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. • American Airlines Center, as well as the then-named American Airlines Arena (now
Kaseya Center) in
Miami,
Florida, hosted the
2006 and
2011 NBA Finals, in which the
Dallas Mavericks played the
Miami Heat in both franchises' first two Finals appearances. The Heat won the 2006 series 4–2, closing out in Dallas, and the Mavericks won the 2011 series 4–2, closing in Miami. Because American Airlines held the rights to both venues in the NBA Finals, these series were nicknamed by some as the "American Airlines series". The arena also hosted the
2024 NBA Finals, in which the
Boston Celtics split the two games in Dallas while winning all of its games at
TD Garden to win the championship in five games. • Hosted the
55th National Hockey League All-Star Game on January 24, 2007. • Hosted a watch party for the
2020 Stanley Cup Finals between the
Dallas Stars and
Tampa Bay Lightning. However, the Stars lost to the Lightning in six games. • On Saturday June 18, 2011, it played host to
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. •
UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort was held at the Center on September 19, 2009.
UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler was held at the Center on March 15, 2014.
UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos was held at the Center on March 14, 2015.
UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos 2 was held at the Center on May 13, 2017.
UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till was held at the Center on September 8, 2018.
UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 was held at the Center on July 30, 2022. • American Airlines Center hosted the opening round of round-robin matches of
New Japan Pro-Wrestling's
G1 Climax series on July 6, 2019. • The arena also hosted the Junior Gold Championships Opening Ceremony. The Junior Gold championships is an annual bowling tournament every July, for the best youth bowlers in the country and in the world. • American Airlines Center hosted first and second-round games of the
2006 and
2018 NCAA men's basketball tournaments. For the NCAA women's basketball tournament, American Airlines Center hosted the Finals in
2017, and in
2023, along with the regional semifinals/finals in
2016 and
2011. • Two Mavericks games in early 2022—one against the Timberwolves on March 21 and a playoff against the Golden State Warriors on May 24—had to be delayed when the roof developed a leak. • American Airlines Center has also hosted
WWE events as well, including its regular weekly shows
Raw and
SmackDown, and its PPV events including
Survivor Series 2003,
Night of Champions 2008,
Hell in a Cell 2010 and
2014,
TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2016),
WWE Great Balls of Fire, and
NXT Stand & Deliver (2022), the arena also hosted
Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in 2006, and the
2022 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on April 1, being notable for
The Undertaker being inducted and headlining this year's aforementioned event. • On August 5, 2023, American Airlines Center hosted
professional boxing bout
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz. • On June 27, 2025, American Airlines Center hosted the
WNBA's
Dallas Wings vs the
Indiana Fever. • On December 28, 2025, American Airlines Center hosted the
Professional Women's Hockey League's
Seattle Torrent and
New York Sirens for a
PWHL Takeover Tour game which was also the first PWHL game in Dallas. The Sirens won 4–3 against the Torrent in front of 8,514 fans.
In film and TV • The AAC was pictured in
The Simpsons episode "
The Burns and the Bees" as "Dallas Arena". • On Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22, 2011, it played host to the Dallas audition stages in the first season of the
Fox singer search program
The X Factor.
Other information • 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. ==See also==