Amway Arena: Difference between revisions

Attendance to [[Orlando Magic|Magic]] NBA games was strong, with a waiting list of 3,700 names on the season ticket list in 1996, even after a 1994 renovation made the seats narrower.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-01-21/news/9601200788_1_magic-place-orlando-arena-arena-managers|title=Orlando Arena Faces Challenge Of Keeping Fans Under Its Spell|work=tribunedigital-orlandosentinel}}</ref> However, experts stated that the arena was outdated since the day its doors first opened.<ref name="articles.orlandosentinel.com">[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2005-02-28/news/0502280281_1_orlando-magic-dyer-waterhouse-centre/2 "Odds Improve For Td Waterhouse Upgrade"]. Retrieved 2010-03-16.</ref> Although it was built to NBA specifications at the time, construction began right before mid level luxury seating and lower-level club seating became the ''[[de facto]]'' standard, and the arena lacked both of these lucrative features. Also, the placement of the skyboxes gave them the worst sightlines in the arena,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/orl-asec-magicboxpg022805,0,6841276.photogallery|title=Arena's skyboxes & interior|author=Orlando Sentinel|date=28 February 2005|work=OrlandoSentinel.com}}</ref> consequently [[Fortune 500|''Fortune'' 500]] companies in the vicinity such as [[SunTrust]], [[Lockheed Martin]], [[Darden Restaurants]], and [[Hughes Supply]] did not lease the luxury suites.<ref name="articles.orlandosentinel.com"/>

Beginning around 2000, the Magic began to push the City of [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] for a brand new arena, replacing the TD Waterhouse Centre. Since the city, as well as Orange County, were not keen on picking up the tab for a second facility in a little over a decade, the Magic stated they would contribute to the cost of building it. They did not, however, say how much.<ref>[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2000-10-20/news/0010200375_1_orlando-magic-orlando-arena-glenda-hood/2 "Magic May Just Redo Arena"]. Retrieved 2010-03-16.</ref> They also indicated they expected public dollars to be used, too. Discussions became contentious in 2001, as the team threatened to look elsewhere if Orlando would not build a new arena, or contribute a significant amount to a renovation. At the time, the team was losing $8 million annually. Magic President Bob Vander Weide stated, "If we can't break even in the long term and we can't stay competitive, maybe this isn't the best place for us."<ref>[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2001-02-16/news/0102160108_1_vander-weide-magic-waterhouse-centre "Only New Arena Will Please Magic"]. Retrieved 2010-03-16.</ref> The Magic outlined where an arena should be built, the potential cost, what type of tax should pay for it and what could be done with the existing building once it was abandoned by the team. In a meeting with county and city officials, team owner DeVos said he was seeking $200 million in public money, including $121.5 million from the tourist tax collected by the county, $50 million from the city of Orlando and $28.5 million from the state. Officials were staunchly opposed.<ref>[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2001-04-05/news/0104050328_1_magic-vander-weide-orange-county "Magic: Public Must Dig Deep For Arena"]. Retrieved 2010-03-16.</ref> Any plans for renovation or replacement relied on tourist-tax revenue, and after the terrorist attacks of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]], the numbers of tourists in the area declined sharply. Then-Orlando Mayor [[Glenda Hood]] and Orange County Mayor [[Rich Crotty]] were close to a deal for a major renovation, but talks were broken off for several years due to the sagging tourist tax dollars.<ref name="articles.orlandosentinel.com"/> At the grand opening of the [[Amway Center]] on October 1, 2010, Crotty remarked "When I look around this building, I think to myself, 'Boy, am I glad that didn't work.' Sometimes good comes out of bad."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-10-01/sports/os-new-arena-kickoff-20101001_1_magic-s-amway-center-magic-president-alex-martins-hotel-taxes |title=Dyer, Crotty, crowd of 3,000 open Magic's Amway Center |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=2010-10-01 |access-date=2010-12-18}}</ref>