May 7, 2012

1. Barclays Center - $1+ (B)

2. Amway Center - $480 (M)

3. American Airlines Center - $420 (M)

4. Staples Center - $375 (M)

5. Air Canada Centre - $265 (M)

6. Rose Garden Arena - $262 (M)

7. Verizon Center - $260 (M)

8. FedEx Forum - $250 (M)

9.  Philips Arena - $213.5 (M)

10.  American Airlines Arena - $213 (M)

11.  Wells Fargo Center - $210 (M)

12.  Toyota Center - $202 (M)

13.  AT&T Center - $186 (M)

14. Banker's Life Fieldhouse - $183 (M)

15.  United Center - $175 (M)

16.  Time Warner Cable Arena - $160 (M)

17.  TD Garden - $160 (M)

18.  Pepsi Center - $160 (M)

19.  Madison Square Garden - $123 (M)

20.  New Orleans Arena - $114 (M)

21.  Target Center - $104 (M)

22.  Quicken Loans Arena - $100 (M)

23.  Energy Solutions Arena - $93 (M)

24.  Bradley Center - $91 (M)

25.  U.S. Airways Center - $90 (M)

26. Chesapeake Energy Center - $89 (M)

27. Palace of Auburn Hills - $70 (M)

28. Power Balance Pavilion - $40 (M)

29. Oracle Arena - $25 (M)

Summary

Right off the bat, it's obvious that many of the cheapest NBA arenas to construct are also the oldest. Since 1996, Oracle Arena has poured more than $300 million into arena renovations; more than any other NBA arena thus far. After the 2012 season, the New York Knicks will have completed a $850 million renovation to Madison Square Garden. The MSG renovations is the main culprit for rising ticket prices to Rangers and Knicks games. 

The Bradley Center is considered perhaps the most outdated NBA arena of the thirty. It lacks club seating, has poor parking in the surrounding areas and extremely small concourses. There have been recent proposals by the city to construct a new NBA arena but nothing has been finalized.

The Barclays Center, future home of the Brooklyn Nets will be featured in a $4+ Billion dollar project that will include an NBA arena, residential and retail space. Whether or not the NHL's Islanders will share the Barclays Center with the Nets has yet to be determined. The arena has been projected to only be able to occupy less than 15,000 at capacity for ice hockey. The venue sold it's naming rights to Barclays plc out of London, England.

Nine of the thirty NBA arenas are also home to NHL franchises. The Staples Center is the only arena to host three professional franchises; the Kings, Lakers and Clippers.

Power Balance Pavilion will possibly be the first NBA arena on this list to be demolished in coming years. The Sacramento Kings recently reached a deal with the city to erect a new arena in the downtown district. The current site is located in the Sacramento suburb of Natomas. In case you didn't notice, the Indiana Pacers no longer play in Conseco Fieldhouse; Bankers Life and Casualty recently purchased the naming rights to the Fieldhouse.