Knight Center Complex

Last updated
James L. Knight Center
James L. Knight Center Logo.png
Knight Center Complex
Address400 SE Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131
Location Downtown Miami
Coordinates 25°46′15″N80°11′28″W / 25.77083°N 80.19111°W / 25.77083; -80.19111
Owner City of Miami
Operator ASM Global
OpenedOctober 1982
Renovated1997, 2005
Expanded1986
Construction cost
~$10 million
Former names
James L. Knight Convention Center (1982–86)
James L. Knight International Center (1986–2013)
Classroom-style seating
117 (Miami Lecture Hall)
Theatre seating
4,569 (James L. Knight Center Theater)
3,200 (Riverfront Exhibition Hall)
444 (Ashe Auditorium)
Enclosed space
  Exhibit hall floor28,000 sqft (Miami Convention Center)
Website
Official Website

The James L. Knight Center is a contemporary entertainment and convention complex located in Downtown Miami, Florida. Located within the Miami Central Business District, the venue opened in 1982. The complex is named after famed newspaper publisher, James L. Knight. Since its opening, the complex has hosted many business, entertainment and political events. Annually, it hosts Miami Dade College graduation ceremonies. It also hosted Miss Universe in 1984 and 1985, Miss USA in 1986 and Miss Teen USA in 1985 and the OTI Festival in 1989.

Contents

History

The complex originally was built to be an exhibition hall for the downtown Miami area, to attract business conferences, trade shows and conventions. Previous conventions were held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. However, the business atmosphere for Miami Beach began to decline. City officials saw this as an opportunity to claim the market for the blossoming downtown business district. [1] The space, known as James L. Knight Convention Center, was the project of the City of Miami. [2] During its construction, the University of Miami sought a sports arena for its revitalized basketball program. Newspaper publisher James L. Knight donated over one million dollars towards the cost of the arena. [3] The space became known as the University of Miami Auditorium.

Along with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the complex opened October 2, 1982, to the public. Although this venture was promising for the city government, it proved to be very costly. Although the center hosted many events, it was not able to draw large convention crowds due to its limited size. [4] The venue began to accumulate debt for the county and city officials were unsure of how to solve the problem. Taxes were increased to handle the $5 million annual operating costs and debt for the venue. [5] In 1983, the FIU Sunblazers men's and women's basketball team used the UM Auditorium until the completion of the Sunblazer Arena in 1986. [6] Shortly after, the newly formed Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team occupied the auditorium and the center was revitalized. [7]

To meet demand, the city looked to expand the Knight Center to be used for large conventions, which would not only gain higher revenue for the county, but also solve the city's growing unemployment issue. [8] Concurrently, the University of Miami were also looking to build upon the athletic success of the auditorium by adding a public meeting space and lecture hall. [9] During this time, the auditorium hosted many events, including the NWA Wrestling's Clash of the Champions televised event in June 1988 and two concert appearances for the band R.E.M. [10]

The Knight Center became used primarily for concerts when the Hurricanes moved into Miami Arena in 1988, and became the original home of the annual Premios Lo Nuestro ceremony in the 1990s, remaining until the ceremony moved into the newly completed Waterfront Theater at American Airlines Arena in 2000.

In February 1994 the game show Wheel of Fortune taped episodes at the Knight Center. [11] 7 years later in November 2001 Wheel of Fortune would again tape at the Knight Center, however the audience size was reduced following the September 11 Attacks. [12]

On July 7, 2021, professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) hosted a special episode of their weekly television show AEW Dynamite called Road Rager at the arena. [13] [14] AEW would return to the Knight Center in October 2021 to tape another episode of Dynamite and two episodes of its other weekly television show, AEW Rampage . [15] [16] [17]

Facilities

Location

The complex is located along the Miami River near Bayfront Park. Also in the area is Mary Brickell Village, Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and New World School of the Arts. The complex is serviced by the Knight Center station for the Metromover.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolstein Center</span> Indoor arena in Cleveland, Ohio, United States

