ORLANDO -- From a vision to blue prints to reality.
The Orlando Magic served as the developer of the new downtown Amway Center which will compete to host major national events, concerts and family shows. The facility is owned and operated by the City of Orlando on behalf of the Central Florida community.
The Amway Center was designed to reflect the character of the community, meet the goals of the users and build on the legacy of sports and entertainment in Orlando.
The building’s exterior features a modern blend of glass and metal materials, along with ever-changing graphics via a monumental wall along one façade. A 180-foot tall tower and spire serves as a beacon amid the downtown skyline.
At 875,000 square feet, the new arena is almost triple the size of the old Amway Arena. The building features a sustainable, environmentally-friendly design, unmatched technology, featuring 1,100 digital monitors and the largest, high-definition scoreboard in an NBA venue, and multiple premium amenities available to all patrons in the building. Every level of ticket buyer will have access to: the Budweiser Baseline Bar, Club Restaurant, Nutrilite Magic Fan Experience, Orlando on Demand Info Garden, Kid’s Zone, and multiple indoor-outdoor spaces which celebrate Florida's climate.
“It’s a great day for Central Florida. History will look back on this day in the same light as the day that Walt Disney announced he was building his theme park in Orlando,” Magic President Alex Martins said the night of the approval, adding: “I would like to thank Mayor Rich Crotty and Mayor Buddy Dyer, as well as both the County and City Commissions for their vision and leadership. I would also like to thank the Walt Disney World Company, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, as well as the entire Orlando business community for their active participation in ensuring this positive outcome for new downtown sports and entertainment facilities for the people who call Central Florida home.”
The Magic were major financial participants in the public-private partnership - contributing $50 million toward construction of the Amway Center, $10 million toward the arts center, and $25 million toward construction of five community recreation centers. The Magic’s other contributions toward operations, fundraising and financing push the team’s total participation to more than $150 million.
In a historic move, the Magic agreed that Amway Center would be designed and constructed to meet the certification criteria for an environmentally “green” building development standard.
“We want this facility to not only serve our community but to reflect our community’s values,” Martins said.
Populous, formerly HOK Sport, was selected as designer of the Amway Center. Hunt Construction group was selected as the construction manager.
“Over the past three years, we have focused on revitalizing the Parramore neighborhood and have experienced a resurgence in our downtown,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer as the design for the building was unveiled on December 11, 2007. “Today marks another important day in our efforts, as the facility takes shape with the design unveiling of this new landmark…a landmark that will be a gathering place for all of Orlando and Central Florida.”
“In designing the community’s new center we feel we have created the framework for a facility that will be the catalyst for economic revitalization in downtown’s west side, while establishing a flexible design that will serve as a great home and attract the nation’s premier events,” added the Magic’s Martins. “The building has a design unique to Orlando, while providing a framework for environmental sustainability.”
“We took a hard and long look at the essence of Orlando before coming up with a design that we believe reflects the best and most distinctive aspects of this community,” said AIA, Populous Sport Senior Designer Brad Clark. “And just as importantly, the building will set a new standard in sustainable design as one of the greenest professional sports facilities in the country.”
To celebrate Central Florida’s moderate climate, the building is filled with a variety of indoor-outdoor spaces. For instance, once guests enter the voluminous, 80-foot-tall main lobby, they are able to return to the outdoors via a spacious balcony overlooking Church Street.
The arena was designed to respond to its distinct urban setting while revealing the activities occurring within. Bounded by Church Street, Hughey Avenue, South Street and Division Avenue, the arena’s primary entrance faces north to Church Street, creating a natural extension of the nearby downtown entertainment core. The Church Street entry features a large public entry plaza connecting the arena’s spacious entry lobby.
The massive construction project served as a boon to the local construction business in a time when jobs were scarce because of the sharp downturn of the nation’s economy.
The Magic and City of Orlando worked closely with local minority and women-owned businesses — some of which were based out of the nearby Parramore community — awarding them with more than 30 percent of the contracts totaling a whopping $90-plus million.
Of the 175-plus minority and women-owned firms which worked to construct the facility, 67 were African-American-owned firms, 52 women-owned firms, 36 Hispanic-owned firms, 20 Asian-American-owned firms and two Native-American-owned firms.
