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FLA Live Arena (previously known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, BankAtlantic Center, and BB&T Center) is an
indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
located next to
Sawgrass Mills Sawgrass Mills is an outlet shopping mall in Sunrise, Florida within the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area and it is one of the tourist destinations in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With of retail selling space, it is the eleventh largest mall in ...
in
Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...
. It is the home venue for the
Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
. 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.


History

In 1992,
Wayne Huizenga Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He founded AutoNation and Waste Management Inc., and was the owner or co-owner of Blockbuster Video, the Miami ...
obtained 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 Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the NBA's Miami Heat, and the NHL's Florida Panthers. From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes. History Completed in 1 ...
, sharing the venue with the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...
.
Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...
City Manager Pat Salerno made public a $167-million financing and construction plan for a
civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
near the
Sawgrass Expressway Florida State Road 869 (SR 869) is a state road located in western and northern Broward County, acting as a de facto bypass of Fort Lauderdale as well as the northern coastal and southern parts of the county extending north from a junctio ...
in December 1995, and
Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
approved construction in February 1996. In June 1996, 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 Ellerbe Becket was an independent Minneapolis, Minnesota-based architectural, engineering, interior design and construction firm until 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM. AECOM is ranked as one of the world's largest architectural firms, with of ...
were given 26 months to build the arena, which had to be ready by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the
1998–99 NHL season The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup cham ...
. Despite never having designed a facility that had taken less than 31 months from start to finish, they accepted the job. Seventy suites were completed with
wet bar A wet bar is a small bar used for mixing and serving alcoholic beverages that includes a sink with running water, as opposed to a "dry bar" that does not include a sink. A wet bar can increase the rate at which drinks are served because of the sin ...
s, closed circuit monitors and leather upholstery. Averaging over , the suites are the largest in the country for this type of facility. 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 Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
were won in July 1998 by
National Car Rental National Car Rental is a private American rental car agency based in Clayton, Missouri, United States. National is owned by Enterprise Holdings, along with other agencies including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Alamo Rent a Car. National typically c ...
— a company purchased by Huizenga in January 1997 — leading to the venue being named the National Car Rental Center. A
certificate of occupancy Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...
was given on September 12, 1998, and the arena opened on October 3, 1998, with a
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
concert. The next day,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
performed, and on October 9, 1998, the Florida Panthers had their first home game at their new arena. As NRC's new parent company,
ANC Rental ANC Rental Corporation (“ANC Rental”) was a Delaware corporation, created in October 1999 by AutoNation, Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company owned Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, CarTemps and was a 2000 AutoNation spin-off ...
, went bankrupt in 2002, the Panthers sought a new sponsor for the arena. It became the
Office Depot The ODP Corporation is an American office supply holding company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company has combined annual sales of approximately $11 billion, and employs about 38,000 associates with businesses in the United States. ...
Center in the summer of 2002. (Office Depot is an
office supply Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies ...
retailing company, which is headquartered in nearby
Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
.) Just over three years later, the arena's name changed again; it became the BankAtlantic Center on September 6, 2005. (
BankAtlantic BankAtlantic was a US bank that operated in the state of Florida until it was acquired in 2012 by BB&T Corporation. It provided consumer and business banking services to communities throughout Florida. It was founded in 1952 and had 78 branch ...
was headquartered in nearby
Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.) Because
BB&T BB&T Corporation (previously known as the Branch Banking and Trust Company) was one of the largest banking and financial services firms in the United States, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, BB&T announced its intentions to merge ...
purchased
BankAtlantic BankAtlantic was a US bank that operated in the state of Florida until it was acquired in 2012 by BB&T Corporation. It provided consumer and business banking services to communities throughout Florida. It was founded in 1952 and had 78 branch ...
in July 2012, the arena was rebranded as the BB&T Center. The arena is currently the largest in Florida and second-largest in the Southeastern United States, behind
Greensboro Coliseum The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, commonly referred to as Greensboro Coliseum (the first and biggest building on the site), is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venu ...
. During the 2011 offseason, the BB&T Center replaced the original green seats in the lower bowl with new red seats, as a part of the Panthers' "We See Red" campaign. In October 2012, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment completed installation of the Club Red seating sections encompassing the center ice seats during hockey games. It is an all-inclusive nightclub experience following the trend of other sports and entertainment venues in incorporating high-end seating sections and clubs. The ADT Club, located on the club level, offers food and beverage. The Duffy's Sky Club at the BB&T Center encompasses approximately and can cater to a maximum of about 500 guests. The Penalty Box offers fans another seating and dining option inside the BB&T Center. The Legends Lounge is a restaurant located on the Lexus Suite Level, and offers sit down service. 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 SunTrust Banks, Inc. was an American bank holding company with SunTrust Bank as its largest subsidiary and assets of US$199 billion as of March 31, 2018. The bank's most direct corporate parent was established in 1891 in Atlanta, where it was h ...
to form Truist Financial Corporation. The merged company decided to not renew the naming rights agreement after it expired in 2021; the arena will thus have the temporary name of FLA Live Arena until a new rights partner is found.


