Kaseya Center

Kaseya Center[6] (formerly American Airlines Arena, FTX Arena, and Miami-Dade Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located along Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida and currently named by the company Kaseya.

Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center is located in Miami
Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center
Location in Miami
Kaseya Center is located in Florida
Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center
Location in Florida
Kaseya Center is located in the United States
Kaseya Center
Kaseya Center
Location in the United States
Former namesAmerican Airlines Arena (1999–2021)
FTX Arena (2021–2023)
Miami-Dade Arena (2023)
Address601 Biscayne Boulevard
LocationMiami, Florida, U.S.
Coordinates25°46′53″N 80°11′17″W
Public transitMetrorail (Miami-Dade County) Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre
Brightline MiamiCentral
Metromover Freedom Tower
Metromover Park West
Parking939 parking spaces
OwnerMiami-Dade County
OperatorBasketball Properties Ltd.
CapacityBasketball: 19,600;
16,500 (Without upper levels)
Concerts: 5,000–20,021
Hockey: 14,447
SurfaceMulti-surface
Construction
Broke groundFebruary 6, 1998 (1998-02-06)
OpenedDecember 31, 1999 (1999-12-31)
Construction costUS$213 million
ArchitectArquitectonica
360 Architecture (formerly Heinlein Schrock Stearns)
Project managerParsons Brinckerhoff
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti
Services engineerFlack+Kurtz[1]
General contractorMorse-Diesel/Odebrecht/Facchina[2]
Main contractorsJohn J. Kirlin, LLC[3]
Simpson Constructors[4]
Crown Corr Inc.[5]
Tenants
Miami Heat (NBA) (2000–present)
Miami Sol (WNBA) (2000–2002)
The Arena during the national anthem before a Miami Heat playoff game
The arena during the national anthem before a 2022 Miami Heat playoff game

Construction began on February 6, 1998, for Miami Arena's replacement venue. As the home arena for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association, it was designed by the architecture firms Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture.

The arena is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at Government Center station via free transfers to Metromover Omni Loop, providing direct service to Freedom Tower and Park West stations. It is also within walking distance from the Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre Metrorail station.

The arena has 2,105 club seats, 80 luxury suites, and 76 private boxes. The Waterfront Theater, Florida's largest theater, is housed within the arena and seats between 3,000 and 5,800 patrons. The theater can be configured for concerts, family events, musical theatre and other stage shows. American Airlines, which has a hub at Miami International Airport, maintains a travel center at the venue.[7]

In September 2019, it was reported that the arena would have a new name in 2020.[8][9][10] In March 2021, FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, acquired the naming rights to the arena for $135 million.[11][12] The NBA approved the deal in early April, and the arena was fully renamed to FTX Arena in June 2021.[13][14] Following the bankruptcy of FTX in November 2022, the deal was terminated,[15] effective January 2023.[16] After three months under the temporary name Miami-Dade Arena, a 17-year naming rights agreement was reached with Miami-based software company Kaseya, becoming the Kaseya Center in April 2023.[17]

History

Kaseya Center opened as the American Airlines Arena on December 31, 1999, and its construction cost was $213 million. Architectural design team members included George Heinlein, Cristian Petschen, Reinaldo Borges, and Lance Simon. The arena's opening was inaugurated with a concert by Gloria Estefan. Two days later, on January 2, 2000, the Miami Heat played its first game in the new arena by defeating the Orlando Magic 111–103.

The main façade of the arena at night

As part of its sponsorship arrangement, American Airlines had a giant aircraft painted atop the arena's roof, with an American Airlines logo in the center. The design was visible from airplanes taking off and landing at Miami International Airport, where American has a hub. The arena also has luxury skyboxes called "Flagship Lounges", a trademark originally used for American's premium-class lounges at certain airports. Until the date that the arena was renamed in 2020–2021, the arena used the 1967-2013 logo of American Airlines.

