Amway Arena Amway Arena ( originally known as Orlando Arena ) was an indoor arena in Orlando , Florida . It was part of the Orlando Centroplex , a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando . The arena was the former home of the Orlando Magic of the NBA and the Orlando Titans of the NLL . It is home of the Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League , and the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League . It also hosted many other minor league sports teams , as well as various concerts and other events such as the PlayStation Pro event on the Dew Action Sports Tour and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus annually . History . The city of Orlando was interested in a downtown arena long before there was talk of an NBA franchise . The arena site on West Livingston Street was approved in December 1983 , at a time when concerts and other large - scale events were held at the Orange County Convention Center , which is several miles away from downtown . Discussions on financing delayed the project for several years due to concerns of the convention center losing money if an arena was built , as an arena would be a better venue for many of the events previously held at the convention center . By the end of 1985 , the city and county reached an agreement on a financing plan that would delay the opening of the arena until the end of the decade ( unless the county agreed ) so it would not compete with the convention center . The planned site grew 50 % from its original plan and consumed three extra blocks south of Lake Dot . In 1986 , support was growing to attempt to bring an NBA franchise to Orlando , and general manager Pat Williams knew that having an arena already under construction would be critical for expansion being approved by the league . Knowing the importance of the arena , the city voted to allow construction to begin before a study of its impact on the area was filed with state and regional planners . Ground broke in January 1987 , four months before the NBA Board of Governors made their final decision to bring Orlando into the league . Construction was completed in 1989 at a cost of $ 110 million - entirely publicly financed . The arena officially opened on January 29 , 1989 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and public open house featuring the Orlando Magic Dancers and Curly Neal . In 1991 , the facility was voted " Arena of the Year " by Performance Magazine . It was also nominated for " Best Indoor Concert Venue " in the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards . The arena ' s design provided for an intimate atmosphere . Spectators in the upper bowl were still relatively close to the floor due to the number of seats in the lower and upper bowls being split almost 50 / 50 , with the luxury suites near the ceiling . The arena originally seated 15 , 291 but all the original seats were replaced with narrower ones between 1994 and 1995 , increasing capacity by over 2 , 000 to 17 , 519 . Naming . During its entire lifetime , the arena was colloquially known by the nickname of " The O - Rena " . It was officially named Orlando Arena , then TD Waterhouse Centre , and finally Amway Arena . After considering several names , including Frederick Arena ( suggested by Magic general manager Pat Williams ) , MagicDome , Quest , Apex and Centrum , then - Orlando Mayor Bill Frederick decided to name the building Orlando Arena in 1988 . It was the city ' s first choice . The city agreed to allow the Magic to sell the naming rights of the arena in November 1998 . It was part of a five - year extension of the team ' s lease on the building . The search for a corporate sponsor began immediately , and speculation began that Amway would be chosen due to the fact that Magic owner DeVos co - founded it . However , in 1999 , TD Waterhouse , a division of Canadian finance company Toronto Dominion , purchased the naming rights at a cost of $ 7 . 8 million for five years . The building was then renamed to TD Waterhouse Centre . The naming rights with TD Waterhouse expired on November 30 , 2006 , and TD Ameritrade , which bought TD Waterhouse ' s U . S . operations earlier in the year , chose not to renew them . The venue was briefly known as " The arena in Orlando " before a new naming rights contract was signed , a period of approximately one week . On December 7 , 2006 , it was announced that Amway would become the new sponsor at a cost of $ 1 . 5 million over 4 years , or $ 375 , 000 a year , renaming the building as Amway Arena . As part of the deal , Amway received an initial exclusive option to negotiate for the right to name Orlando ' s new arena , which had just been announced . The new arena would go on to be named Amway Center . Former tenants . Defunct tenants of the arena include the IHL ' s Orlando Solar Bears , the SPHL ' s Orlando Seals , RHI ' s Orlando Jackals , MISL ' s Orlando Sharks , the WNBA ' s Orlando Miracle , and the NLL ' s Orlando Titans . The Solar Bears folded in 2001 along with the IHL itself . After the 2002 WNBA season , all franchises were sold to the operators of the teams , and Magic owner Rich DeVos was not interested in keeping them . They relocated to Connecticut and were renamed the Sun . On August 22 , 2004 , the City of Orlando evicted the Seals and they were forced to sit out the first season of Southern Professional Hockey League play for 2004 – 05 as a result . They ultimately moved to Kissimmee ' s Silver Spurs Arena and resumed play in 2005 – 2006 as the Florida Seals until they folded . In 2007 , the Orlando Sharks , an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League , were to play in the arena beginning that fall , but rent issues with the arena led them to eventually fold . The Orlando Titans played their first and only season at the arena before folding due to financial troubles . Renovation Plans . Attendance to 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 . However , experts stated that the arena was outdated since the day its doors first opened . 