American Airlines Arena - Miami, Florida

[images in the news - sports]

Shaq was back, but the Pistons still beat the Heat 90-81 in a well played Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at American Airlines Arena in Miami tonight. The arena first opened on December 31, 1999 to replace the older (but still not that old) Miami Arena three blocks away. The Heat moved from the Miami Arena to the American Airlines Arena in the middle of the 1999-2000 basketball season. According to the arena's website, the American Airlines Arena, "seats 19,600 when fully utilized for Miami HEAT basketball, but the upper balconies can be closed to create a more intimate atmosphere of just 16,000 seats. The arena is able to be configured in five separate ways for concerts and other events, seating as few as 5,000 and as many as 20,000 patrons." It's a big place.

Physical Address:
601 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33132