American Airlines Arena

Address:601 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Florida

The American Airlines Arena, located in Miami, is one of the newest and shiniest of the National Basketball Association's arenas. Home to the Miami Heat, who energized a bright-white-clad crowd in 2006 to win their first NBA championship, the American Airlines Arena has also hosted a number of other noteworthy indoor Miami events.

Because the city's hockey team – the Florida Panthers – play in their own arena, the AAA (not to be confused with the American Airlines Center in Dallas) has the opportunity to attract a wide variety of events. The basketball only takes up 41 regular season home games a year, in addition to a handful of preseason games and, at most, up to 16 more postseason games, leaving the rest of the year free for other events. Some of these events include big-time concerts, the circus, professional wrestling, the 2004 and 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the NCAA Tournament in 2009, mixed martial arts, and "American Idol" auditions.

The American Airlines Arena, which opened on New Year's Eve of 1999, has a few unique features. Most prominent is the scoreboard, which actually changes color to match the building's atmosphere. It also makes more use of its corporate name than most arenas. There is a large American Airlines plane painted on the roof of the arena, and the luxury boxes are called "flagship lounges," after American Airlines' airport lounges of the same name.

In addition to the 19,600-seat (which can be expanded to 20,000) main arena, the American Airlines Arena has a theater that can seat up to 5,800 people. It is the largest theater in the state of Florida, and hosts concerts, plays, and Broadway-style shows.

The arena, located in downtown Miami, is accessible via Metrorail by transferring to the People Mover Express from the Government Center Station. A bus is available on NE 7th Street.