Miami Arena

This article is about the defunct arena in Downtown Miami. For one of its successors temporarily renamed Miami-Dade Arena, see Kaseya Center.

Miami Arena

The Pink Elephant
Miami Arena circa 2002
Address	721 NW 1st Ave
Location	Miami, Florida
Coordinates	25°46′52″N80°11′41″W / 25.78111°N 80.19472°W / 25.78111; -80.19472
Public transit	Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre
Owner	City of Miami (1988–2004) Arena Ventures, LLC. (2004–2008)
Operator	Miami Sports and Entertainment Authority
Capacity	15,200 (basketball) 14,700 (hockey)
Construction
Broke ground	August 4, 1986 (1986-08-04) [1]
Opened	July 13, 1988 (1988-07-13) [2]
Closed	July 2008
Demolished	August–October 2008
Construction cost	$52.5 million ($135 million in 2023 dollars [3] )
Architect	Lloyd Jones Fillpot Associates
Structural engineer	Walter P. Moore [4]
General contractor	Linbeck Construction Company
Tenants
Miami Heat (NBA) (1988–1999) Miami Hurricanes (NCAA) (1988–2002) Florida Hammerheads (RHI) (1993) Florida Panthers (NHL) (1993–1998) Miami Hooters (AFL) (1993–1995) Miami Matadors (ECHL) (1998–1999) Miami Manatees (WHA2) (2003–2004) Miami Morays/Florida Frenzy (NIFL) (2005–2006)

Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). From 1988 until 1999, it also was the indoor arena for the Miami Hurricanes.

Seating capacity

Basketball

• 1988–1993 – 15,008
• 1993–2008 – 15,200

Ice hockey/arena football

• 14,703

Concerts

• Full house: 16,627
• 3/4 house: 9,878
• 1/2 house: 7,485
• In the round: 16,694
• the space in arena is 1,560

Other

• Banquets – 500
• Luxury suites – 26

Events

List of Events

• Julio Iglesias – July 13, 1988 (Arena's opening concert)
• Robert Plant – July 14, 1988, with Cheap Trick and October 23, 1990, with The Black Crowes
• AC/DC – August 11, 1988, with White Lion,
• Eazy-E - August 23,1989 (Eazy Duz It Tour),

