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Amway Arena (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 from 2007, the Orlando Sharks of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Seating Capacity: - 17,248 (basketball)
Opened: - January 29, 1989
Owner: - City of Orlando
Operator: - Orlando Centroplex
Construction cost: - $98 million (USD)
Architect: - Lloyd Jones Philpot; Cambridge Seven

History

TD Waterhouse, a division of Canadian finance company Toronto Dominion, purchased naming rights to the Orlando Arena in 1999, and named the venue the TD Waterhouse Centre (utilizing Canadian spelling). Before the Orlando Arena’s naming rights were sold, the other two buildings in the Orlando Centroplex–Orlando Expo Centre and Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre–utilized that spelling as well, so it was more than simply the fact that TD Waterhouse is a Canadian company that the building used the “Centre” spelling. Those naming rights expired on November 30, 2006, and TD Ameritrade, which bought TD Waterhouse’s U.S. operations earlier in the year, chose not to renew them. The venue was briefly known as “The Arena in Orlando” before the new naming rights contract was signed, a period of approximately one week. 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.

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 17,248 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. 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.

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 francise 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 Nationals.

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.

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.[citation needed] 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.

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