Amerant Bank Arena

Coordinates: 26°9′30″N 80°19′31″W / 26.15833°N 80.32528°W / 26.15833; -80.32528
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BankAtlantic Center
File:Bankatcentlogo.png
Overhead view
Overhead view
Map
Former namesBroward County Civic Arena (1998)
National Car Rental Center (1998-2002)
Office Depot Center (2002-2005)
Location1 Panther Pkwy
Sunrise, Florida 33323
OwnerBroward County
CapacityBasketball: 20,737
Hockey: 19,250
End-Stage Concerts: 15,207 - 21,371
Center-Stage Concerts: 22,457[1]
Construction
Broke groundOctober, 1996
OpenedOctober 3, 1998
Construction cost$185 million[1]
ArchitectEllerbe Becket
Tenants
Florida Panthers (NHL) (1998-present)
Florida Pit Bulls (ABA) (2005-2006)
Florida Bobcats (AFL) (1999-2001)
Florida ThunderCats (NPSL) (1998-1999)
The BankAtlantic Center as viewed from the mall adjacent to it.

The BankAtlantic Center (previously known as Broward County Civic Arena, National Car Rental Center and Office Depot Center) is an indoor arena located in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near the popular Sawgrass Mills Mall. The arena is easily accessible off of the Sawgrass Expressway at the Oakland Park Boulevard exit.

The arena was completed in 1998 at a cost of $185 million, almost entirely publicly financed. The arena features 70 suites and 2,300 club seats.[1]

History

The search for a new arena began in 1993, when H. Wayne Huizenga obtained the new franchise for the Florida Panthers Hockey Team. The search process became a fast-track development strategy when the site in Sunrise, Florida was selected in June, 1996. In July, 1996, Alex Muxo gathered more than a dozen architects, engineers and contractors for the first major design brainstorming session. Time was of the essence. A state-of-the-art arena had to be built by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the fall 1998 Hockey Season.

Seventy suites were completed with wet bars, closed circuited monitors and leather upholstery. Averaging over 650 square feet, the suites are the largest in the country for this type of facility. All the activity was generated by over 50 subcontractors and 2.3 million man hours without a single injury.

Regular events

The arena is home to the Florida Panthers of the NHL and formerly the Florida Pit Bulls of the ABA and the Florida Bobcats of the AFL 1998-2001 along with the only season of the Florida ThunderCats. This arena also serves as the host for the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic held every December in conjuction with the namesake college football game.

The arena has also hosted the 2003 NHL All-Star Game and the 2005–2006 ABA All-Star game.

Notable events

  • The Bee Gees ushered in the new millenium with a "BG2K" concert at the arena on December 31, 1999. It was to be their last full arena concert as a group.
  • The Florida Panthers hosted the 2001 NHL Entry Draft at the arena.
  • U2 started their Elevation Tour at the arena in 2001.[2]
  • The arena served as the site for the 2003 NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 2, 2003. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 6-5, in a shootout victory. It marked the first "official" shootout in the NHL.
  • Phil Collins ended the North American leg of his "First Final Farewell Tour" at the arena on September 30, 2004.
  • Guns N' Roses started their 2006/2007 North American "Chinese Democracy" tour in the arena on the October 24, 2006.
  • Also in 2006, The Who recorded a live CD as part of the Encore Series that November.
  • In 2007 the 14 year old teen pop star Miley Cyrus sold out the arena in a matter of minutes for her Best of Both Worlds Tour. Tickets could be resold for $65-$3,700[3]
  • On May 23, 2008, Senator Barack Obama held a rally as part of his Presidential campaign.

Boxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling

The arena has held boxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling events such as Bash at the Beach '99, Armageddon '99 and Armageddon 2002. It also hosted WWE Monday Night Raw on 11/19/07 which featured the return of Chris Jericho. The arena held EliteXC: Heat featuring the main event of Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice took place on October 4th, 2008. WWE will host a house show on January 2nd, 2009.

Barbra Streisand

On October 30, 2006, Barbra Streisand was pelted with a beverage and, as her politically-charged presentation ended, another man in the crowd found himself being escorted out as he shouted at her. Streisand shrugged both incidents off, saying some people would do better to buy her records than come to her shows. Her two shows here were filmed for a possible NBC or Showtime TV special and a DVD expecting to release between October - November 2008.

Van Halen

Van Halen played two shows here during their reunion tour with David Lee Roth.

George Michael

George Michael has ended his North-American leg of his 25 Live tour by playing one last show in Fort Lauderdale.

Future Development

Plans to develop property surrounding the arena are currently in progress. The plan involves removing the parking lot surrounding the building, in order to place high-rise apartments, as well as restaurants and retail businesses. An underground parking garage will be built to accommodate people driving into the arena for events.[citation needed]

Capacity

Seating

  • Basketball: 20,737
  • Hockey: 19,250
  • End-Stage Concerts: 15,207 - 21,371
  • Center-Stage Concerts: 22,457
  • 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of arena floor space for trade shows and other events such as circuses and ice shows.[1]

Parking and loading docks

  • Total: 7,045 Spaces (Does not include production or bus/oversized vehicle parking)
  • General Parking: 4,787 Spaces
  • Suite/Club Seat Parking: 1,430 Spaces
  • Garage: 226 Spaces
  • Disabled Parking: 90 Spaces
  • Event Staff: 512 Spaces
  • Truck Doors: 5
  • Waste Removal Docks: 2[1]

Food and novelty concessions

  • Plaza Level: 3 Food Courts and Pantherland Retail
  • Mezzanine Level: 3 Food Courts and two Points of Purchase Kiosks[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Facts and Figures". Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  2. ^ "U2Tours.com - Elevation Tour, 1st leg". Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  3. ^ "Ticket Craze". 2007-15-29. Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Preceded by Home of the
Florida Panthers
1998 – present 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by Host of the
NHL All-Star Game
2003 		Succeeded by

Template:CBA Arenas

26°9′30″N 80°19′31″W / 26.15833°N 80.32528°W / 26.15833; -80.32528

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