The Bert L. and Iris S. Wolstein Center is a 13,610-seat indoor arena located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the campus of Cleveland State University (CSU). It is home to the Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball teams and served as the home of the Cleveland Crunch of the National Professional Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League from 1992 to 2005 and the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League from 2021 to 2024. The building opened in 1991 as a replacement for Woodling Gym and was known until 2005 as the CSU Convocation Center. It is named for Bert Wolstein, a Cleveland area real estate developer, former owner of the Force, and CSU alumnus, and his wife Iris. The main arena is known as Henry J. Goodman Arena, named for a businessman and former chairman of the CSU Board of Trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Ashe Stadium</span> Tennis stadium in New York City

Arthur Ashe Stadium is a tennis arena at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City. Part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, it is the main stadium of the US Open tennis tournament and has a capacity of 23,771, making it the largest tennis stadium in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boardwalk Hall</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.

Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. Boardwalk Hall was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the few surviving buildings from the city's early heyday as a seaside resort. The venue seats 10,500 people for ice hockey, and at maximum capacity can accommodate 14,770 for concerts. Boardwalk Hall is the home of the Miss America Pageant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liacouras Center</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The Liacouras Center is a 10,206-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "The Apollo of Temple". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 million, four-building complex along North Broad Street on the Temple University campus in North Philadelphia. The Liacouras Center is the largest indoor, public assembly venue in Philadelphia north of City Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Bank Center</span> Arena in Texas, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agganis Arena</span> Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Agganis Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on the campus of Boston University, built on the location of the former Commonwealth Armory. It is home to the five-time national champion Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. It is named after Harry Agganis, a football and baseball player for BU. The ice hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach. The arena is part of Boston University's John Hancock Student Village, which also includes dormitories and the university's five-story Fitness and Recreation Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chartway Arena</span> Multipurpose arena in Virginia

Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center is a 219,330-square-foot (20,376 m2), multi-purpose arena in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, on the campus of Old Dominion University. It is operated by Oak View Group. Chartway Arena is part of the University Village project, a 75-acre (30 ha) development that features a shopping center that includes restaurants, offices, research labs and residences with connections to the campus. It has 7,319 seats, 862 upper club/priority seats, 16 suites, and a jumbotron scoreboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Addition Financial Arena</span> Indoor arena in Orlando, Florida, U.S.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami Beach Convention Center</span> Convention center in Florida

The Miami Beach Convention Center is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhanced MBCC includes a 60,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, four junior ballrooms, 500,000 square feet of flexible exhibition space, 84 meeting rooms, and pre-function space, as well as outdoor spaces and terraces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Culwell Center</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena and conference center in Garland, Texas, U.S.

The Curtis Culwell Center is a 6,860-fixed seat arena and conference center in Garland, Texas. It opened in 2005 and was designed by HKS, Inc. and constructed at a cost of $31.5 million by Lee Lewis Construction with engineering by Walter P. Moore, Blum Consulting Engineers, and RLK Engineers Inc. The arena is the property of the Garland Independent School District (GISD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wintrust Arena</span> Indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for the men's and women's basketball teams of DePaul University and serves as an events center for McCormick Place. It also is the home of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

<i>AEW Dark</i> Professional wrestling streaming television program

AEW Dark, or simply Dark, was an American professional wrestling streaming television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from October 8, 2019, to April 25, 2023, on AEW's YouTube channel. The program featured matches taped either before or after the preceding episode of Rampage, a pay-per-view, or at Soundstage 21 in Universal Studios Florida, which served as the main location for the tapings of Dark's weekly episodes. Prior to this, it was taped before and after the preceding episode of AEW's flagship program, Dynamite, and had featured segments highlighting the previous week's Dynamite and interviews with AEW personalities. The show was originally hosted by Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez in a studio called the "AEW Control Center". Both Dark and its spin-off, Elevation, were canceled due to the addition of AEW's television program, Collision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEW Fyter Fest</span> All Elite Wrestling special event series

AEW Fyter Fest is an annual professional wrestling event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event was established by the promotion in 2019 and is held during the summer; the first event was held in June but moved to July in 2020 and then August in 2023. Since 2020, Fyter Fest has been held as a multi-part television special. The name, slogan, and logo of the event are a parody of the fraudulent Fyre Festival.

