Atlanta's best-performing concert venue, Philips Arena, sometimes gets lost in the hullabaloo about tax-funded Falcon nests and traitorous big-league ballparks, but one national media source is always paying attention. Industry-leading Pollstar magazine has ranked Philips the No. 4 venue in the United States based on ticket sales in 2013. The arena sold more than 500,000 seats and chalked up 21 sell-outs (the nation's highest tally) for live entertainment such as Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber's Drag Racing Spectacular. Built in 1999, Philips actually ranks in the top 10 selling venues in the world quite regularly, and it reached No. 2 on Pollstar's ranking four years ago. For Curbed staffers, personal highlights from Philips include: watching Jamal Crawford drain three-pointers in person; seeing that guy puke in Section 114 during Metallica's show in 2009; and bruising ribs while drunkenly diving for parachuting toy cows during a Thrashers game.
· Philips Arena No. 4 U.S. arena [Atlanta Business Chronicle]
· PHILIPS ARENA RANKED NO. 2 VENUE IN U.S. [Arena]
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