BB&T Center (Sunrise, Florida)

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This article is about the arena located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For information about the skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina, see BB&T Center. For the arena at Northern Kentucky University, see BB&T Arena. For the amphitheater in New Jersey, see BB&T Pavilion.
BB&T Center
BB&T Center logo.svg
The BB&T Center located in Sunrise, Florida
BB&T Center in 2007
BB&T Center is located in Florida
BB&T Center
BB&T Center
Location in Florida
Former namesNational Car Rental Center (1998–2002)
Office Depot Center (2002–2005)
Bank Atlantic Center (2005–2012)
Address1 Panther Parkway
LocationFort Lauderdale, Florida
Coordinates26°9′30″N 80°19′32″W / 26.15833°N 80.32556°W / 26.15833; -80.32556Coordinates: 26°9′30″N 80°19′32″W / 26.15833°N 80.32556°W / 26.15833; -80.32556
Parking7,045 total spaces
OwnerBroward County, Florida
OperatorArena Operating Company, Ltd.
CapacityBasketball: 20,737
Ice Hockey: 19,250 (17,040 with seat tarps)
Arena Football: 19,779
Concerts:
*End stage 180°: 15,207
*End stage 270°: 19,119
*End stage 360°: 21,371
*Center stage: 22,457
*Theatre: 3,000[1]
Field size872,000 sq ft (81,000 m2)
Construction
Broke groundNovember 8, 1996 (1996-11-08)
OpenedOctober 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
Construction costUS$184 million[2]
($305 million in 2020 dollars[3])
ArchitectEllerbe Becket
Project managerUpton & Partners[4]
Structural engineerWalter P. Moore & Associates
General contractorArena Development Company (A joint venture of Centex Rooney/Huber, Hunt & Nichols/Morse Diesel)[4]
Tenants
Florida Panthers (NHL) 1998–present
Florida ThunderCats (NPSL) 1998–1999
Florida Bobcats (AFL) 1999–2001
Florida Pit Bulls (ABA) 2005–2006
Miami Caliente (LFL) 2009–2010
Website
www.thebbtcenter.com

The BB&T Center (previously known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center and BankAtlantic Center) is an indoor arena located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. It was completed in 1998, at a cost of US$185 million, almost entirely publicly financed, and features 70 suites and 2,623 club seats.[2]

History[]

An aerial shot of the BB&T Center

In 1992, Wayne Huizenga obtained a new NHL franchise that would eventually become the Florida Panthers.[5] Until the team had an arena of their own, they initially played at the now-demolished Miami Arena, sharing the venue with the NBA's Miami Heat.[6] Sunrise City Manager Pat Salerno made public a $167-million financing and construction plan for a civic center near the Sawgrass Expressway in December 1995,[7] and Broward County approved construction in February 1996.[8] In June 1996, the site was chosen by the Panthers, and in July, Alex Muxo gathered more than a dozen architects, engineers and contractors for the first major design brainstorming session. Architects Ellerbe Becket were given 26 months to build the arena, which had to be ready by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the 1998–99 NHL season. Despite never having designed a facility that had taken less than 31 months from start to finish, they accepted the job.[5]

Seventy suites were completed with wet bars, closed circuit monitors and leather upholstery. Averaging over 650 square feet (60 m2), the suites are the largest in the country for this type of facility. Also home to private lounge box seating, all construction activity was generated by over fifty subcontractors and 2.3 million man hours without a single injury.[4] Known as the Broward County Civic Center during construction, the naming rights were won in July 1998 by National Car Rental — a company purchased by Huizenga in January 1997 — leading to the venue being named the National Car Rental Center.[9] A certificate of occupancy was given on September 12, 1998, and the arena opened on October 3, 1998 with a Celine Dion concert. The next day, Elton John performed, and on October 9, 1998, the Florida Panthers had their first home game at their new arena.[10]

As NRC's new parent company, ANC Rental, went bankrupt in 2002, the Panthers sought a new sponsor for the arena.[11] It became the Office Depot Center in the summer of 2002. (Office Depot is an office supply retailing company, which is headquartered in nearby Boca Raton.) Just over three years later, the arena's name changed again; it became the BankAtlantic Center on September 6, 2005. (BankAtlantic was headquartered in nearby Fort Lauderdale.)

