Amerant Bank Arena

"BB&T Center" redirects here. For the skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina, see200 South College.For the arena at Northern Kentucky University formerly known as BB&T Arena, seeTruist Arena.For the amphitheater in New Jersey formerly known as BB&T Pavilion, seeFreedom Mortgage Pavilion.

"National Car Rental Center" redirects here. For the proposed stadium in St. Louis, seeNational Car Rental Field.

Amerant Bank Arena

Amerant Bank Arena located in Sunrise, Florida Amerant Bank Arena in 2024
Amerant Bank Arena Location in Florida Amerant Bank Arena Location in the United States
Former names	National Car Rental Center(1998–2002) Office Depot Center(2002–2005) Bank Atlantic Center(2005–2012) BB&T Center(2012–2021) FLA Live Arena(2021–2023)
Address	1 Panther Parkway
Location	Sunrise, Florida
Coordinates	26°9′30″N80°19′32″W
Parking	7,045 total spaces
Owner	Broward County, Florida
Operator	Arena Operating Company, Ltd.
Capacity	Basketball: 20,737 Ice Hockey: 19,250 Arena Football: 19,779 Concerts: *End stage 180°: 15,207 *End stage 270°: 19,119 *End stage 360°: 21,371 *Center stage: 22,457 *Theatre: 3,000
Field size	872,000 sq ft (81,000 m2)
Construction
Broke ground	November 8, 1996(1996-11-08)
Opened	October 3, 1998(1998-10-03)
Construction cost	US$184 million ($359 million in 2023 dollars)
Architect	Ellerbe Becket
Project manager	Upton & Partners
Structural engineer	Walter P. Moore & Associates
General contractor	Arena Development Company (A joint venture of Centex Rooney/Huber, Hunt & Nichols/Morse Diesel)
Tenants
Florida Panthers(NHL) (1998–present) Florida ThunderCats(NPSL) (1998–1999) Florida Bobcats(AFL) (1999–2001) Florida Pit Bulls(ABA) (2005–2006) Miami Caliente(LFL) (2009–2010) Florida Freedom (PBR) (2023)
Website
www.amerantbankarena

Amerant Bank Arena(previously known as theNational Car Rental Center,Office Depot Center,BankAtlantic Center,BB&T Center,andFLA Live Arena) is the largestindoor arenain Florida and is located next toSawgrass MillsinSunrise, Florida.It is the home venue for theFlorida Panthersof theNational 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.

History

An aerial shot of Amerant Bank Arena

View of Amerant Bank Arena from Publix Plaza before aFlorida Panthersgame during the2023-24 season.

Amerant Bank Arena before a Florida Panthers playoff game

In 1992,Wayne Huizengaobtained 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-demolishedMiami Arena,sharing the venue with theNBA'sMiami Heat.SunriseCity Manager Pat Salerno made public a $167-million financing and construction plan for acivic centernear theSawgrass Expresswayin December 1995,andBroward Countyapproved 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. ArchitectsEllerbe Becketwere given 26 months to build the arena, which had to be ready by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the1998–99 NHL season.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 withwet 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, thenaming rightswere won in July 1998 byNational Car Rental— a company purchased by Huizenga in January 1997 — leading to the venue being named the National Car Rental Center.Acertificate of occupancywas given on September 12, 1998, and the arena opened on October 3, 1998, with aCeline Dionconcert. The next day,Elton Johnperformed, 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, TheTampa Bay Lightning.

As NRC's new parent company, ANC Rental, went bankrupt in 2002, the Panthers sought a new sponsor for the arena.It became theOffice DepotCenter 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. (BankAtlanticwas headquartered in nearbyFort Lauderdale.)

BecauseBB&TpurchasedBankAtlanticin July 2012, the arena was rebranded as the BB&T Center.

The arena is currently the largest in Florida.

In October 2012, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment completed installation of 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 withSunTrust Banksto formTruist Financial Corporation.The merged company decided to not renew 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 thatAmerant Bank,a South Florida-based bank, would be the new rights partner, renaming the arena to Amerant Bank Arena.

Notable events

NHL

• TheFlorida Panthershosted the2001 NHL Entry Draft&2015 NHL Entry Draftat the arena.
• The arena served as the site for the2003 NHL All-Star Gameon 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 it was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
• The arena hosted the2023 NHL All-Star Gameon February 4, 2023.
• The arena hosted the third and fourth games of the2023 Stanley Cup Finals.
• The arena hosted the first, second, fifth and seventh games of the2024 Stanley Cup Finals,with the final game being the Panthers clinching the Stanley Cup.

