Hawks COO: Philips Arena Big On Concerts

Renovations are well under way at Philips Arena, with Atlanta Hawks COO Thad Sheely telling Pollstar, “It’s a basketball-first building but concerts are a super, super super close second.”  

– Philips Arena Renovations
a rendering of the arena bowl

“Capacity when the building is complete is 18,234,” Sheely said, adding that the first phase of renovations has meant “there’s a little pain to get to the end but the end is going to be pretty awesome.”

Sheely said concerts are a big part of the renovations.

“In terms of removing suites and removing bunch of great back-of-house space for loading and dressing rooms as part of the renovations, adding rigging capacity, we think a lot about concerts and take it very seriously.” He added that The Forum in L.A. was an inspiration for artist accommodations and amenities. 

Phase one of the Philips renovations began in June. While it was reported that basketball capacity would be reduced by 2,350, concerts will not see a reduction. Renovations are to be completed by the 2018-19 Hawks season.

This year, the Eagles are booked to play there Oct. 20-21 before the team kicks off its season Oct. 27. 

 The venue was busy heading into phase one of the renovations, with sellouts (13,000-seat configuration) reported to Pollstar this year from artists including Radiohead , Tim McGraw/Faith Hill and Red Hot Chili Peppers.