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 , consequently Fortune 500 companies in the vicinity such as SunTrust , Lockheed Martin , Darden Restaurants , and Hughes Supply did not lease the luxury suites . The Orlando Magic ' s desire for a major renovation of the building dated to 1994 , when the arena was only five years old , as the team was seeking to increase revenue by expanding the limited retail and concession space and luxury seating . In 1996 , the team spent $ 100 , 000 to have Conventions Sports & Leisure of Minneapolis study and determine renovation ideas . Major renovation seemed unfeasible in 1997 , when the task - force determined that the cost of implementing everything that the team wanted would reach up to $ 75 million . However , even if luxury suites were relocated to the midlevel , the city had few corporations in the area willing to pay the $ 100 , 000 - plus a year lease rates . The revenues brought in by the changes likely would not be enough to cover mortgage payments on money that would have to be borrowed to pay for the renovation . Also , at the time , the city still owed $ 40 million on the original construction of the building . Beginning around 2000 , the Magic began to push the City of 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 . 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 . " 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 . Any plans for renovation or replacement relied on tourist - tax revenue , and after the terrorist attacks of 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 . 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 . " Successor arena and demolition . On September 29 , 2006 , the City of Orlando and Orange County finally came to an agreement on a $ 1 . 1 - billion improvement package that included $ 480 million for a new arena . The Magic would provide $ 114 million in cash and up - front lease payments and guarantee $ 100 million in bonds toward the arena . The venue plan received final approval on July 26 , 2007 , and the arena was completed in time for the 2010 – 11 NBA season . Amway Arena ' s last day of operation was September 30 , 2010 , as arena operations then moved to the new Amway Center . The City of Orlando began demolition of Amway Arena ' s interior on December 15 , 2011 , originally planning to take about six months to traditionally demolish the facility . The majority of the building was instead imploded at 7 : 30 a . m . on March 25 , 2012 , leaving only the corner columns standing , which would be removed along with the rest of the rubble over the following months . One man was injured after being hit by debris . Currently , plans call for the remainder of the Centroplex to also be demolished to make way for a " Creative Village " complex on the site . It will be home to digital media companies and related industries . There will be 35 % office space , 45 % residential space , and 20 % for other uses including education , hotels , retail , and entertainment . The goal of the complex is to redevelop the site into " a place where high - tech companies locate ; and employees of those businesses and other residents live , work , learn and play " . Notable events . Sports Notable basketball events include the 1990 SEC men ' s basketball tournament , as well as early rounds of the NCAA Tournament in the early - to mid - 1990s . The 42nd annual NBA All - Star Game was held at the facility on February 9 , 1992 . Games 1 and 2 of the 1995 NBA Finals between the Magic and the Houston Rockets were held at the facility , as well as Games 3 , 4 , and 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals between the Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers . The final NBA game at Amway Arena was Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on May 26 , 2010 ; the Magic won the game , telecast on ESPN on ABC . The Celtics would then win Game 6 ( and the series ) in Boston , advancing to face the Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals . Other sporting events include the 1992 United States Figure Skating Championships and the IHL Finals in 1996 , 1999 and 2001 , when the Orlando Solar Bears won the Turner Cup in the IHL ' s last season of operations . During the 1993 – 94 NHL season , the Tampa Bay Lightning played five of their home games at the arena . In 2004 , Orlando was selected as one of five cities to host the Dew Tour , an extreme sport s franchise started in 2005 . It was the site of the PlayStation Pro , the final event each season on the tour . Three ArenaBowl games were held at the facility . The Orlando Predators lost to the Detroit Drive in 1992 and Arizona Rattlers in 1994 before defeating the Nashville Kats in 2000 . The final sporting event at Amway Arena was an Orlando Predators game on July 24 , 2010 against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz . Political Events On October 20 , 2008 , Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama held a major outdoor rally immediately outside the Amway Arena north entrance that drew over 50 , 000 supporters and was televised nationally . Additional speakers at the rally included U . S . Senators Hillary Clinton and Bill Nelson , and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer . The major rally drew national attention to Florida as an election battle - ground state and was covered live on national evening newscasts on all major networks . A similar rally was held in 2004 by Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry inside the Amway Arena . Other Events R . E . M performed here on 4 / 30 / 89 . Songs from this and the previous night ' s concert at Miami Arena were broadcast on Westwood One ' s Superstars In Concert radio show . Many professional wrestling pay - per - view events have been held at Amway Arena over the years , including the 1990 WWF Royal Rumble , 1994 WCW Bash at the Beach , and WWE Armageddon 2003 . On March 29 , 2008 , World Wrestling Entertainment held their Hall of Fame induction at the arena in conjunction with WrestleMania XXIV , which was held at the Citrus Bowl . Many Orange County public high schools held their graduation ceremonies at the arena . The final event at Amway Arena was the So You Think You Can Dance Tour on September 30 , 2010 .