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Amway Arena
Amway Arena
Amway Arena Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) (1995–2001) O-Rena, The Jungle (when the Predators are playing) Orlando Seals (ACHL/WHA2) (2002–2004)
The then-TD Waterhouse Centre in May 2006 Former names Orlando Arena (1989–1999) TD Waterhouse Centre (1999–2006) The Arena in Orlando (December 1-December 6, 2006) 600 West Amelia Street, Orlando, Florida 32801–1107
Amway Arena (formerly known as the Orlando Arena, TD Waterhouse Centre, and The Arena in Orlando [1], and colloquially known by the nickname of O-Rena) is an indoor arena in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in downtown Orlando. The arena is home to the Orlando Magic of the NBA, Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League and the Orlando Sharks of the National Indoor Soccer League. It also hosts the PlayStation Pro event on the Dew Action Sports Tour and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus annually, along with various concerts and other events.
History
Location Coordinates
TD Waterhouse, a division of Canadian finJanuary 29, 1989 Opened ance company Toronto Dominion, purchased naming rights to the Orlando Arena in 1999, City of Orlando Owner and named the venue the TD Waterhouse Orlando Venues Operator Centre (utilizing Canadian spelling). Before the Orlando Arena’s naming rights were sold, Construction $98 million (USD) the other two buildings in the Orlando cost Centroplex--Orlando Expo Centre and Bob Lloyd Jones Philpot; Cambridge Seven Architect Carr Performing Arts Centre--utilized that spelling as well, so it was more than simply Basketball: 17,519 Capacity Arena Football: 15,924 the fact that TD Waterhouse is a Canadian Ice Hockey: 15,948 company that the building used the "Centre" Circus: 15,788 spelling. Those naming rights expired on Ice Skating: 16,882 November 30, 2006, and TD Ameritrade, Concerts: which bought TD Waterhouse’s U.S. opera• 17,740 (end stage) • 18,039 (center stage) tions earlier in the year, chose not to renew them. The venue was briefly known as "The Tenants Arena in Orlando" before the new naming Orlando Magic (NBA) (1989-Present) rights contract was signed, a period of apOrlando Predators (AFL) (1991-Present) proximately one week.
Orlando Sharks (MISL/NISL) (2007-present) Orlando Miracle (WNBA) (1999–2002)
28°32′56″N 81°23′12″W / 28.54889°N 81.38667°W / 28.54889; -81.38667Coordinates: 28°32′56″N The logo as TD Waterhouse Centre 81°23′12″W / 28.54889°N 81.38667°W / 28.54889; -81.38667
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On December 7, 2006 it was announced that Amway would become the new sponsor, renaming the building as the Amway Arena. Amway will pay $1.5 million over 4 years, or $375,000 a year, for the rights. Amway will also have an initial exclusive option to negotiate for the right to name the new Orlando Events Center. Amway founder Richard DeVos owns the Orlando Magic team. Although Amway became the arena’s new sponsor in 2006, Amway has not yet replaced the TD Waterhouse logo with their own; instead they placed a large piece of tarp over the logo. In 2008, a plastic light-up-at-night sign states "Amway Arena" above the East, North, and South entrances. The nickname of the building for Predator games is "The Jungle". During the 2005-2006 AFL seasons, the facility was referred to as Hummer Field at TD Waterhouse Centre. It is also the former home of the IHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, and also the RHI’s Orlando Jackals. Completed in 1989 at a cost of $98 million - entirely publicly financed - the arena seats 17,519 for basketball and has 26 luxury suites. The naming rights were sold in 2000 to TD Waterhouse at $7.8 million for five years. It is also used for entertainment events, particularly large rock concerts. The 1990 SEC men’s basketball tournament was held here, as was the WWF Royal Rumble that year. WCW held its Bash at the Beach there in 1994. WWE Armageddon 2003 was also held there. On March 29, 2008 World Wrestling Entertainment held their Hall of Fame induction at the arena. The most notable inductee was Ric Flair, who two nights later on an episode of WWE Raw announced his retirement from professional wrestling which was also held at this arena. WWE Raw will take at place the arena on July 13th, 2009 Early rounds of the NCAA Tournament were held there in the early- to mid-1990s. In 1991, the facility was voted "Arena of the Year" by Performance Magazine. It was also nominated for "Best Indoor Concert Venue" in the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. The 42nd annual NBA All-Star Game was held at the facility February 9, 1992. The arena was the site of three ArenaBowl games. The Predators lost to the Detroit Drive in 1992 and Arizona Rattlers in 1994 before defeating the Nashville Kats in 2000.