Stephanie M. Cardona, better known by the ring name Red Velvet, is a Colombian-American professional wrestler and dancer. She is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road Rager (2021)</span> All Elite Wrestling television special

The 2021 Road Rager was the inaugural Road Rager professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was held on July 7, 2021, in Miami, Florida at the James L. Knight Center and was broadcast live on TNT as a special episode of AEW's weekly television program, Dynamite. The event marked AEW's resumption of live touring during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a year of producing shows at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, also becoming the first major wrestling promotion to resume live touring during the pandemic. As such, it was the first of four episodes in AEW's "Welcome Back" tour. At the time, it was the largest attended wrestling event during the pandemic outside of WWE's WrestleMania 37 in April and AEW's own Double or Nothing in May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEW Blood & Guts</span> All Elite Wrestling television special series

AEW Blood & Guts is an annual professional wrestling television special produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since 2021. The event airs mid-year as a special episode of the promotion's flagship weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite; it originally aired on TNT in 2021, but has aired on TBS since 2022. The concept of the event comes from the Blood and Guts match, which is AEW's version of the classic WarGames match in which two teams fight inside a roofed cell structure that surrounds two rings placed side-by-side. Each main event match of the card is contested under the Blood and Guts stipulation.

AEW Road Rager was an annual professional wrestling television special produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in the summer. Established in 2021, the inaugural event aired as a special episode of the promotion's flagship weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite. In 2022, it was expanded to a two-part event, with the second part airing as a special episode of Friday Night Rampage. The 2022 event would be the final Road Rager as the event was not held in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEW Grand Slam (2022)</span> All Elite Wrestling two-part television special

The 2022 Grand Slam was the second annual Grand Slam professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on September 21, 2022, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the Queens borough of New York City. The two-part event was broadcast as special episodes of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage. Dynamite aired live on TBS while Rampage aired on tape delay on September 23 on TNT and was expanded to two hours for the Grand Slam special.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Year's Smash (2023)</span> All Elite Wrestling two-part television special

The 2023 New Year's Smash was the fourth New Year's Smash professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The two-part event took place on December 27, 2023, at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida, encompassing AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage. Dynamite aired live on TBS while Rampage aired on tape delay on December 29 on TNT.

References

  1. "Knight Center a costly dream". Miami Herald. 1999-07-04.
  2. Brubaker, Dale (1982-10-09). "This is the magic of Miami". The Miami News. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  3. "James L. Knight". Miami Herald. 1991-02-06.
  4. "Local rivalries spell trouble in convention city". The Miami Herald. 1983-02-10.
  5. "Join the Consortium". Miami Herald. 1984-09-13.
  6. "FIU plays Knight Center opener". Miami Herald. 1983-12-15.
  7. Otterson, Chuck (1983-10-13). "Basketball Returns to Miami in 1985". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  8. Lynch, Ray (1986-01-07). "5,000 jobs foreseen in exhibit hall plan". The Miami News.
  9. "UM: Put new hall near Knight Center". Miami Herald. 1986-01-16.
  10. Gleason, Holly (1986-11-25). "R.E.M. improves concert presence". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  11. Scott McKenzie Wheel of Fortune. Youtube.
  12. Wheel of Fortune (Monday, November 5, 2001). Youtube.
  13. Gagnon, Joshua (June 30, 2021). "Andrade In-Ring Debut, Title Match Set for AEW Dynamite: Road Rager". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  14. Gagnon, Joshua (July 7, 2021). "AEW Dynamite Road Rager Preview: Street Fight, Strap Match". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  15. Coder, Brie (October 15, 2021). "AEW Rampage Preview (10/15): CM Punk in Action, Danielson Vs. Suzuki on the "Buy In"". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  16. Ounpraseuth, Jason (October 16, 2021). "AEW Saturday Night Dynamite Results: New AAA Tag Champions, Bryan Danielson Vs. Bobby Fish". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  17. Coder, Brie (October 22, 2021). "AEW Rampage Preview (10/22): PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo II, women's Title Defense, more". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
Preceded by Miss Universe venue
1984 - 1985
Succeeded by