The AmericanAirlines Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located in Downtown Miami, Florida along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and was designed by the architecture firms Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture. The Arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association.
The AmericanAirlines Arena is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at Government Center station via free transfers to Metromover Omni Loop, providing direct service to Freedom Tower and Park West stations. The Arena is also within walking distance from the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Metrorail station.
The AmericanAirlines Arena has 2,105 club seats, 80 luxury suites, and 76 private boxes. The Waterfront Theater is Florida's largest theater which is housed within the arena, that can seat between 3,000 and 5,800. The theater can be configured for concerts, family events, musical theatre and other stage shows. American Airlines which has a hub at Miami International Airport maintains the AmericanAirlines Arena Travel Center at the venue.
The airline also holds the naming rights for another NBA venue, the American Airlines Center for the Dallas Mavericks, which opened in 2001.
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History
The AmericanAirlines Arena opened on December 31, 1999 and its construction cost was $213 million. Architectural design team members included George Heinlein, Cristian Petschen, Reinaldo Borges, and Lance Simon. The AmericanAirlines Arena was inaugurated with a concert by Gloria Estefan. Three days later, on January 3, 2000, the Miami Heat played its first game in the new arena by defeating the Orlando Magic 111-103.
As part of its sponsorship arrangement, American Airlines had a giant aircraft painted on top of the arena's roof, with an American Airlines logo in the center. The design is visible from airplanes taking off and landing at Miami International Airport, where American has a hub. The arena also has luxury skyboxes called "Flagship Lounges", a trademark originally used for American's premium-class lounges at certain airports.
Local sportscasters often refer to the arena as the "triple-A". Some sports reporters on the local news stations such as WSVN have referred to the arena as "A3" (A cubed). The arena is known for its unusual scoreboard, designed by Artist Christopher Janney. Drawing on the underwater anemone forms, the scoreboard also changes colors depending on the atmosphere. For concerts in an arena configuration, end stage capacity is 12,202 for 180° shows, 15,402 for 270° shows, 18,309 for 360° shows. For center stage concerts the arena can seat 19,146.
The Miami Heat has not had to pay to use the $357-million venue, which sits on $38 million of county land; the county has paid $64 million in operating subsidies. "It was never a good deal," says former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson, who opposed the new arena in 1996. "There are certain politicians who just get stars in their eyes and don't really think about what the real cost is going to be."
WTVJ, the city's NBC owned-and-operated station in Miami, had their Downtown Miami Studios in the back of the arena from 2001 till 2011.
Despite American Airlines' logo change, American Airlines Arena still uses the airline's old logo.
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Accessibility
Transportation
Traffic congestion after events can cause delays for those who choose to drive to the arena. Visitors to the American Airlines Arena are encouraged to take Metrorail, Metromover, or Metrobus, as parking can be scarce and expensive. Metromover's Freedom Tower station is located two blocks west of the arena. The nearest Metrorail stations are Government Center and Historic Overtown. The Metromover is free to ride and connects to Metrorail at Government Center station.
Parking on-site
AmericanAirlines Arena features 939 parking spaces during HEAT Games. On-site parking is reserved for Premium seat and Dewar's 12 Clubhouse ticket holders. On-site parking spaces must be pre-purchased through the Arena's Official Parking Provider, ParkJockey.
Notable events
Basketball
- The AmericanAirlines Arena along with the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, hosted the 2006 NBA Finals and the 2011 NBA Finals, when the Miami Heat played the Dallas Mavericks, with the Heat winning the championship in 2006 in Dallas and the Mavericks winning the championship in the 2011 rematch in Miami. These series were the first and second appearances in the NBA Finals for both franchises. As the airline held the naming rights to both venues, the matchups were nicknamed by some as the "American Airlines series".
- The arena hosted the 2012 NBA Finals, along with the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, winning the championship at home.
- The arena hosted the 2013 NBA Finals, along with the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, when the Heat played the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat faced a 3-2 series deficit returning to Miami but won games 6 and 7 to defend their championship.
- The arena hosted the 2014 NBA Finals, along with the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas again, when the Heat played the San Antonio Spurs again in a rematch of the 2013 Finals, The Spurs defeated the Heat in five games in San Antonio and won the championship and the rematch.
- Since 2015, the arena has hosted the annual Hoophall Miami Invitational, a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college basketball showcase event.
Other sports
- The AmericanAirlines Arena also hosted the first UFC event in the state of Florida, UFC 42: Sudden Impact, on April 25, 2003.
Music
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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