AmericanAirlines Arena
Encyclopedia
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
. In the early 2000s, the Women's National Basketball Association
team Miami Sol
played at the arena from the team's birth in 2000 until the team's folding in 2002. The AmericanAirlines Arena is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at Government Center Station via free transfers to Metromover
's Freedom Tower Station and Park West Station. The Arena is also within walking distance from the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Metrorail Station.
American Airlines
maintains the American Airlines Arena Travel Center at the venue. AmericanAirlines Arena should not be confused with the American Airlines Center
, which is located in Dallas. The official spelling of the building is distinct as "American" and "Airlines" is considered as one word. An example of this wording is FedExForum
or FedExField
, the only difference is that "AmericanAirlines" and "Arena" are not joined together.
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.
, two days later, on January 2, 2000, the Miami Heat played his first game in new stadium 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-degree shows, 15,402 for 270-degree shows, 18,309 for 360-degree shows. For center stage concerts the arena can seat 19,146.
The Miami Heat has not had to pay to use the $213 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."
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
located in Downtown
Downtown Miami
Downtown Miami is an urban residential neighborhood, and the central business district of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and South Florida in the United States...
Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
along Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena
Miami Arena
The Miami Arena was an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.-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...
and was designed by the architecture firms Arquitectonica
Arquitectonica
Arquitectonica is an international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design and urban planning corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida, United States in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, with offices in ten other cities throughout the world...
and 360 Architecture
360 Architecture
360 Architecture is an American architectural practice focused on planning, design and execution. The firm provides services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas and ballparks, municipal facilities, single- and multi-family...
. The Arena is home to the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. In the early 2000s, the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
team Miami Sol
Miami Sol
The Miami Sol was a women's basketball team which joined the Women's National Basketball Association in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena. The team folded after the 2002 season because of financial problems...
played at the arena from the team's birth in 2000 until the team's folding in 2002. The AmericanAirlines Arena is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at Government Center Station via free transfers to Metromover
Metromover
The Miami Metromover, officially Metromover, is a free rapid transit automated people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Omni neighborhoods. Metromover connects directly with Metrorail at...
's Freedom Tower Station and Park West Station. The Arena is also within walking distance from the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Metrorail Station.
American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
maintains the American Airlines Arena Travel Center at the venue. AmericanAirlines Arena should not be confused with the American Airlines Center
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center is a multi-purpose arena, located in the Victory Park neighborhood, near downtown Dallas, Texas.It is home to the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, and the Dallas Stars of the NHL....
, which is located in Dallas. The official spelling of the building is distinct as "American" and "Airlines" is considered as one word. An example of this wording is FedExForum
FedExForum
The FedEx Forum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena...
or FedExField
FedExField
FedExField is a football stadium located in an unincorporated area near the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the old Capital Centre . FedExField is the home of the Washington Redskins football team...
, the only difference is that "AmericanAirlines" and "Arena" are not joined together.
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
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and other stage shows.
History
The AmericanAirlines Arena opened on December 31, 1999 and its construction cost was $213,000,000. Architectural design team members included George Heinlein, Cristian Petschen, Reinaldo Borges, and Lance Simon. The AmericanAirlines Arena was inaugurated with a concert by Gloria EstefanGloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
, two days later, on January 2, 2000, the Miami Heat played his first game in new stadium by defeating the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
111–103.
As part of its sponsorship arrangement, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
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
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, 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
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
have referred to the arena as "A3" (A cubed). The arena is known for its unusual scoreboard
Scoreboard
A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game or match. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used a mechanical clock and numeral cards to...
, 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-degree shows, 15,402 for 270-degree shows, 18,309 for 360-degree shows. For center stage concerts the arena can seat 19,146.
The Miami Heat has not had to pay to use the $213 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."
Notable events hosted
- The AmericanAirlines Arena as well as the American Airlines Center, hosted the 2006 NBA Finals2006 NBA FinalsThe 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the championship in six games over the Dallas Mavericks, winning the final game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and becoming the third team to win a championship...