Because BB&T purchased BankAtlantic in July 2012, the arena was rebranded as the BB&T Center.[12][13] In February 2019, it was announced that BB&T is merging with SunTrust Banks, to form Truist Financial Corporation.[14]

BB&T Center is currently the largest arena in Florida and second-largest in the Southeastern United States, behind Greensboro Coliseum. During the 2011 offseason, the BB&T Center replaced the original green seats in the lower bowl with new red seats, as a part of the Panthers' "We See Red" campaign.[15]

In October 2012, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment completed installation of the Club Red seating sections encompassing the center ice seats during hockey games. It is an all-inclusive nightclub experience following the trend of other sports and entertainment venues in incorporating high-end seating sections and clubs.[16]

The ADT Club, located on the club level, offers food and beverage. The Duffy's Sky Club at the BB&T Center encompasses approximately 8,000 square feet (740 m2) and can cater to a maximum of about 500 guests. The Penalty Box offers fans another seating and dining option inside the BB&T Center. The Legends Lounge is a restaurant located on the Lexus Suite Level, and offers sit down service.[citation needed]

On May 14, 2013, Broward County voted to fund a new scoreboard for the county-owned arena.[17] On October 11, 2013, the scoreboard made its debut for the Panthers' 2013–14 home opener.[18]

Regular events[]

Inside the then-named Bank Atlantic Center during a Florida Panthers game in 2008

In addition to the Panthers, the arena was formerly home to the Florida Pit Bulls of the American Basketball Association, the Miami Caliente of the Lingerie Football League, and the Florida Bobcats of the AFL, along with the only season of the Florida ThunderCats. This arena also serves as the host for the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic held every December in conjunction with the namesake college football game.

Concerts[]