Concerts


Notable events


NHL

*The
Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
hosted the
2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...
&
2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...
at the arena. *The arena served as the site for the
2003 NHL All-Star Game The 2003 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on February 2, 2003 at Office Depot Center in Sunrise, the home of the Florida Panthers. It was the first All-Star Game since the 1997 All-Star Game to use the Eastern Conference– West ...
on February 2, 2003. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 6–5, in a shootout victory. It marked the first "official" shootout in the NHL. *The arena was due to host the 2021 NHL All-Star game, but this was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. *The arena will host the
2023 NHL All-Star Game The 2023 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held on February 4, 2023 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, the home of the Florida Panthers. For the seventh consecutive All-Star Game, a three-on-three format was used, with teams representi ...
on February 4, 2023.


Boxing, mixed martial arts

The arena has held
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
and
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
events such as EliteXC: Heat featuring the main event of
Seth Petruzelli Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC, Eli ...
and Kimbo Slice took place on October 4, 2008. On February 15, 2009, a lightweight bout between
Nate Campbell Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III (born March 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 200 ...
and Ali Funeka took place in the arena.
Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...
MMA made their debut at the arena on January 30, 2010, with the Strikeforce: Miami event on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
.
UFC on FX 3 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...
took place at the arena on June 8, 2012. It was the first
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
event ever held at 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.


Professional wrestling

*
WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...
Bash At The Beach Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the company's PPV for the month of July, held from 1994–2000. As the title implied, the show centered on a b ...
- July 11, 1999 * WWF
Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...
– December 12, 1999 *WWE
Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...
– December 15, 2002


Rodeo

The
Professional Bull Riders The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...
brought their
Built Ford Tough Series The Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) was the elite series tour name of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competitions from 2003 to 2017. The BFTS kicked off its tour on November 16, 2002 with the Mohegan Sun Invitational in Uncasville, Connecticut ...
tour to the BB&T Center in September 2005 for a
bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...
event, which was won by Kody Lostroh (who ultimately became the Rookie of the Year that same year).


Other events

*On May 23, 2008, Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
held a rally as part of his presidential primary campaign. *Several months later on October 29, Obama returned to the arena to hold a rally as part of his presidential campaign. The rally was presented as a paid programm airing on several major broadcast and cable networks live. *On August 10, 2016, Candidate
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
held a rally as part of his presidential campaign. *On February 21, 2018, the venue hosted a
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
town hall meeting Town hall meetings, also referred to as town halls or town hall forums, are a way for local and national politicians to meet with their constituents either to hear from them on topics of interest or to discuss specific upcoming legislation or ...
on
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
in response to the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
that occurred a week earlier; it was attended by 7,000 people, including survivors of the shooting and relatives of the victims. *On June 27, 2018, rapper
XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
's fan memorial and public funeral was held at the arena. * On November 26, 2019, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
held a
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
rally.


Regular events

In addition to the Panthers, the arena was formerly home to the
Florida Pit Bulls The Miami Majesty was a team of the Continental Basketball Association based in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The team was formerly the Florida Pit Bulls, a member of the American Basketball Association, and played their home games in the BankAtlan ...
of the
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
, the
Miami Caliente The Miami Caliente was a women's American football team in the Lingerie Football League based in the Miami area. They were part of the Lingerie Bowl's expansion into a full-fledged league in 2009 with home games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunri ...
of the
Lingerie Football League The Extreme Football League (X League) is an American women's semi-professional tackle football league. The league was originally founded in 2009 as the Lingerie Football League (LFL), and later rebranded as the Legends Football League in 2013. ...
, and the
Florida Bobcats The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beach ...
of the
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
, along with the only season of the
Florida ThunderCats The Florida ThunderCats were an indoor soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. The team folded after one season. Year-by-year References Soccer clubs in Miami Soccer clubs ...
. This arena also serves as the host for the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic held every December in conjunction with the namesake college football game.


Arena information


Seating

*
Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
: 20,737 *
Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
: 19,250 *End-Stage
Concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
s: 15,207 – 23,000 *Center-Stage
Concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
s: 25,000 * of arena floor space for trade shows and other events such as circuses and ice shows.


Parking and loading docks

*Total: 7,045 spaces ''(Does not include production or bus/oversized vehicle parking)'' *General parking: 4,787 Spaces *Suite/club seat parking: 1,430 spaces *Garage: 226 spaces *Disabled parking: 90 spaces *Event staff: 512 spaces *Truck doors: 5 *Waste removal docks: 2


Food and novelty concessions

*Plaza Level: 3 food courts and Pantherland Retail *Mezzanine Level: 3 food courts and two points of purchase kiosks


References


External links


BB&T Center

BB&T Center aerial video
{{Authority control 1998 establishments in Florida American Basketball Association (2000–present) venues Arena football venues Boxing venues in the United States Florida Panthers arenas Indoor ice hockey venues in Florida Indoor arenas in Florida Indoor soccer venues in the United States Legends Football League venues Mixed martial arts venues in Florida Music venues completed in 1998 Music venues in Florida National Hockey League venues Sports venues in Broward County, Florida Sports venues completed in 1998 Sports in Sunrise, Florida Sunrise, Florida