Former names |
|
---|---|
Address | 11000 Everblades Parkway |
Location | Estero, Florida, U.S. |
Coordinates | 26°26′26″N81°46′44″W / 26.44066810°N 81.77880850°W [1] |
Owner | David Hoffmann |
Operator | Hoffmann Family of Companies |
Type | Arena |
Genre(s) | Hockey |
Executive suites | 24 [2] |
Capacity | Center stage: 8,284 Endstage: 7,380 Half house: 5,090 Hockey: 7,181 |
Acreage | 30 |
Surface | Multi-surface |
Scoreboard | Yes |
Construction | |
Broke ground | November 1997 |
Opened | November 2, 1998 [3] |
Architect | BBB Architects |
Structural engineer | LCM Engineering, Inc. [4] |
Services engineer | The Mitchell Partnership Inc. [5] |
General contractor | Walbridge-Aldinger [6] |
Tenants | |
| |
Website | |
hertzarena |
Hertz Arena is a 7,181-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, outside Ft. Myers, Florida, which is located between Miromar Lakes, Florida and Bonita Springs, Florida. [7] The arena opened in November 1998 and serves as the home of the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.
The arena was first named Everblades Arena in 1998 after the hockey team that plays there. TECO Energy was the first company to obtain the naming rights to the building, changing the name to TECO Arena. In 2004, TECO Energy decided they were no longer interested in holding the naming rights. Germain Motor Company bought the rights, and in 2004 the venue was renamed to Germain Arena. This same company, an automobile dealership with locations in Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio, also held the naming rights to the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio. In September 2018, The Hertz Corporation bought the naming rights for the arena and it was renamed Hertz Arena on October 1. The company petitioned the city to repaint the arena bright yellow with black accents to match their branding. [8] In August 2019, the Hoffmann family entered into an agreement to purchase both the arena and hockey team [9] as part of their plan to expand the entertainment segment in Southwest Florida.
Hertz Arena features LED lighting, luxury seating, a state-of-the-art sound system, video boards, a VIP lounge and much more. Some of the luxury seating options available at the arena include a lounge, suite and box seating. The arena's VIP lounge, which can be rented out for private events, contains a wide variety of amenities.The arena's video boards are used to broadcast live events and offer a variety of features, such as a multi-angle view, instant replays and a wide range of graphics. [10]
The arena has been used as a multipurpose venue, primarily hosting the Florida Everblades ECHL ice hockey team. It was also the home for the Florida Flame NBA Development League team, the Florida Firecats, Florida Tarpons and Gulf Coast Fire indoor football teams. Additionally, the venue has hosted various concerts, circuses, boxing, mixed martial arts events, AEW shows, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling shows, WWE shows, Professional Bull Riders events and family shows.
The arena is also home to the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles club hockey team of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). In March 2006 and March 2010, the facility hosted the Division 3 ACHA National Championships and in March 2008 the Division 2 ACHA National Championships. [11]
The arena has also hosted a college hockey tournament, originally known as the Everblades College Classic and then the Florida College Hockey Classic. It was a four-team tournament was hosted by the University of Maine Black Bears and the Cornell University Big Red, and two other invited teams. The winner was awarded the Ned Harkness Cup. [12]
On March 9, 2022, the arena had its first televised wrestling event as All Elite Wrestling (AEW) had its tapings of Dynamite and Rampage , marking AEW's debut to the Southwest Florida market.
KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League since 1996, is the largest indoor arena in Western New York, seating 19,070. It replaced the Sabres' former home, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, where the team played from 1970 to 1996. The venue is also home to the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League.
The United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named for its corporate sponsor United Airlines. With a capacity of nearly 21,000, the United Center is the largest arena by capacity in the NBA, and second largest arena by capacity in the NHL. It also has a seating capacity of 23,500 for concerts.