Local sportscasters often referred to the arena as the "Triple-A". Some sports reporters on the local news stations such as WSVN have referred to the arena as "A3" (A cubed). The arena is known for its unusual scoreboard, designed by artist Christopher Janney. Drawing on the underwater anemone forms, the scoreboard also changes colors depending on the atmosphere. For concerts in an arena configuration, end stage capacity is 12,202 for 180° shows, 15,402 for 270° shows, and 18,309 for 360° shows. For center stage concerts the arena can seat 19,146.

The Miami Heat has not had to pay to use the $357 million venue, which sits on $38 million of county land; the county has paid $64 million in operating subsidies. "It was never a good deal," says former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson, who opposed the new arena in 1996. "There are certain politicians who just get stars in their eyes and don't really think about what the real cost is going to be."

WTVJ, the city's NBC owned-and-operated station in Miami, had their Downtown Miami Studios in the back of the arena from 2001 till 2011.

On September 10, 2019, it was reported that American Airlines said that it would not renew its naming rights upon expiration at the end of 2019. The new naming rights contract with a sponsor, which at that time had yet to be determined, would be a ten-year/six-month deal lasting from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2030 (to time with the end of the 2029–30 NBA season).[18] As of December 2020, the naming rights had not been sold, and the arena continued to use the American Airlines Arena name. The American Airlines Arena court decals were removed from the Heat's floor before the 2020–21 season and replaced temporarily with the logo of team/league vehicle sponsor Kia Motors. In March 2021, FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, acquired the naming rights to the arena for $135 million.[11][12] The NBA approved the deal in early April, and the new name of FTX Arena was fully adopted in June 2021, just after the Miami Heat were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs.[14]

On November 11, 2022, FTX, along with nearly 200 related companies, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Later that same day, the Miami Heat, along with Miami-Dade County, announced that they were terminating all affiliations with FTX, and plan to find a new naming rights partner for the arena.[19] The FTX Arena name was officially terminated on January 11, 2023.[20] The communications team for Miami mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced that until FTX branding is removed and a new naming rights sponsor is selected, the arena would simply be known as "Miami-Dade Arena."[16] On April 4, 2023, Kaseya, a Miami-based software company, acquired the naming rights to the arena in a 17-year, $117.4 million agreement; under the terms of the contract, the county receives the majority of the naming rights revenue while the Heat receives $2 million annually.[17]

Accessibility

Transportation

The Arena is in walking distance of Freedom Tower Metromover station.

The arena as seen from Freedom Tower station

Parking on-site

The arena features 939 parking spaces, with those spaces reserved for premium seat and Dewar's 12 Clubhouse ticket holders during Heat games. ParkJockey manages the arena's on-site parking.[21][22]

Notable events

Basketball

The arena during Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals

Professional wrestling

The arena hosted the WCW Uncensored pay-per-view in 2000. Four major WWE pay-per-view events have been held at the arena: the Royal Rumble in 2006, Survivor Series in 2007 and 2010, and Hell in a Cell in 2013. It has also hosted various episodes of Raw and SmackDown.

Mixed martial arts

On April 25, 2003, the arena hosted Florida's first UFC event, UFC 42: Sudden Impact.[23] The UFC returned to the arena after twenty years on April 8, 2023, for UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2.[24]

Ringling Bros. Circus

On January 14, 2017, Feld Entertainment Inc. held a private company meeting at the then American Airlines Arena to announce the closure of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. Employees of the "Greatest Show on Earth" were informed earlier in the day that a "special meeting" would be held following the final performance of the day in Miami. At approx 10:30pm, employees gathered in a top floor suite at the arena to be addressed by CEO Kenneth Feld. During this meeting, both company employees and the press were informed for the first time that the circus would close after 146 years of operation. The following day, the circus shattered attendance records, performing three sold-out shows before leaving Miami in the early hours of Monday, January 16, 2017. A frenzy of press gathered inside and outside of the arena to document what was, by this time, international breaking news.

