On a hot and sunny Wednesday morning, the Orlando Magic officially announced the name for the new arena being built for the community and the franchise - the Amway Center. Chief operating officer Alex Martins made the announcement, today, in front of city officials, members of the Magic organization and the media, and others.
After the ceremony, I was able to speak with Martins briefly about a few topics.
With regards to the architecture of the building, did you look at any NBA arenas around the league to reference the design of the Amway Center?
We toured every major indoor facility in North America, and I can honestly say that this building is the compilation of the best of all those facilities. You got a kid zone that's being built that emulates that in Phoenix. You got a full service restaurant that emulates that in Washington D.C. and the list just goes on and on and on. The loge boxes are emulated from Columbus, Ohio, so it's not just NBA arenas that we emulated but we brought the best to our community from all indoor sports facilities in North America. I really believe that when this is completed, it will be the best facility in North America for those reasons.
What type of effect will sponsorship on practice jerseys have on Orlando?
It's a major opportunity for exposure in association with major brands, so we're identifying our target markets, we're identifying our rates, and I fully expect by the end of next week we'll be aggressively finding a partner who will be willing to put their brand on our practice jerseys.
With regards the financial commitment that the Orlando Magic have made, did you ever imagine a few years back that your team would enter the luxury tax?
Well, we've always been that team to stay at the luxury tax threshold. Right under it. We've tried to maintain a good product on the floor. At times, we've been able to do that. At other times, we've haven't but clearly those teams ... it's not always the highest salary teams that win a championship. It's evident by some teams this past year, but those teams that do want to compete for a championship are consistently in the top seven to ten highest salary teams in the league. So if we do want to compete for a championship, if we do want to attract the talent to put that product out on the floor, we have to invest in it. So how do you balance that investment with the limited revenue streams that we have today? We're a big proponent of, how can we identify additional revenue streams that don't necessarily put all of the burden, or the majority of the burden on the fan, but also bring value to corporate America. I think the practice jersey is a perfect example, and quite frankly, I'd be a huge proponent of putting a global brand on our game jerseys to help drive those additional revenue streams and balance our overall business.
The Amway Center will open in October 2010, in time for the 2010-2011 NBA regular season for the Magic. Click after the jump for a fact sheet on the facility.
AMWAY CENTER FACT SHEET
Scheduled Opening: October 2010
Cost: $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 Orlando
Operator: City of Orlando
Primary Tenant: Orlando Magic
Functions: NBA and collegiate basketball, arena football, indoor soccer, concerts, hockey, circuses, stage shows and exhibitions
Design 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 Company
Champions of Community
Partners: Harris Corporation
Site Acreage: 8.75 acres
Number of Levels: 7: Event Level; Lower Bowl Access Level; Founder’s Suite Level; Main Concourse; Club/Loge Level; Terrace Level; Hockey Press Box Level
Square Footage: 875,000 square feet
Seating Capacities: 19,700 (center stage concert)
16,000 (end stage concerts)
18,600 (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 maintenance
Technology: 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.
MBE/WBE Participation:Commitment to Blueprint (Goals of 24% total MWBE participation);
Amenities
• Amenities for every level of building and ticket price point and all patrons include:
o Outdoor Patio overlooking Church Street with Food & Beverage Service
o Full service themed restaurant and lounge on club concourse overlooking event floor
o Themed fan experience zone and adjacent children’s fun zone in upper concourse
o Public bar and food court on main concourse level with view of event floor
o Wide variety of food & beverage options
o ADA Accessibility on every level
o 18 men’s restrooms and 19 women’s restrooms
o Minimum one concession point of sale for every 125 spectators
o ATM machines at each entrance lobby
• Six Clubs on various levels
• Iconic 120-foot-tall tower with sky bar and sky terrace at top
• "Media Mesh" 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 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
• 2 NBA locker rooms; home hockey locker room; home arena football locker room; visiting hockey/arena football locker room; officials’ locker room; 6 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
• 6 enclosed truck docks and ramp