5 revelations from the Phoenix Suns’ arena renovation rendering reveal

It has been 16 years since the last renovation to Talking Stick Resort Arena. That is about to change and the Phoenix Suns just released the first rendering of the upcoming renovations.

The home of the Phoenix Suns is about to get an HGTV-style makeover.

The arena has gone by many names in its 27 year history, but it is currently known as Talking Stick Resort Arena. It is a fine arena, but many would agree it is just fine.

The entire building was constructed in 1992 for $89 million and underwent its last major renovation in 2003 at a cost of $67 million.

The upcoming facelift will cost more than both of those projects combined at $230 million, so that should give you an idea about the level of updating on the horizon.

The project is planned to start in the spring of 2020 with the expectation it will be ready for the beginning of the Suns’ 2020-21 season.

Call me burned by every contractor I’ve ever worked with in my life, but that seems like an unrealistic timeline. Expect an around-the-clock crew to work on getting this done in time, but don’t be surprised if fans have to dodge a few power tools and exposed beams for the first part of next season.

I say this is home of the Suns, but of course, they are just the building’s highest profile tenants. It also serves as residence for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and the Arizona Rattlers of Arena Football glory.

And of course, name your favorite musical artist and they have likely found their way here on tour for a night.

The Suns recently revealed the first rendering of Project 201: PHX Reimagined. The 201, if you’re wondering, is in reference to the location’s address: 201 E Jefferson St.

Like any good reveal, the team didn’t give away too much, only giving fans a sneak peek of what is to come, however, there is a lot to be gleaned from one 3D image.

Here are the five things that stuck out to me. I suggest you open this link in a new tab for easy reference and follow along.

Your Inner Bowl is Showing

One of my biggest gripes about the the current entry into Talking Stick Resort Arena has always been this weird lobby area. It doesn’t feel like you’re walking into a basketball arena. It feels more like you accidentally walked into some convention center, or office building, or…something that is not a basketball arena.

I kid about this, but I remember being genuinely confused when I attended my first game and got there super early before I could be convinced I was going the right way by hoards of fans meandering the same direction.

They have corrected this, thankfully, and the inner bowl of the arena will actually be visible from the lobby. It will finally feel like you’re walking into a basketball arena. So, that’s a plus.

They really must have been watching a lot of HGTV because like any good televised renovation in the last few years, they are going for an open concept, with clear sight-lines into the busiest spaces.

No word on the countertop material. I’m guessing they go with quartz.

Curved LED Screens for the Win

The entrance (or is it lobby? I’m just going to call it a lobby) will be flanked with some ridiculous, oversized, curved LED screens.

These screens even make the ones set by Aron Baynes look mild.

Call me a stereotypical dude, but the bigger the screen the better. The fact that they can make them curved only betters their appearance both in concave/convex fashion as well as at the top and bottom.

Expect game highlights and other promotional videos to flood these screens, ideally pumping up every fan that walks through that door.

They could even consider playing the game live on these screens, but then again, that might cause a fire code violation.

In reality, they could probably just play reruns of the Andy Griffith Show on those things and I would stare at them for hours.

Quality addition.

That Bar Tho

Currently the lobby of Talking Stick Resort Arena is just a place for people to get confused about which way to go. In the future world, patrons will be able to drink while they figure out where to go, and by the looks of the size of the bar, the Suns anticipate there will be a lot of thirsty lobby dwellers.

Assuming this is rendering is to scale, this might be the longest bar I have ever seen. From my rudimentary measurement, it appears to be 25 feet long, or to make it sound bigger, the height of a two and a half story building.

While the concept of a bar that large is cool, I have to question the practicality of it. This area is still outside the ticketing area, which means folks who choose to grab a drink where will have to do so before the game starts.

Again, cool concept (although nearby watering holes might vehemently disagree), but that creates a lot of people standing in the way of others trying to make their way into the arena. It has the potential to cause a cluster of humanity that might make arriving ten minutes before tipoff a madhouse.

Then again, I’m could be overthinking this.

I just hope they staff it with more than the one bartender  the 3D image does.

Escalators Both Look Cool and Seem Practical

This might be a small thing, but the rendering shows they moved the escalators to the side and stacked them one behind the other.

This is a subtle, but insanely good improvement over the side-by-side look currently deployed. Today’s setup looks like you’re about to go to the second level of a mall not to mention takes up a ton of room.

In the future, patrons will be able to glide up towards the rafters in style, as the one-behind-the-other look presents a more modern feel to the moving staircases.

Also, by putting them all the way to the side of the wall, this might alleviate some of the aforementioned concerns about congestion around the bar.

Maybe they thought through this kind of stuff after all.

Fans Will Need to Look More Interested

Phoenix Suns fans aren’t necessarily known for being the rowdiest in the NBA, but they aren’t as docile as the 3D human models in the rendering.

Take a minute to go back and look at them.

Most of them have their arms crossed like they are not impressed by the new Talking Stick Resort Arena digs.

Even the women at the bar look super impatient, even though they are the only ones there and likely getting the sole bartender’s full attention.

Others are staring at the wall by themselves, apparently either waiting for their friend in an unseen bathroom, or they got stood up on a Tinder date.

Hopefully the real Suns fans bring more energy than this 3D crowd. They will get their shot next next season when the arena plans to open.