, in which the Miami HeatMiami HeatThe Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
played the Dallas MavericksDallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
. Because of this, the series was nicknamed by some as the American Airlines series. The 2011 NBA Finals2011 NBA FinalsThe 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010–11 season of the National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, 4–2, to win their first NBA title...
is a rematch of the 2006 Finals and is played at the same two sites. - The arena was the setting for the highly publicized MTV Video Music AwardsMTV Video Music AwardsAn MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
, both in 2004 and 2005. Both events brought millions of dollars into the Miami-Dade County economy. - The arena hosted WCWWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
UncensoredUncensoredUncensored was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view from World Championship Wrestling held in the month of March from 1995 through 2000. It was replaced in 2001 by Greed....
2000, WWE's Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble (2006)Royal Rumble was the nineteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 29, 2006 in the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida and featured talent from the Raw and SmackDown! brands...
event on January 29, 2006, Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series (2007)Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on November 18, 2007 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
on November 18, 2007, and Survivor SeriesSurvivor Series (2010)Survivor Series was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , that took place on November 21, 2010 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
on November 21, 2010. It's also hosted WWE Raw on January 1, 2007, and WWE SmackDown/ECW on April 1, 2008. WWE returned to the arena on July 14, 2009 for Smackdown/ECW,and WWE SmackDown/ECW on December 18, 2009. It also held the June 7, 2010 Raw as well as the May 2, 2011 Raw. - The AmericanAirlines Arena also hosted the first UFC event in the state of Florida, UFC 42: Sudden Impact, on April 25, 2003.
- In November 2002, Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour performed at AmericanAirlines Arena for an NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
special which aired in April 2003, winning an EmmyEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. - On March 28, 2004, Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
performed to a sold out show as part of The Onyx Hotel TourThe Onyx Hotel TourThe Onyx Hotel Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It supported her fourth studio album In the Zone and visited North America and Europe. A tour to promote the album was announced in December 2003...
. The show was broadcast live over the world. - The 2004 VMAs2004 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 2004 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2004, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show took place at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, and, unlike in previous years, had no host.-Video of the Year:...
and 2005 VMAs2005 MTV Video Music AwardsThe 2005 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2005, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005. The show was hosted by Diddy at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida...
were held there. Celebrities entered by yacht rather than by limousineLimousineA limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
. - The arena was host to For DarfurFor DarfurFor Darfur Inc. is a United States based non-profit organization aimed at raising awareness about the ongoing humanitarian conflict in Darfur, Sudan. It raises funds in order to bring aid packages via Doctors Without Borders to refugees affected by the conflict. By August 2008, the organization had...
benefit concert, which was the Miami stop for Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
Glow in the Dark Tour, on May 6, 2008. - Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
performed her Taking Chances TourTaking Chances TourTaking Chances World Tour is the ninth concert tour by Canadian singer Céline Dion, in support of her 2007 studio albums, D'elles and Taking Chances. The tour marked the return of Dion after performing her groundbreaking show A New Day... in Las Vegas for five years. The tour visited Africa, Asia,...
at the arena on January 23, 2009 and set an attendance record making it the largest crowd in the arena's history. - Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
performed as part of her The Circus Starring Britney Spears Tour at the arena on March 7, 2009. She set an attendance record with a sell-out crowd of 18,644, beating out Celine Dion who previously gathered a 17,725 crowd. It is noted as the largest concert attendance in the arena's history as of 2009. - Ivete SangaloIvete SangaloIvete Maria Dias de Sangalo is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian Axé and MPB singer, songwriter, and occasional actress and television show host...
: The Brasilian pop star sold out "AAA" on August 28, 2010 in your world tour. - PhishPhishPhish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
has performed New Years Eve 2 times at AAA including runs in 2003 and 2009, a total of 8 concerts. - The cast of Mexican hit TV series Two Faces Of Love beat out Britney Spears selling out a crowd of 18,693 making this the largest concert attendance in the arena's history as of 2010.
