American Airlines Center - Notable Events

Notable Events

Sports

• After the Dallas Desperados played their first season in the AAC, they moved to nearby Reunion Arena and played there for their second season. For their third season, they moved back to the AAC, where they played until the league folded.
• The AAC hosted the Big 12 Basketball Tournament in 2003, 2004 & 2006.
• The PBR hosted a Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event at the AAC, annually, between 2005 & 2009.
• The American Airlines Center, as well as the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, hosted the 2006 NBA Finals, in which the Dallas Mavericks were defeated in six games by the Miami Heat. This was both teams' first appearance in the Finals. Because American Airlines held the rights to both venues in the final, the series was nicknamed by some as the "American Airlines series".
• Hosted the 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game on January 24, 2007.
• Co-hosted the 2011 NBA Finals (Games 3, 4, and 5) with the American Airlines Arena in Miami (the same venues as the 2006 Finals), a rematch of the 2006 championship series against the Miami Heat. It was both teams' second appearance in the Finals, and this time the Mavericks won in 6 games.

Wrestling

• Regular host for WWE live events in the DFW area. Previous events have included Survivor Series 2003, Night of Champions 2008, Hell in a Cell 2010, a taping of Saturday Night's Main Event, and various episodes of Raw, SmackDown, ECW, and the season one finale of NXT.
• UFC 103 was held at the Center on September 19, 2009.

Concerts

• The Dixie Chicks performed during their Top of the World Tour on July 6, 2003, with Michelle Branch as their opening act. It was at this show that lead vocalist Natalie Maines received a death threat, saying she'd "be shot dead" at this concert, due to her controversial comment toward President George W. Bush (himself a Texas resident, which was actually the basis for the comment).
• The American Airlines Center is a usual stop for many world tours including those of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, P!nk, The Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and many more.
• Madonna will stop at the arena for her MDNA Tour on October 20th, and 21st, 2012. It will be her first time in 22 years to visit Dallas. She last stopped by on her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, performing at Reunion Arena.

American singer/songwriter, P!nk performed at the arena for the first time on the 23rd of September, 2009 on her Funhouse Tour. She is set to perform at the arena again on the 22nd of February on her The Truth About Love Tour.

Other Info

• Built on and in the shadows of the former Dallas neighborhood of Little Mexico, the beginnings of the Mexican American population in the Dallas area.
• A few weeks after the first event, it was found that the glass installed in the bathrooms was not the same as what was originally intended. Many who drove by the arena complained they had a clear view into the restrooms. The glass was quickly changed to the correct type the next week.
• The AAC was pictured in Season 20, Episode 8 of the Simpsons, as "Dallas Arena," with the city skyline behind it.

The X Factor USA 2011 Dallas Auditions