Miami Arena

From Hoopedia

Completed in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million, the Miami Arena is an indoor arena in downtown Miami. The Miami Arena was the home of the Miami Heat from 1988 – 1999.

Its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise. The arena was the home of the Florida Panthers from 1993-1999, the University of Miami basketball teams from 1988-2003, the Miami Hooters of the Arena Football League from 1993-1995 and the Miami Morays indoor football team since 2005.

It also hosted the 1990 NBA All-Star Game and the 1991 Royal Rumble .

On January 2nd, 2000, the HEAT moved to the American Airlines Arena located three-blocks east of the Miami Arena on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Panthers also left the Miami Arena to play at what is now the BankAtlantic Center located in Sunrise, Florida right near Florida's largest outlet mall, Sawgrass Mills.

Most of the concerts that were held at the Miami Arena are now held at newer venues, including the BankAtlantic Center, AmericanAirlines Arena or the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Since then, the arena has remained mostly inactive. The arena was sold in a public auction in 2004 to Glenn Straub, an investor from Palm Beach County, Florida, for $24 million less than the $52 million the city of Miami paid for its original construction. The Miami Arena is sometimes called the "Pink Elephant", because it is a White Elephant with pink colored walls.

Seating Capacities

• Basketball: 16,640

• Ice hockey and arena football: 14,696

• End-stage concerts: 5,723 and 16,508

• Half-house concerts: between 6,351 and 9,120

• Amphitheatre concerts: 6,380

• Theater concerts: 3,642

• Banquets: 500

• Luxury suites: 26