Sustainable design and construction specifics focused on the opportunities to create an environmentally-friendly building in various categories. Among them: providing water efficiency; optimizing energy and atmosphere protection; conserving materials and resources; monitoring indoor environmental quality and health; and selecting environmentally preferred operations and maintenance. These elements combine to create one of the most environmentally-friendly, high-performing professional arenas in the country.
Inside the arena, patrons will find modern amenities in a comfortable setting – perfect for hosting family events as well as basketball games. Concourses are spacious, offering unique concessions and activities for kids and adults alike. The Budweiser Baseline Bar on the main concourse overlooks the event floor, and children will enjoy spending time in the kid-oriented fun zone and retail opportunities on the upper concourse.
The Magic’s old home, Amway Arena, housed 17,500 seats in just 367,000 square feet of space. The new arena features 875,000 square feet of space – more room to incorporate more modern day amenities found in most professional arenas of the day – and seating which will be expandable to more than 20,000 seats to accommodate major national events.
The new $380 million facility has 60 suites, 1,400 club seats, eight levels, 37 restrooms, retail stores and one concession point of sale for every 125 spectators.
Harris Corporation is the official technology partner of Amway Center. The arena has more than 1,100 screens of high-definition content via Internet Protocol Television and a state-of-the-art digital signage network which maximizes fan engagement and interaction, distributes an unprecedented amount of patron information, as well as providing unlimited opportunities for advertisers and sponsors.
The Daktronics centerhung scoreboard alone includes four primary high definition LED video displays with 840 lines of resolution, eight auxiliary video/scoring/statistics displays and two LED ring displays. The venue will be the first in the world to utilize high resolution 6 mm surface mount LED pixel technology on all of the centerhung digital displays. More than 9 million individual LEDs will be used in the 18 displays incorporated into the centerhung scoreboard. Overall dimensions of the centerhung scoreboard are 42 feet by 41 feet by 41 feet (HxWxD), making it the largest and most capable of any in NBA venues. Complementing the primary scoreboard will be two LED ribbon boards mounted on the interior fascia of the seating decks.
The bigger size, flexibility and advanced technology allows Orlando to attract bigger concerts, major political conventions and compete for more major sporting events such as conference and NCAA tournaments.
Amway Center is located just south of Church Street on the west side of I-4 in downtown Orlando.
``We’ve designed a facility that has so many built-in amenities for every level of ticket-buyer,’’ Martins said. ``So many of these buildings in the past have been designed where a lot of the amenities have focused only on the premium ticket-buyer, the courtside seat holder or the club seat holder. But here with the new building, we have bars, restaurants and clubs on every level for every ticket-buyer; and that’s for Magic games and every event. So it really is a building that has a high level of amenity for everybody.’’
AMWAY CENTER FACT SHEETOpened: October 2010Cost: $380 million (total construction cost)Location: Downtown Orlando; bound by Church Street (north); Hughey Avenue (east); South Street (south); Division Avenue (west)Owner: City of OrlandoOperator: City of OrlandoPrimary Tenant: Orlando MagicFunctions: NBA and collegiate basketball, arena football, indoor soccer, concerts, hockey, circuses, stage shows and exhibitionsDesign Architect: Populous (formerly HOK Sport)Local Architects: C.T. Hsu + Associates; Baker Barrios Architects, Inc.Construction Manager: Hunt Construction Group in association with Rey Group, R.L.Burns, Inc., HZ Construction and Albu & Associates, Inc.Program Manager: Turner Construction CompanyAnnounced “Champion of the Community” Partners: Harris Corporation; AirTran; PepsiCo.Site Acreage: 8.75 acresNumber of Levels: 7: Event Level (E); Mezzanine (Level 1); Founders (2); Terrace (3); Club (4); Promenade (5); Sky (6); Press (7)Square Footage: 875,000 square feetSeating Capacities: 19,700 (center stage concert)
16,000 (end stage concerts)
18,500 (NBA)
20,000 (NCAA basketball)
17,200 (hockey/arena football)Premium Spaces: 60 private suites; 4 bunker suites; 2 super suites; 4 party suites
Private suites distributed on two levels
1,400 club seats