Latin/Hispanic shows

• Sunrise and Fort Lauderdale are a growing Latin & Hispanic market as demand has grown outside of Miami proper. Amerant Bank Arena is centrally located in South Florida to be able to not only draw from Miami-Dade county but the one million Hispanic/Latin population residing in points north in Broward County and Palm Beach County. This is evidenced by the growth in Latin programming since 2019 at Amerant Bank Arena including but not limited to hosting the Latin Billboard Music Awards in 2020, Latin American Music Awards in 2021, Amor A La Musica in 2022 and 2023, and Uforia Mix Live in 2022.
• Marco Antonio Solis sold out to set the Latin gross revenue record in April 2022 and then beat his own record on April 1, 2023. Just three weeks after Marco eclipsed his record, Juan Luis Guerra set a new Latin ticket sales and gross record selling out on April 22, 2023.
• The Latin/Hispanic programming continued to grow with a sold-out Peso Pluma concert in June and a strong showing by Sante Fe Klan in July 2023. The future of Latin programming in the northern part of South Florida with performances scheduled by Luis Miguel, Pepe Aguilar and more.

Bo xing, mixed martial arts

The arena has heldbo xingandmixed martial artsevents such asEliteXC: Heatfeaturing the main event ofSeth PetruzelliandKimbo Slicetook place on October 4, 2008. On February 15, 2009, a lightweight bout betweenNate Campbelland Ali Funeka took place in the arena.

StrikeforceMMA made their debut at the arena on January 30, 2010, with theStrikeforce: Miamievent onShowtime.

UFC on FX 3took place at the arena on June 8, 2012. It was the firstUFCevent 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.

The arena hosted an exhibition bo xing match betweenFloyd Mayweather Jr.and John Gotti III, on June 11, 2023.

Professional wrestling

• WCWBash At The Beach- July 11, 1999
• WWFArmageddon– December 12, 1999
• WWEArmageddon– December 15, 2002

Bull riding

TheProfessional Bull Riders(PBR) brought theirBuilt Ford Tough Seriestour to the BB&T Center in September 2005 for abull ridingevent, which was won byKody 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 inOklahoma City, Oklahoma,for the first two years in the PBR Teams Series circuit.

Other events

• On May 23, 2008, SenatorBarack Obamaheld a rally as part ofhis presidential primary campaign.
• Several months later on October 29, Obama returned to the arena to hold a rally as part ofhis presidential campaign.The rally was presented as apaid programairing on several major broadcast and cable networks live.
• On August 10, 2016, CandidateDonald Trumpheld a rally as part ofhis presidential campaign.
• On February 21, 2018, the venue hosted aCNNtown hall meetingongun controlin response to theStoneman Douglas High School shootingthat 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, rapperXXXTentacion'sfan memorial and public funeralwas held at the arena.
• On November 26, 2019, PresidentDonald Trumpheld acampaignrally.

Regular events

Inside the then-named Bank Atlantic Center during a Florida Panthers game in 2008

In addition to the Panthers, the arena was formerly home to theFlorida Pit Bullsof theAmerican Basketball Association,theMiami Calienteof theLingerie Football League,and theFlorida Bobcatsof theAFL,along with the only season of theFlorida ThunderCats.This arena also serves as the host for the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic held every December in conjunction with thenamesake college football game.

Arena information

Seating

• Basketball:20,737
• Hockey:19,250
• End-StageConcerts:12,500 – 19,000
• Center-StageConcerts:19,500
• 17,000 square feet (1,600 m²) 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: 4,446 Spaces
• Suite/club seat parking: 1,771 spaces
• Garage: 226 spaces
• Disabled parking: 92 spaces
• Truck doors: 5
• Waste removal docks: 2

Food and novelty concessions

Plaza Level:

• 3 Coca-Cola food courts
• Pantherland Retail
• VooDoo Ranger Craft Beer & Bar
• Cats Cantina
• Funky Buddha Tap Room
• Jameson Crossbar
• Patron Patio &Yuengling Flight Deck & Bar

Mezzanine Level:

• 3 food courts and two points of purchase kiosks

See also

• List of indoor arenas by capacity

External links

• Official website
• BB&T Center aerial video

Events and tenants
Preceded by Miami Arena	Home of the Florida Panthers 1998–present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by Staples Center T-Mobile Arena	Host of theNHL All-Star Game 2003 2023	Succeeded by Xcel Energy Center Scotiabank Arena