Date Artist Opening act(s) Tour / Concert name Attendance Revenue Notes
October 3, 1998 Celine Dion André-Philippe Gagnon Let's Talk About Love World Tour — — Arena's inaugural event
March 30, 1999 Marilyn Manson Jack Off Jill Rock Is Dead Tour — — Homecoming concert
December 5, 1999 Backstreet Boys - Into the Millennium Tour - - Originally scheduled for September 14 & 15, 1999, but was postponed due to Hurricane Floyd
December 6, 1999
December 31, 1999 Bee Gees — — — — It was to be their last full arena concert as a group
March 9, 2000 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — Reunion Tour 34,148 / 38,194 $2,057,142
March 10, 2000
August 1, 2000 Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Eminem Up in Smoke Tour
October 4, 2000 Sarah Brightman — La Luna World Tour — — The concert was recorded and released for PBS as well as video in VHS and later on DVD, entitled La Luna: Live in Concert.
January 22, 2001 Backstreet Boys Myra
Krystal Harris		 Black & Blue Tour — —
January 23, 2001
January 24, 2001
March 3, 2001 Kid Rock Fuel American Badass Tour[19] — —
March 24, 2001 U2 The Corrs Elevation Tour 37,969 / 37,969 $3,032,028 These two shows were the opening dates of the Elevation Tour.
March 26, 2001
July 20, 2001 Dave Matthews Band Junior Brown — — — There was a power interruption during the performance; they have not returned to the venue since.[20]
August 14, 2001 Madonna — Drowned World Tour 31,572 / 31,572 $3,603,573
August 15, 2001
May 18, 2002 Paul McCartney — Driving World Tour 29,321 / 29,321 $3,752,002
May 19, 2002
September 30, 2004 Phil Collins — — — This was the final stop on the North American leg of the tour.
July 28, 2004 Madonna — Reinvention World Tour 28,208 / 28,208 $3,834,522
July 29, 2004
August 26, 2005 Green Day — American Idiot World Tour — —
October 28, 2006 Barbra Streisand — Streisand: The Tour 31,931 / 31,931 $9,572,573 Highest grossing events in venue history
October 30, 2006
November 20, 2006 The Who — The Who Tour 2006-2007 — — Recorded a live CD as part of the Encore Series
July 22, 2007 Beyoncé — The Beyoncé Experience — —
April 26, 2008 Bon Jovi — Lost Highway Tour 18,307 / 18,307 $1,554,550 The concert was delayed several hours when someone called in a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax.[21]
May 2, 2008 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — Magic Tour — — Rescheduled from April 18 due to death of Danny Federici.
August 3, 2008 George Michael — 25 Live — — It was his first South Florida concert appearance in 20 years
November 2, 2008 Tina Turner — Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour 12,769 / 12,769 $1,468,461
November 9, 2008 Coldplay Sleepercar Viva la Vida Tour 15,096 / 15,096 $1,258,098 Show was initially scheduled for early September of that year but was delayed due to production issues
June 29, 2009 Beyoncé — I Am... World Tour 12,629 / 13,209 $1,015,893
September 5, 2009 Depeche Mode — Tour of the Universe 12,665 / 12,665 — The show was recorded for the group's live albums project Recording the Universe
September 13, 2009 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — Working on a Dream Tour 11,586 / 12,839 $1,049,482
September 25, 2010 Shakira — The Sun Comes Out World Tour 12,994 / 12,994 $1,138,788
January 20, 2011 Linkin Park — A Thousand Suns Tour 10,150 / 10,150 $550,558
May 7, 2011 Kylie Minogue — Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour 4,000 / 4,441 $253,756
February 25, 2013 P!nk The Hives The Truth About Love Tour 13,732 / 13,732 $979,399
April 20, 2013 Rihanna ASAP Rocky Diamonds World Tour 13,959 / 13,959 $1,042,363
July 9, 2013 Beyoncé Luke James The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 12,269 / 12,269 $1,328,330
September 15, 2013 Depeche Mode — Delta Machine Tour 10,760 / 10,760 $683,192
April 29, 2014 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — High Hopes Tour 14,327 / 18,859 $1,434,757
May 4, 2014 Lady Gaga Lady Starlight ArtRave: The Artpop Ball 12,977 / 12,977 $1,173,695 Gaga was also going to perform on March 15, 2013, for her Born This Way Ball, but the show was cancelled due to her hip injury
May 17, 2014 Cher Cyndi Lauper Dressed to Kill Tour 12,178 / 12,178 $1,348,709
July 2, 2014 Katy Perry Capital Cities
Ferras		 Prismatic World Tour 12,888 / 12,888 $1,382,655
July 18, 2015 Ariana Grande Prince Royce Honeymoon Tour N/A N/A
February 16, 2016 Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — The River Tour 18,658 / 18,658 $2,174,905
February 24, 2016 Iron Maiden The Raven Age The Book of Souls World Tour 12,478 / 12,478 $954,111
April 8, 2016 Pearl Jam — Pearl Jam 2016 North America Tour — — [22][23]
April 13, 2016 Pentatonix Us The Duo
AJ Lehrman		 Pentatonix World Tour 2016 4,609 / 7,008 $250,805
July 1, 2016 Demi Lovato
Nick Jonas		 Marshmello Future Now Tour 7,251 / 10,314 $400,809
July 2, 2016 Twenty One Pilots Mutemath
Chef'Special		 Emotional Roadshow World Tour 11,705 / 11,916 $393,775
December 3, 2016 Barbra Streisand — Barbra: The Music, The Mem'ries, The Magic 12,262 / 12,262 $3,247,670 Third highest-grossing concert in venue history
April 15, 2017 Panic! at the Disco MisterWives Death of a Bachelor Tour N/A N/A
February 1, 2018 Lana Del Rey Kali Uchis LA to the Moon Tour 7,241 / 13,270 $589,582
February 26, 2018 Dead & Company — Fall Tour 2017 12,437 /12,848 $1,365,862 The show was originally scheduled for December 8, 2017 but was postponed due to John Mayer needing an emergency appendectomy. The band paid tribute to the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting which took place the previous week in nearby Parkland.
April 25, 2018 P!nk Beautiful Trauma World Tour 15,999 / 15,999 $2,184,919
June 9, 2018 Harry Styles Kacey Musgraves Harry Styles: Live on Tour[24] 16,678 / 16,678 $1,302,904
July 31, 2018 Panic! at the Disco — Pray for the Wicked Tour — —
August 15, 2018 Shakira Salva El Dorado World Tour 10,693 / 10,693 $1,058,920
October 5, 2018 Phil Collins N/A Not Dead Yet Tour 13,750 / 13,750 $2,079,690
November 4, 2018 Twenty One Pilots Awolnation
Max Frost		 Bandito Tour — —
November 23, 2018 Elton John N/A Farewell Yellow Brick Road 14,182 / 14,182 $2,055,879
March 1, 2019 P!nk Julia Michaels Beautiful Trauma World Tour 14,883 / 14,883 $2,463,165 Beginning of the tour's second North American leg due to high demand. One of the largest single night grosses of the venue's history.
March 16, 2019 Elton John N/A Farewell Yellow Brick Road 14,517 / 14,517 $2,109,042
July 9, 2019 Jeff Lynne's ELO Dhani Harrison Jeff Lynne's ELO Tour 2019 — —

