequious notes to simply jot down the playlist - Ratt's Way Cool Jr., Metallica's One, and Van Halen's Jump all helped me enjoy what was the best margarita I can remember. Two of them actually. The "Home Run" Wing & Rib combo was solid as well.

Fans    4

The arena was 2/3 full at tip-off and nearly full midway through the first quarter. As I mentioned, the majority of the fans were proudly sporting their Suns' orange, and seemed to follow the course of the game fairly well. I definitely got the impression that the people in attendance were "real" Suns fans. This is another way of saying that the crowd didn't feel "corporate" at all.

Access    4

Bathrooms at the arena were everywhere and I never had to wait. The downtown location provided plenty of parking and easy access to restaurants and bars. The city uses a grid system so getting back to the major roads was a breeze. Only knock here is that parking in garages was fairly expensive (I paid $12) and the lot parking nearby was not user-friendly and a bit sketchy at that. After once paying $3 to park at a Pacers game, I can't give it a 5, but it was really easy to get around.

Return on Investment    3

I really liked the stadium and the neighborhood. With the tickets, parking and food at the game all on the expensive side, though, I think this is about right. Plus the particular game I went to (vs. Atlanta Hawks) was a sloppy game that wasn't really good even though it was close.

Extras    3

Minimal stupid time-out activities and very little noise pumped in - both a huge plus in my book. I like sports. I don't like fat guys dancing and I don't like 8 yr old girls missing 14 consecutive layups. I liked that they let me just enjoy the game. +1

Did I mention how awesome Alice Cooperstown was? +1

I have a soft spot for teams with a history of tragic losses. The Suns certainly fit the bill. I can't get the image out of my head of Steve Nash's nose exploding in 2007 and keeping him from getting back into a game they very much could have won. I've seen that 1976 triple OT game 5 on ESPN classic and watching Paul Westphal throw himself all over the court was something to behold. And then there's Chuck, finally with a team built around him, losing to Jordan and his 41ppg in the 1993 finals. To still fill the place with orange night-in and night-out nets them another bonus point. +1