Miami Arena

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Miami Arena
Image:Miaarena logol.gif
Location	701 Arena Boulevard Miami, FL 33136
Opened	1988
Owner	City of Miami (1988-2004) Glenn Straub (2004-present)
Construction cost	$52.5 million
Tenants	Miami Heat (NBA) (1988-1999) Florida Panthers (NHL) (1993-1998) University of Miami (NCAA) (1998-2003) Miami Matadors (ECHL) (1998-1999) Miami Hooters (AFL) (1993-1995)
Capacity	Basketball: 16,640 Hockey: 14,696

Image:Miamiarena.jpg

Miami Arena, circa 2002.

Miami Arena is an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.

1 History
2 Concerts Events
3 Seating Capacity
4 External links

[edit] History

Completed in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million, its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise. The arena was the home of the Miami Heat from 1988-2000, 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, the Miami Matadors of the ECHL in 1998 and the Miami Morays indoor football team since 2005.

It also hosted the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, the 1991 Royal Rumble the 1994 NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional Final and the NHL's 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. Miami arena also held the 2001 episode of Monday Night Raw on Christmas eve which returned the Rock

On January 2nd, 2000, the Heat moved to the AmericanAirlines Arena located three blocks east of Miami Arena on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Panthers also left 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 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. Miami Arena is sometimes called the "Pink Elephant", because it is a White Elephant with pink coloured walls.

The arena is easily accessible via mass transit, with a Metrorail stop at Overtown/Arena station, just across the street. Miami-Dade city buses also service the arena area downtown.