Notable events[]

NHL[]

  • The Florida Panthers hosted the 2001 NHL Entry Draft & 2015 NHL Entry Draft at the arena.
  • The arena served as the site for the 2003 NHL All-Star Game on February 2, 2003. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 6–5, in a shootout victory. It marked the first "official" shootout in the NHL.

Boxing, mixed martial arts[]

The arena has held boxing and mixed martial arts events such as EliteXC: Heat featuring the main event of Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice took place on October 4, 2008. On February 15, 2009, a lightweight bout between Nate Campbell and Ali Funeka took place in the arena.

Strikeforce MMA made their debut at the arena on January 30, 2010, with the Strikeforce: Miami event on Showtime.[25]

UFC on FX 3 took place at the arena on June 8, 2012. It was the first UFC event ever held at the arena.[26]

UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Hermansson (also known as UFC Fight Night 150 or UFC on ESPN+ 8) took place at the arena on April 27, 2019. It was the first time UFC returned to the arena since 2012.

Professional wrestling[]

Rodeo[]

The Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to the BB&T Center in September 2005 for a bull riding event, which was won by Kody Lostroh (who ultimately became the Rookie of the Year that same year).

Other events[]

  • On May 23, 2008, Senator Barack Obama held a rally as part of his presidential primary campaign.
  • Several months later on October 29, Obama returned to the arena to hold a rally as part of his presidential campaign. The rally was presented as a paid programm airing on several major broadcast and cable networks live.
  • On August 10, 2016, President Donald Trump held a rally as part of his presidential campaign, and addressed the nation live on several television networks.
  • On February 21, 2018, the venue hosted a CNN town hall meeting on gun control in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that occurred a week earlier; it was attended by 7,000 people, including survivors of the shooting and relatives of the victims.[27]
  • On June 27, 2018, rapper XXXTentacion's fan memorial and public funeral was held at the arena.[28][29]
  • On November 26, 2019, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally.

