13-861: Amerant Bank Arena (previously known as the National Car Rental Center , Office Depot Center , BankAtlantic Center , BB&T Center , and FLA Live Arena ) is the largest indoor arena in Florida and is located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida , United States. It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League . It was completed in 1998, at a cost of US$ 185 million, almost entirely publicly financed, and features 70 suites and 2,623 club seats. In 1992, Wayne Huizenga obtained
26-756: A new NHL franchise that would eventually become the Florida Panthers. Until the team had an arena of their own, they initially played at the now-demolished Miami Arena , sharing the venue with the NBA 's Miami Heat . Sunrise City Manager Pat Salerno made public a $ 167-million financing and construction plan for a civic center near the Sawgrass Expressway in December 1995, and Broward County approved construction in February 1996. In June 1996,
39-892: Is a list of indoor arenas . Venues with a capacity of 1,000 or higher are included. Goalball- 2008 Summer Paralympics Basketball, Rugby- 2008 Summer Paralympics 2014 FIBA Asia Cup 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup - Group B (Preliminary round) Several matches of 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers Rizal Golden Coolers (June 2018–present) Philippine Super Liga 2013 FIBA Asia Championship primary venue (including knockout stage) 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (several matches) Quezon City Capitals (alternate venue) 1978 FIBA World Championship (including final) 2017 SEABA Championship 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup (several matches) San Juan Knights (present-day, since 2018) ESports and 3x3 Basketball ( 2019 Southeast Asian Games ) 6,000 Seth Petruzelli Too Many Requests If you report this error to
52-871: The BB&;T Center in September 2005 for a bull riding event, which was won by Kody Lostroh (who ultimately became the Rookie of the Year that same year). In 2024, the Florida Freedom PBR bull riding team will host an event at the arena, which it was originally hosted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , for the first two years in the PBR Teams Series circuit. In addition to the Panthers, the arena
65-568: The Club Red [now Amerant Vault] which is a 12,000+ square-foot exclusive lounge for concerts, shows, and events including a center ice view for hockey games. On May 14, 2013, Broward County voted to fund a new scoreboard for the county-owned arena. On October 11, 2013, the scoreboard made its debut for the Panthers' 2013–14 home opener. In February 2019, it was announced that BB&T would be merging with SunTrust Banks to form Truist Financial Corporation . The merged company decided to not renew
78-659: The Panthers sought a new sponsor for the arena. It became the Office Depot Center in the summer of 2002. Just over three years later, the arena's name changed again; it became the BankAtlantic Center on September 6, 2005 ( BankAtlantic was headquartered in nearby Fort Lauderdale ). After BB&T acquired BankAtlantic in July 2012, the arena was rebranded as the BB&T Center. In October 2012, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment completed installation of
91-412: The arena. UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson (also known as UFC Fight Night 150 or UFC on ESPN+ 8) took place at the arena on April 27, 2019. It was the first time UFC returned to the arena since 2012. The arena hosted an exhibition boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and John Gotti III, on June 11, 2023. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to
104-592: The job. Seventy suites were completed with wet bars , closed circuit monitors and leather upholstery. Also home to private lounge box seating, all construction activity was generated by over fifty subcontractors and 2.3 million man hours without a single injury. Known as the Broward County Civic Center during construction, the naming rights were won in July 1998 by National Car Rental — a company purchased by Huizenga in January 1997 — leading to
117-478: The main event of Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice took place on October 4, 2008. On February 15, 2009, a lightweight bout between Nate Campbell and Ali Funeka took place in the arena. Strikeforce MMA made their debut at the arena on January 30, 2010, with the Strikeforce: Miami event on Showtime . UFC on FX 3 took place at the arena on June 8, 2012. It was the first UFC event ever held at
130-445: The naming rights agreement after it expired in 2021. The arena was temporary named FLA Live Arena until a new rights partner was found. On September 19, 2023, it was announced that Amerant Bank , a South Florida-based bank, would be the new rights partner, renaming the arena to Amerant Bank Arena. The arena is currently the largest in Florida. The arena has held boxing and mixed martial arts events such as EliteXC: Heat featuring
143-438: The site was chosen by the Panthers, and in July, Alex Muxo gathered more than a dozen architects, engineers and contractors for the first major design brainstorming session. Architects Ellerbe Becket were given 26 months to build the arena, which had to be ready by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the 1998–99 NHL season . Despite never having designed a facility that had taken less than 31 months from start to finish, they accepted
SECTION 10
#1732780858483156-532: The venue being named the National Car Rental Center. A certificate of occupancy was given on September 12, 1998, and the arena opened on October 3, 1998, with a Celine Dion concert. The next day, Elton John performed, and on October 9, 1998, the Florida Panthers had their first home game at their new arena, a 4–1 win against their cross-state rival, The Tampa Bay Lightning . As NRC's new parent company, ANC Rental, went bankrupt in 2002,
169-1034: Was formerly home to the Florida Pit Bulls of the American Basketball Association , the Miami Caliente of the Lingerie Football League , and the Florida Bobcats of the AFL , 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 conjunction with the namesake college football game . Plaza Level: Mezzanine Level: List of indoor arenas The following
#482517