The Greensboro Complex, formerly known as the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venues that includes an amphitheater, arena, aquatic center, banquet hall, convention center, museum, theatre, and an indoor pavilion. It is the home of the UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with their Men's and Women's basketball tournaments.
Heritage Bank Center is an indoor arena in downtown Cincinnati, adjacent to Great American Ball Park. It was completed in September 1975 and named Riverfront Coliseum because of its placement next to Riverfront Stadium. In 1997, the facility became known as The Crown, and in 1999, it changed its name again to Firstar Center after Firstar Bank assumed naming rights. In 2002, following Firstar's merger with U.S. Bank, the arena took on the name U.S. Bank Arena and kept that name until 2019.
The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) starting in the 2024–25 ECHL season. Their home games are played at Hertz Arena.
Canada Life Centre is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
The Von Braun Center is an entertainment complex, with a maximum arena seating capacity of 9,000, located in Huntsville, Alabama. The original facility debuted in 1975 and has undergone several significant expansions since its opening. In addition to the arena, the VBC complex features multiple exhibit halls, a concert hall, a playhouse, a music venue, and several additional facilities for meetings and exhibitions.
Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which also oversees nearby Ovens Auditorium and the uptown Charlotte Convention Center. The naming-rights sponsor is the Bojangles restaurant chain. The building's signature domed roof is made of tin, rather than steel or iron. The dome spans 332 feet in diameter and rises to 112 feet tall.
The American Bank Center is an entertainment complex located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The complex consists of an auditorium, convention center and arena. The facility hosts numerous conventions, trade shows, exhibitions, live performances and sporting events. It is home to the Corpus Christi IceRays Tier II Jr. A ice hockey team and the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders men's and women's NCAA basketball teams. It is owned by the city of Corpus Christi and managed by ASM Global.
Simmons Bank Arena is an 18,000-seat multi-purpose arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas, directly across the Arkansas River from downtown Little Rock. Opened in October 1999, it is the main entertainment venue serving Central Arkansas.
Peter Karmanos Jr. is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise until June 30, 2021. He served as their principal owner from 1994 to 2018. He also owned the Plymouth Whalers junior ice hockey club from its establishment in 1990 until 2015, and was the majority owner of the Florida Everblades from 1998 to 2019.
Addition Financial Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located near Orlando in Orange County, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central Florida. It was constructed beginning in 2006 as a replacement for the original UCF arena, and as a part of Knights Plaza. The arena is home to the UCF Knights men's and women's basketball teams. The arena also hosted the annual Science Olympiad in 2012 and 2014.
The 2002–03 ECHL season was the 15th season of the East Coast Hockey League. The Brabham Cup regular season champions were the Toledo Storm and the Kelly Cup playoff champions were the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.
Orlando, Florida has a history of major events in sports. It has had a considerable measure of success in minor league sports as well, with teams winning several minor league championships.
The Florida College Hockey Classic was a college Division I men's ice hockey tournament played annually between 2000 and 2016 in the week between Christmas and New Years at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida, United States.
The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League and Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
Ernie Hartlieb is a retired American ice hockey left wing who primarily played with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. Hartlieb played college hockey for Miami University, earning the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award in 1999 from the CCHA, for demonstrating "perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversity" as Hartlieb overcame a severe head injury suffered on the ice in 1997, comatose as a result for 11 days, and went on to a stellar career with the RedHawks.
Reggie Berg is an American former professional ice hockey player who played for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 7th round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2014–15 ECHL season was the 27th season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 17, 2014, to April 11, 2015, with the Kelly Cup playoffs following. Twenty-eight teams in 20 states and one Canadian province each played a 72-game schedule. Ten days prior to the start of the season, the league was significantly expanded on October 7, 2014, after the ECHL had accepted the Central Hockey League's remaining seven teams as members for the 2014–15 season.
The 2019–20 ECHL season was the 32nd season of the ECHL. The regular season began in October 2019 to and was set to conclude in April 2020 with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-six teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces were each scheduled for 72 games.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)