Other sports

Music

Shakira has performed the most shows in the venue among female artists.

Awards ceremonies

The Kaseya Center is the home of the annual Premio Lo Nuestro Latin music awards since 2001. The awards are held on a Thursday night in late February. The Kaseya Center hosted the Latin Grammy Awards in 2003 and in 2020.

References

  1. "Westchester Reform Temple, Rogers Marvel Architects". www.architecturalrecord.com.
  2. "Facchina Group of Companies, LLC Facchina Construction Company". Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  3. AmericanAirlines Arena Archived 2011-09-14 at the Wayback Machine Kirlin
  4. Past Projects Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Simpson Constructors
  5. AmericanAirlines Arena Crown Corr
  6. "Heat inks partnership deal with Kaseya". NBA.com. April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  7. "Miami And Coral Gables, FL Travel Center Archived 2009-04-06 at the Wayback Machine." American Airlines. Retrieved on April 9, 2009.
  8. Arnold, Kyle (September 11, 2019). "American Airlines giving up naming rights to Miami arena". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. Winderman, Ira (September 11, 2019). "American Airlines not renewing naming rights to Heat arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. Alvarez, Stefan (September 12, 2019). "Miami Heat: AmericanAirlines Arena to be renamed". All U Can Heat. FanSided. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  11. "It's Official! Miami Heat Home To Be Named FTX Arena". WFOR-TV. March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  12. Vela, Hatzel; Torres, Andrea (March 26, 2021). "NBA still needs to approve Miami-Dade's $135M deal with FTX to rename Miami Heat's home". WPLG. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  13. "Welcome To FTX Arena". Heat.com (Press release). NBA Media Ventures, LLC. June 4, 2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  14. Vela, Hatzel (April 7, 2021). "NBA approves deal to name Miami Heat's home building FTX Arena". WPLG. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  15. Winderman, Ira (November 11, 2022). "Heat, Miami-Dade terminate FTX deal, seek new arena naming rights; FTX branding already being removed". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  16. "Miami Heat's home to be temporarily called Miami-Dade Arena". ESPN. January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  17. "Heat arena, formerly FTX, renamed Kaseya Center on 17-year deal". ESPN. April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  18. Scheckner, Jesse (September 10, 2019). "it won't be called AmericanAirlines Arena next year". Miami today. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  19. "Miami HEAT on Instagram: "Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT have released the following statement"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  20. Reynolds, Tim (January 11, 2023). "Miami-Dade County wins right to strip FTX name off Heat arena". NBA. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  21. "The HEAT Group Teams Up With New Parking App, ParkJockey" (Press release). Miami Heat. December 4, 2014.
  22. Sentenac, Hannah (2014-10-30). "Avoid Parking Hell at Miami Heat Games With ParkJockey App". Miami News Times. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  23. Duffy, Ben (April 25, 2020). "This Day in MMA History: April 25". Sherdog. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  24. Raimondi, Marc (April 9, 2023). "Israel Adesanya knocks out Alex Pereira to recapture UFC title". ABC News. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  25. "Arena description page on Thornton Tomasetti website". Thornton Tomasetti. January 1999. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  26. "American Airlines Arena- Phish.net".
  27. Lindner, Emily (March 28, 2015). "Justin Bieber Joined Ariana Grande Onstage And She Rapped Big Sean's Part On 'As Long As You Love Me'". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  28. Sonawane, Vishakha (March 16, 2016). "Rihanna Performs Raunchy Moves With Drake At 'Anti' Tour Amid Dating Rumors". International Business Times. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  29. Chatterjee, Kika (June 11, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots, more dedicate songs to Christina Grimmie's memory—watch". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  30. Crandell, Ben (2016-10-25). "Review: Adele dazzles Miami crowd, Hillary Clinton". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  31. "Todo lo que debes saber sobre los conciertos de RBD en Miami como parte de su gira "Soy Rebelde Tour"". Miami Hispano. 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
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