Grand Canyon University Arena

This stunning, 5,000-seat, 135,000-square-foot multi-purpose entertainment and athletics facility has been open only since 2011, but has already made its mark locally and nationally. Primarily known on campus as the home of the university’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, the arena regularly hosts rock acts (Casting Crowns has played there, as has the David Crowder Band and Third Day) as well as large-scale specialty productions like the skating extravaganza Pandora’s Unforgettable Moments on Ice featuring David Archuleta. With five concession stands (including three full-size pizza ovens), 17 restrooms, four professional-league-scaled locker rooms, a pair of sweeping grand staircases and four different high-definition video boards, Grand Canyon University Arena offers more than most campus facilities in town. Designed by Tempe-based Architekton, the facility is capped with ceiling beams signed by GCU employees and students, a vault of Bibles buried at center court, and an outdoor balcony with views of the entire Camelback Road campus.