Arena Digest Hosting the Greatest Shows on Earth

{jathumbnail off} A future Edmonton Oilers (NHL) arena would feature a light and airy design, with plenty of places to grab a brew and watch a game, according to concept sketches released by ICON Venue Group. The renderings, presented to the Edmonton City Council this week, envision an arena with an open concourse, plenty of windows, fewer suites than the ... Read More »

Two weeks after the Orlando City Council approved a lease for an ECHL team at Amway Center, the league announced an expansion franchise was unanimously approved for the 2012-2013 season. The Orlando membership is owned by Orlando Pro Hockey Operations, L.P., an entity controlled by Joe Haleski, Bob Ohrablo and Jason Siegel. We reported on the lease two weeks ago. ... Read More »

When we visited Amway Center, we expressed hope that a hockey tenant would be forthcoming someday in the impressive facility. Our wish came true: Orlando has approved a three-year lease for an ECHL team, beginning in 2012-2013. The Orlando City Council approved the Amway Center lease today. The team will be owned by Orlando Pro Hockey Operations LP, headed by ... Read More »

When the city takes down Amway Arena, the former home of the Orlando Magic (NBA), it will done over a period of several months, with the “disassembly” performed in an environmentally sensitive manner. The arena, made obsolete when Amway Center opened, is slated to be torn down before the end of the year, according to the Orlando Sentinel. But it ... Read More »

{jathumbnail off} The new Brooklyn arena for the relocating New Jersey Nets (NBA) continues to generate controversy; community activists opposing Atlantic Yards won a court decision but failed to persuade a judge to stop construction on Barclays Center. On Wednesday, state Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman held that Empire State Development Corporation used bad numbers to determine the environmental impact ... Read More »

If NBA owners impose a player lockout at the end of the season, it could throw the arena industry into turmoil — but it could also draw some unexpected artists on the road for new arena tours. In Orlando, bookers at Amway Center will wait until August 1 to issue a final fall schedule, giving the league some time to ... Read More »

It was a week where Glendale managed to keep the Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) by paying Matthew Hulsizer more than what the team is worth, when MSG upturned the Los Angeles music scene by negotiating a sale of the Fabulous Forum, and we visited Amway Center, the stunning new home of the Orlando Magic (NBA). The most popular stories of the ... Read More »

{jathumbnail off} From the outside, Amway Center looks like a fairly normal arena, maybe a little nicer than most and more than suitable as the frame for plenty of videoboard advertising targeting thousands of drivers passing daily on I-4. Walk inside the arena to the seating bowl, though, and one thing will be immediately clear: the new home of the ... Read More »

It was pretty inevitable that the Orlando Magic (NBA) would sign a major sponsorship with Disney Parks, purveyor of all things sparkly in the Magic Kingdom. And so it came to be. Disney Parks is now a “Champions of the Community” sponsor for the franchise and Amway Center, as the two held a press conference yesterday to announce the deal. ... Read More »

When Amway Center opens next season, Orlando Magic fans are going to be in for a rude surprise if they want to park close to the arena: the city of Orlando may double rates at two parking garages. The city is mulling a $20 charge for parking at two arenas adjacent to Amway Center, slated to open next season a ... Read More »