February 21, 1991, with King's X and January 21, 1996, with The Poor

• Elton John – September 9–10, 1988, October 13–14, 1989, May 5, 1993 and May 4 and October 2, 1998
• Bob Dylan – September 23, 1988
• Frank Sinatra – September 24, 1988 and January 20–21, 1989, with Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli
• Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – October 1, 1988 (Broadcast Live on Showtime and later released on Home Video as The Homecoming Concert)
• The Grateful Dead – October 14, 1988 (two shows), October 25–26, 1989 and April 6–8, 1994
• Poison – October 15, 1988, with Lita Ford and Britny Fox, March 15, 1989, with Ratt and Tesla and March 23, 1991, with Slaughter
• The Moody Blues – November 9, 1988
• Neil Diamond – December 18–20, 1988, February 21–22, 1993 and December 9, 1996
• Duran Duran – January 14, 1989, with The Pursuit of Happiness
• Bon Jovi – February 9, 1989, with Skid Row and September 9, 1995
• Ratt – April 28, 1989, with Kix and Great White
• R.E.M. – April 29, 1989, with Drivin' N' Cryin' (Tracks from this show and from April 30th at Orlando Arena were broadcast on the radio) and September 8, 1995, with Radiohead
• Rod Stewart – April 30, 1989 and October 13, 1991
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – July 5, 1989, with The Replacements, October 22, 1991, with Chris Whitley and May 15 and 17, 1995, with Pete Droge
• Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band – August 5, 1989, with The Neville Brothers, January 24, 1991, with Greg "Fingers" Taylor & The Ladyfingers Revue and January 24, 1992, with Evangeline
• The Doobie Brothers – September 1, 1989
• Stevie Nicks – September 30, 1989, with The Hooters
• The Beach Boys – October 7, 1989, with Chicago
• Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble and Jeff Beck – November 21, 1989
• Mötley Crüe – January 21, 1990, with Raging Slab
• Rush – February 22, 1990, with Mr. Big, February 28, 1992, with Primus and February 27, 1994, with Candlebox (Recording of "Show Don't Tell" from 1994 show was included on Different Stages )
• Janet Jackson – March 1 (her debut concert) and July 12, 1990, with Chuckii Booker and January 20, 1994
• Billy Joel – March 12, 1990 and February 8, 14 and 18–19 and April 15–16, 1994
• Whitesnake – March 24, 1990
• Dolly Parton – April 21, 1990
• Aerosmith – April 22, 1990, with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and February 2, 1994, with Brother Cane
• David Bowie – April 27, 1990
• Depeche Mode – May 31, 1990, with Nitzer Ebb, October 2, 1993, with The The and November 13, 1998, with Stabbing Westward
• Heart – June 8, 1990
• MC Hammer – June 30, 1990 Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em World Tour, April 10, 1992 Too Legit to Quit World Tour
• Eric Clapton – July 21–23, 1990, May 25, 1992, September 5–6, 1995, with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and April 25, 1998, with Distant Cousins
• The B-52's – July 28, 1990
• KISS – August 3, 1990, with Danger Danger and Slaughter, October 31, 1992 and September 17, 1996, with The Verve Pipe
• Billy Idol – September 29, 1990, with Faith No More
• Fleetwood Mac – October 24, 1990, with Squeeze
• Judas Priest – December 20, 1990, with Testament and Megadeth
• INXS – January 22 and February 5, 1991
• Sting – February 27, 1991 and February 23, 1994, with Melissa Etheridge
• Gloria Estefan – March 1–2 and 6–7, 1991 and September 20–22 and 24, 1996 (Sept 20–21 gigs were filmed live on HBO Telecast, also released on VHS/DVD as The Evolution Tour: Live in Miami)
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse – March 9, 1991, with Sonic Youth
• Cinderella – March 11, 1991
• ZZ Top – April 5–7, 1991, with Dreams So Real
• Scorpions – May 26, 1991, with Great White and Trixter
• Whitney Houston – June 11, 1991, with After 7
• David Lee Roth – June 15, 1991, with Cinderella and Extreme
• Don Henley – June 29, 1991
• Queensrÿche – July 3, 1991 and June 25, 1995, with Type O Negative
• Yes – July 6, 1991 and August 10, 1994
• Slayer – July 14, 1991, with Megadeth, Anthrax and Alice in Chains
• The Allman Brothers Band – October 31, 1991, with Little Feat
• Van Halen – December 13, 1991, with Alice in Chains and March 17, 1995
• U2 – March 1, 1992, with The Pixies
• Metallica – March 14, 1992, with Metal Church and April 19, 1997, with Corrosion of Conformity
• Bryan Adams – April 12, with The Storm and December 4, 1992
• The Cure – June 3–4, 1992, with The Cranes and August 30, 1996
• Michael Bolton – July 30, 1992, with Celine Dion
• Ozzy Osbourne – August 14, 1992, with Slaughter and Ugly Kid Joe
• Tesla – October 1, 1992, with FireHouse
• Bruce Springsteen – November 24, 1992
• Def Leppard – February 2, 1993
• Peter Gabriel – August 4, 1993
• Tina Turner – August 22, 1993
• Sade – September 22, 1993
• Mariah Carey – November 3, 1993 (her debut concert)
• Phil Collins – May 30–31, 1994 and March 3, 1997
• Meat Loaf & His Neverland Express – July 29, 1994
• Steely Dan – August 21, 1994
• Luis Miguel – October 6–9, 1994, October 9–10, 1995, November 30, 1997, February 7–8, 1998 and February 16–17, 2002
• Nine Inch Nails – November 20, 1994, with Marilyn Manson and The Jim Rose Circus and May 17, 2000, with A Perfect Circle
• The Eagles – February 27, 1995
• Page & Plant – March 6, 1995 and May 22, 1998
• Boston – June 30, 1995
• Melissa Etheridge – July 3, 1995, with Joan Osborne
• Live – July 30, 1995, with Buffalo Tom
• AC/DC - January 21, 1996, with The Poor
• White Zombie – February 2, 1996, with Filter
• Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – February 9, 1996
• Garth Brooks – April 18–20, 1996
• LL Cool J – June 7, 1996, with R. Kelly, Xscape and Solo
• The 1996 Stanley Cup Finals – June 8 and 10–11 (Florida Panthers vs. Colorado Avalanche) This was the first appearance the Panthers made in the Stanley Cup Finals. They were swept by the Avalanche 4-0.
• Pantera – July 6, 1996, with White Zombie
• The Smashing Pumpkins – November 17, 1996, with Garbage
• New Edition – January 24, 1997, with Keith Sweat, Blackstreet and 702
• Bush – March 20, 1997, with Veruca Salt
• Prince & The New Power Generation – August 15, 1997
• The Fugees – September 13, 1997
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – September 21, 1997
• Enrique Iglesias – December 12–13, 1997
• The Backstreet Boys – July 10, 1998, with Aaron Carter
• Brooks & Dunn – July 17, 1998, with Reba McEntire, Terri Clark and David Kersh
• The Family Values Tour – May 11, 1999
• Los Van Van – October 9, 1999
• Ricky Martin – October 20–21, 1999, with Jessica Simpson
• System of a Down – November 5, 1999, with Limp Bizkit and Method Man
• Alejandro Fernández – November 14, 1999, with Elvis Crespo
• Shakira – April 22, 2000
• Blink-182 – May 19, 2000, with Bad Religion and Fenix TX
• Marc Anthony – July 27–29, 2000
• Juan Luis Guerra – August 27, 2000 and May 9, 2005, with Ricardo Montaner and Gian Marco Zignago
• Carlos Vives – September 16, 2000
• Juan Gabriel – November 18, 2000, with Ana Gabriel
• Vicente Fernández – July 21, 2001, with Alejandro Fernández
• Marcos Witt – May 21, 2002 for Dios de Pactos (God of Covenants)
• Sasha & John Digweed – March 23, 2002, with Jimmy Van M
• Maná – October 25, 2002
• Marco Antonio Solís – May 25, 2003
• The Damned – August 13, 2003
• Berlin – October 4, 2003
• Chayanne – April 2, 2004
• Disney on Ice – December 6, 2004
• Kutless – March 5, 2005
• Wisin & Yandel – July 9, 2005
• The SCREAM Tour – September 4, 2005
• Molotov – November 6, 2005, with Rata Blanca and Jarabe de Palo

References

1. Liff, Robert A. (August 5, 1986). "Miami Breaks Ground For 16,000-seat Arena". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved March 28, 2012.
2. "Miami Arena's Opening Bash is a Hit With Colorful Crowd". Miami Herald . July 14, 1988. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
3. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
4. Walter P Moore – Arenas (archived)

External links

• ^ "Miami Arena" Ballparks.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-21.

Events and tenants
Preceded by none	Home of the Miami Heat 1988–1999	Succeeded by Kaseya Center
Preceded by none	Home of the Florida Panthers 1993–1998	Succeeded by FLA Live Arena
Preceded by Astrodome	Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1990	Succeeded by Charlotte Coliseum