Yeah, I still call it Blockbuster, too. Here's every name Ak-Chin Pavilion has had, ranked
Anyone planning on going to a concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix this summer?
Well, you can't. Because Ak-Chin Pavilion no longer exists.
At least not by that name.
You can still see a concert at the venue on 83rd Avenue north of Interstate 10, where Billy Joel played the opening night in November 1990 of what was originally named Desert Sky Pavilion.
You’ll just be watching the show at the newly renamed Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre.
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Not to be confused with Talking Stick Resort on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, much less Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix, as the current Footprint Center was once known. (That's the venue that a lot of people old enough to have gone to concerts in the ‘90s are hellbent on still calling America West Arena just to stick it to the man).
The amphitheater formerly known as Ak-Chin Pavilion has now had seven names.
That’s three more than John Cougar Mellencamp.
Ah, but ain’t that America.
Which brings us to our highly scientific and beyond authoritative power ranking of those names, from Desert Sky Pavilion to the new one you’re gonna have to learn, so get used to it.
7. Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion, 2010-2013
The fact that it’s the longest name the venue ever had is not the only problem, but it is a problem all the same. You shouldn’t have to say that many words when someone asks you where your favorite band is playing.
The bigger problem is that it feels a bit too cozy. Who wants to think about buying a sofa at the Motley Crue show?
It would be destroyed before you got it home.
If I were building a pavilion in my garden, I might want to see if Ashley had some decent outdoor furniture. But I don’t even have a garden.
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6. Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion, 1996-2001
I know a lot of people would’ve rated this one higher. But that may be the nostalgia talking. It's been nearly 30 years since Desert Sky Pavilion added Blockbuster in front of what was once a perfect name. We were all babies.
And most of us probably rented some pretty good movies at a Blockbuster at some point in our misspent youth. I miss it, too.
But I don’t need to be reminded that I could be home watching a movie with my feet up on that sofa I picked up at Ashley while I’m trying to watch a concert. It’s just too much pressure on the band.
The other problem with this name is that it represents the first case of a corporate sponsor purchasing the naming rights. That's how this whole thing started.
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5. Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, 2023-?
Talking Stick Resort is a really nice venue. So was Talking Stick Resort Arena. And I have no doubt that witnessing a legendary artist take the stage at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre will be every bit as entertaining as having seen that same act on that same stage when the venue had a different name.
But naming venues after venues is inherently confusing. One could easily mistake this for an amphitheater at Talking Stick Resort. I know we all just plug the venue name into our phone and do whatever Siri or Alexa tells us to, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing.
Having said that, Talking Stick Resort Arena Amphitheatre would've made me smile.
Here’s hoping Mesa Arts Center doesn’t get any funny ideas and buy the naming rights to Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
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4. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2013-2023
This is a solid name and, after 10 years, I was really warming up to it.
It’s kind of cool that the Ak-Chin Indian Community held the naming rights for all those years.
One could argue that having a venue named Ak-Chin Pavilion across the Valley from a venue named Harrah's Ak-Chin Casino is just as confusing as the Talking Stick Resort conundrum. And I do know someone who mistakenly believed his tickets for a Boy George show at the casino were for a show at the pavilion.
But to truly violate my “naming venues after venues” rule, they would’ve had to call it Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino Pavilion. Which has a nice ring to it for a name that I would otherwise avoid.
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3. Cricket Pavilion, 2001-2006
I’m assuming this venue was named in honor of the prepaid wireless service provider, especially since it subsequently changed its name to Cricket Wireless Pavilion.
But I like to think that it could just as easily refer to Cricket lighters, which I used to buy in high school even though I didn’t smoke so I could hold them in the air at concerts.
It’s also mercifully short. As are my reasons for liking it.
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2. Cricket Wireless Pavilion, 2006-2010
I know it’s just a longer version of the previous name and therefore should be rated lower. But it makes me think of "Spinal Tap." You know that scene where they’re playing an airbase and Nigel Tufnel’s wireless guitar contraption intercepts a signal from the nearby control tower, broadcasting that conversation through the speakers during his guitar lead? God, I love that movie.
Anything that makes me think of "Spinal Tap" is doing something right, although I may not feel the same when this list of venue names goes to 11.
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1. Desert Sky Pavilion, 1988-1996 and briefly in 2013
It’s more than a matter of wanting venue names to stay the same because your memories of special nights are tied to what you called that venue when those memories were being made.
It’s that they got it right the first time.
Desert Sky Pavilion puts you right there at an outdoor show in Phoenix with the desert sky above you. There’s something practically romantic to that name and how it captures the essence of a night in Phoenix.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix: Every name it's ever had, ranked
