"BB&T Center" redirects here. For the skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina, see200 South College. For the arena at Northern Kentucky University formerly known as BB&T Arena, seeTruist Arena. For the amphitheater in New Jersey formerly known as BB&T Pavilion, seeFreedom Mortgage Pavilion.
"National Car Rental Center" redirects here. For the proposed stadium in St. Louis, seeNational Car Rental Field.
Amerant Bank Arena
Amerant Bank Arena in 2024
Amerant Bank Arena
Location in Florida
Show map of Florida
Amerant Bank Arena
Location in the United States
Show map of the United States
Former names
National Car Rental Center(1998–2002) Office Depot Center(2002–2005) Bank Atlantic Center(2005–2012) BB&T Center(2012–2021) FLA Live Arena(2021–2023)
Amerant Bank Arena (previously known as theNational Car Rental Center,Office Depot Center,BankAtlantic Center,BB&T Center, andFLA Live Arena) is anindoor arena inSunrise, Florida, United States. It is the home venue for theFlorida Panthers of theNational 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]
An aerial shot of Amerant Bank ArenaView of Amerant Bank Arena (then BankAtlantic Center) from entrance plaza (now called Publix Plaza) before aFlorida Panthers game during the2007–08 season.Amerant Bank Arena before a Florida Panthers playoff game
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-demolishedMiami Arena, sharing the venue with theNBA'sMiami Heat.[6]Sunrise City Manager Pat Salerno made public a $167-million financing and construction plan for acivic center near theSawgrass Expressway in December 1995,[7] andBroward 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. ArchitectsEllerbe Becket were given 26 months to build the arena, which had to be ready by August 30, 1998, to accommodate the1998–99 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 withwet bars, closed circuit monitors and leather upholstery. 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, thenaming rights were won in July 1998 byNational Car Rental — a company purchased by Huizenga in January 1997 — leading to the venue being named the National Car Rental Center.[9] Acertificate of occupancy was given on September 12, 1998, and the arena opened on October 3, 1998, with aCeline 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, a 4–1 win against their cross-state rival, TheTampa Bay Lightning.[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 theOffice Depot Center in the summer of 2002 (Office Depot is based in nearbyBoca 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 nearbyFort Lauderdale). AfterBB&T acquired BankAtlantic in July 2012, the arena was rebranded as the BB&T Center.[12][13]
In October 2012, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment completed installation of the Club Red [now Amerant Vault][14] which is a 12,000+ square-foot exclusive lounge for concerts, shows, and events including a center ice view for hockey games.[citation needed]
On May 14, 2013, Broward County voted to fund a new scoreboard for the county-owned arena.[15] On October 11, 2013, the scoreboard made its debut for the Panthers' 2013–14 home opener.[16]
In February 2019, it was announced that BB&T would be merging withSunTrust Banks to formTruist Financial Corporation.[17] The merged company decided to not renew the naming rights agreement after it expired in 2021. The arena was temporary named FLA Live Arena until a new rights partner was found. On September 19, 2023, it was announced thatAmerant Bank, a South Florida-based bank, would be the new rights partner, renaming the arena to Amerant Bank Arena.[18][19]
The arena is currently the largest in Florida.[20]
The arena served as the site for the2003 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.[citation needed]
The arena was due to host the 2021 NHL All-Star game, but it was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The arena hosted the first, second, fifth and seventh games of the2024 Stanley Cup Final, with the final game resulting in the Panthers clinching the Stanley Cup.
The arena hosted the third, fourth, and sixth games of the2025 Stanley Cup Final, with the final game resulting in the Panthers clinching the Stanley Cup again.
Sunrise and Fort Lauderdale are a growing Latin & Hispanic market as demand has grown outside of Miami proper. Amerant Bank Arena is centrally located in South Florida to be able to not only draw from Miami-Dade county but the one million Hispanic/Latin population residing in points north in Broward County and Palm Beach County. This is evidenced by the growth in Latin programming since 2019 at Amerant Bank Arena including but not limited to hosting the Latin Billboard Music Awards in 2020, Latin American Music Awards in 2021, Amor A La Musica in 2022 and 2023, and Uforia Mix Live in 2022.[21]
Marco Antonio Solís sold out to set the Latin gross revenue record in April 2022 and then beat his own record on April 1, 2023. Just three weeks after Marco eclipsed his record, Juan Luis Guerra set a new Latin ticket sales and gross record selling out on April 22, 2023.[22]
The Latin/Hispanic programming continued to grow with a sold-outPeso Pluma concert in June and a strong showing bySanta Fe Klan in July 2023. The future of Latin programming in the northern part of South Florida includes performances scheduled byLuis Miguel,Pepe Aguilar, and others.
Several months later on October 29, Obama returned to the arena to hold a rally as part ofhis presidential campaign. The rally was presented as apaid program airing on several major broadcast and cable networks live.