Amway Arena
During the 1993–94 NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning played five of their home games here. Games One and Two of the 1995 NBA Finals were held at the facility. The Arena also hosted IHL Finals in 1996, 1999 and 2001, when the Orlando Solar Bears won the Turner Cup in the IHL’s last season of operations. In 2004, Orlando, Florida was selected as one of five cities in the U.S. to host the Dew Action Sports Tour, a new extreme sports franchise to start in 2005. Titled the PlayStation Pro, the event was held at the TD Waterhouse Centre from October 12-October 16, 2005. The facility was the site of the 1992 United States Figure Skating Championships. For several years, the PBR’s Challenger Tour series held an event, the Tater Porter Invitational, at this venue. In June 2008 the PBR will bring the Built Ford Tough Series to the Amway Arena for the first time. On August 22, 2004, the City of Orlando evicted the Orlando Seals, a minor league hockey team, from the TD Waterhouse Centre. They were forced to sit out the first season of Southern Professional Hockey League play for 2004–2005 as a result. They ultimately moved to Kissimmee’s Silver Spurs Arena and resumed play in 2005–2006 as the Florida Seals until they were evicted from Silver Spurs Arena on January 4, 2007. The franchise subsequently folded. On February 22, 2007, the officials from the Buena Vista corporation announced that the Orlando Sharks, an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League, will play in the arena beginning in fall 2007. As of 2008, the Sharks are now playing in the National Indoor Soccer League. In 2004 Presidential candidate John Kerry held a rally inside the arena filling the floor and most of the lower bowl. On September 20, 2008, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama held a major outdoor rally immediately outside the Amway Arena north entrance that drew over 50,000 supporters. Additional speakers at the rally included U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Bill Nelson. The major rally drew national attention to Florida as an election battle-ground state and was covered live on national evening newscasts on all major networks.
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Preceded by first arena Preceded by first arena Preceded by first arena Preceded by Charlotte Coliseum Home of the Orlando Magic 1989 – present Home of the Orlando Predators 1991 – present Home of the Orlando Miracle 1999 – 2002 Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1992
Amway Arena
Succeeded by Orlando Events Center (ca. 2010) Succeeded by Orlando Events Center (ca. 2010) Succeeded by Mohegan Sun Arena (as Connecticut Sun) Succeeded by Delta Center
Successor arena
Beginning around 1999, the Orlando Magic and the City of Orlando entered discussions for a complete refurbishment or demolition of the TD Waterhouse Centre in favor of a new facility. In recent years, arena and city officials had reported revenue losses, and criticized the facility for not being large enough compared to more recently constructed arenas. The media have offered rumors that the Orlando Magic may relocate to another city, but team officials denied such claims. The facility currently ranks near the bottom in the NBA as far as capacity and luxury. On September 29, 2006, the City of Orlando and Orange County came to an agreement on a $1.1-billion improvement package that includes $480 million for a new arena. The Magic will provide $114 million in cash and up-front lease payments and guarantee $100 million in bonds toward the arena. The venue plan received final approval on July 26,
2007, and the arena is expected to be complete in time for the 2010–11 NBA season. Once the new arena is finished, the Amway Arena is expected to be sold off and potentially torn down.
References
[1] The Arena in Orlando was used only briefly, lasting approximately a week in December 2006 and serving as the interim name between the expiration of the contract with TD Waterhouse and the announcement of the new naming rights deal with Amway.
External links
• Orlando Centroplex • Seats3D Interactive Seating Tour of Amway Arena
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway_Arena" Categories: Amway, Arena football venues, Basketball venues in the United States, Indoor arenas in the United States, Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States, Indoor soccer venues in the United States, Orlando Magic, Orlando Miracle, Sports venues in Orlando, Florida, 1989 establishments, National Basketball Association venues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Music venues in Florida, Temporary National Hockey League venues This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 20:22 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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