Arena information[]

Seating[]

  • Basketball: 20,737
  • Hockey: 19,250
  • End-Stage Concerts: 15,207 – 23,000
  • Center-Stage Concerts: 25,000
  • 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of arena floor space for trade shows and other events such as circuses and ice shows.[2]

Parking and loading docks[]

  • Total: 7,045 Spaces (Does not include production or bus/oversized vehicle parking)
  • General Parking: 4,787 Spaces
  • Suite/Club Seat Parking: 1,430 Spaces
  • Garage: 226 Spaces
  • Disabled Parking: 90 Spaces
  • Event Staff: 512 Spaces
  • Truck Doors: 5
  • Waste Removal Docks: 2[2]

Food and novelty concessions[]

  • Plaza Level: 3 Food Courts and Pantherland Retail
  • Mezzanine Level: 3 Food Courts and two Points of Purchase Kiosks[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Facts and Figures". BB&T Center. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  3. ^ 1634 to 1699: 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 ofthe 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 January 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "History". BB&T Center. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Panthers History: Arenas". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  6. ^ Lapointe, Joe (December 11, 1992). "N.H.L. Is Going to Disneyland, and South Florida, Too". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  7. ^ "Sunrise Gets Serious About Arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. December 16, 1995. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  8. ^ "Prospects Good For Broward Arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. February 1, 1996. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  9. ^ Snell, Alan; Fleshler, David (July 11, 1998). "Huizenga's National Car Rental To Be Name Gracing Hockey Arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  10. ^ Nolin, Robert (September 12, 1998). "Sunrise Arena Ok'd For Occupancy". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  11. ^ Talalay, Sarah (August 16, 2002). "Panthers Want Car Rental Name Taken Off Arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  12. ^ "BB&T Center Naming Rights Headline Long-term Florida Panthers-BB&T Partnership". NHL.com (Press release). Florida Panthers. September 10, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  13. ^ Richards, George (September 11, 2012). "Florida Panthers' Arena Now BB&T Center". The Miami Herald. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  14. ^ "SunTrust, BB&T have their names on sports". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 7, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  15. ^ "Panthers See Red In BankAtlantic Center Lower Bowl". National Hockey League. July 25, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  16. ^ Valverde, Miriam (January 29, 2013). "Club Red elevates experiences at BB&T Center". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  17. ^ Nolin, Robert (May 14, 2013). "County to Fund New Scoreboard for Panthers Arena". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  18. ^ Davis, Craig (October 11, 2013). "Huizenga Joins Viola to Christen New Panthers Era Before 6-3 Win". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  19. ^ "Kid Rock/Fuel".
  20. ^ "Tour: 2001 summer". DMB Almanac. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  21. ^ Haas, Brian; Gollan, Jennifer (April 27, 2008). "Cell Phone Bomb Threat Delays Bon Jovi Concert". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  22. ^ "Review: Pearl Jam opens 2016 North American tour at the BB&T Center in Sunrise". South Florida. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "Live Review: Pearl Jam kicks off tour at Ft. Lauderdale's BBT Center". Consequence of Sound. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  24. ^ "Harry Styles Expands Tour Into 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  25. ^ "Strikeforce to Florida in 2010 with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Herschel Walker". mmajunkie.com. 2009-11-19. Archived from the original on 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  26. ^ "UFC on FX 3 heads to Fort Lauderdale's BankAtlantic Center on June 8". MMAJunkie.com. April 5, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  27. ^ Man, Anthony; Barszewski, Larry (February 21, 2018). "Rubio is jeered as CNN town hall meeting about Florida school shooting turns angry". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  28. ^ Halle, Kiefer. "XXXTentacion Fans Invited to Open Casket Memorial at Florida Panthers Stadium". Vulture.com. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  29. ^ "XXXTentacion fans queue to pay respects at Florida service". BBC News. June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.

External links[]

Events and tenants
Preceded by
Miami Arena 		Home of the
Florida Panthers
1998 – present 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Staples Center 		Host of the
NHL All-Star Game
2003 		Succeeded by
Xcel Energy Center
Retrieved from ""