68 loge boxes (328 seats)Sustainable Design: Anticipated LEED Certified: Sustainable building design will exist in various categories, including a sustainable site; water efficiency; energy optimization and atmosphere protection; materials and resource conservation; indoor environmental quality and health; and environmentally preferred operations and maintenanceTechnology: Harris Corporation is the official technology partner for the Amway Center. The arena will have more than 1,100 screens of high-definition content via Internet Protocol Television and a state-of-the-art digital signage network which will maximize fan engagement and interaction, distribute an unprecedented amount of patron information, as well as providing unlimited opportunities for advertisers and sponsors.MWBE Participation: Commitment to Blueprint (Goals of 24% total MWBE participation)Amenities: The new Amway Center will feature more value than ever before for ticket holders. All patron price levels will have access to premium amenities in the Amway Center such as:
• Budweiser Baseline Bar and Food Court
• Club restaurant
• Nutrilite Magic Fan Experience and Orlando on Demand Info. Garden
• Kid’s Zone
• North Terrace Bar; Terrace Sign Bar; Ozone Bar; Sky Bar
• Outdoor plaza and covered box office
• Retail stores and novelty stands
• Multiple, wider concourses with convenient access to concession stands and restrooms
• Improved sightlines for all locations and wider seats
• Unmatched technology, featuring 1,100 digital monitors and the largest, high-definition scoreboard in an NBA arena.
• An environmentally-friendly and anticipated LEED certified building
• Accessible seating in all seating levels and for all seating products
• Parking: 6,967 spaces less than a five-minute walk; 2,676 spaces within a 10-minute walk and 3,738 spaces via shuttle/Lymmo bus service; All parking locations will have accessible parking
Amway Center Additional Features:
• Iconic 180 foot-tall tower with sky bar and sky terrace at top
• Graphic wall on I-4 exterior façade
• 31,000 SF arena floor can be used for exhibition/trade show space, banquets and meetings
• Six banquet rooms and a board room on Founder’s Level
• Information kiosks distributed throughout the arena
• Enclosed bridge to connect to planned parking garage
• Two street-level retail locations on Church Street
• Main concourse will average 30’ width
• State-of-the-art Daktronics center hung scoreboard with video capability; auxiliary boards located throughout the seating bowl; two LED ribbon boards on Founder’s Level and Club Level fascia
• Full basketball practice court that can also be used for events seating up to 500 people
• Two NBA locker rooms; home hockey locker room; home arena football locker room; visiting hockey/arena football locker room; officials’ locker room; six star performer dressing rooms; green room for staging and hospitality; additional auxiliary locker room for show personnel
• 13,500 SF of office space for team administration and 15,000 SF for City Venue administration
• Media interview room and working media facilities on Event Level
• Six enclosed truck docks and ramp
• Wide variety of food & beverage options
• ADA accessibility on every level
• 18 men’s restrooms and 19 women’s restrooms
• Minimum one concession point of sale for every 125 spectators
• ATM machines at each entrance lobby
Ticket Pricing: The Orlando Magic will continue its practice of affordable pricing options in the new Amway Center. Ticket highlights for 2010-2011 in the new Amway Center include:
• 2,500 seats priced $15 or less, 7,000 seats priced $25 or less, and 10,000 seats priced $50 or under per game, while supplies last.
• For the first time ever, the introduction of a $5 per game ticket (more than 600 available).Design Principles: Amway Center is designed to reflect the character of the community, meet the goals of the users and build on the legacy of sports and entertainment in Orlando. The building’s exterior will feature a modern blend of glass and metal materials, along with ever-changing graphics via a monumental wall along one façade. A 180-foot tall tower will serve as a beacon amid the downtown skyline.Civic Building: Create a community gathering place for Orlando and Central Florida, with a clear front doorContext: Design each façade with respect to its distinct environment; respond to the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the specific façadeSustainable: Implement design strategies to create one of the country’s most environmentally friendly arenasIndoor-outdoor: Celebrate Central Florida climate by allowing movement indoors and outFront porch: Create an entry design element that relates the design to local architectureLandscape: Integrate a variety of native landscape forms of various scale and typePattern and texture: Use a variety of design elements in both horizontal and vertical surfacesAlive: Bring the building to life with color, graphics and signagePublic art: Identify key locations for public art to further define the building’s personality