NBA & NHL Arenas

Eleven arenas are home to both an NBA and an NHL team: Madison Square Garden (Knicks, Rangers), TD Garden (Celtics, Bruins), Crypto.com Arena (Lakers, Kings), United Center (Bulls, Blackhawks), Capital One Arena (Wizards, Capitals), Xfinity Mobile Arena (76ers, Flyers), Scotiabank Arena (Raptors, Maple Leafs), Little Caesars Arena (Pistons, Red Wings), Ball Arena (Nuggets, Avalanche), American Airlines Center (Mavericks, Stars) and Delta Center (Jazz, Mammoth).

The United Center in Chicago is the NBA's largest at 20,917 for Bulls games. Montreal's Bell Centre is the NHL's largest at 20,962 for Canadiens games.

The KJC King Dome in Davao City, Philippines, which opened in September 2026 with 75,000 seats, is now the world's largest indoor arena. It took the title from the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena near Manila. Both are church-owned and also host concerts and sports, and each is more than twice the size of any NBA or NHL arena.

Madison Square Garden, which opened in 1968, is the oldest arena in either league. Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena keeps the 1962 roof of the old KeyArena but was rebuilt inside and reopened in 2021.

The Sphere in Las Vegas cost about $2.3 billion, the most ever spent on an entertainment venue. Among NBA and NHL arenas, the Clippers' Intuit Dome, which opened in 2024, leads at about $2 billion.

London's The O2 and New York's Madison Square Garden trade the top spot for tickets sold, with each drawing well over a million fans a year. The Sphere often leads in total ticket revenue thanks to its high prices.

Arenas are fully enclosed indoor venues built for basketball, hockey and concerts, usually seating 15,000 to 21,000. Stadiums are much larger, often open-air venues for football, soccer and baseball, seating 40,000 to more than 100,000.

An NBA game usually runs about two hours and 15 minutes. An NHL game takes about two and a half hours, including two intermissions, and overtime or a shootout can add more.

Both regular seasons start in October and run to mid-April. The playoffs follow, with the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final finishing in June.

Bring a layer. Arenas are kept cool during hockey to keep the ice hard, so a sweatshirt or light jacket is a good idea, especially if you're sitting near the glass.

For basketball, the lower-level sideline seats near center court give the best view. For hockey, sit 10 or more rows up so you can see over the glass and follow the play, and pick the end where your team shoots twice.

The ice stays. Crews cover it with insulated floor panels and lay the basketball court on top, a changeover that usually takes a few hours and lets arenas host both sports on the same day.