I am so excited for the new Amway Center and of the attention and business it will bring to our great city. The arena opened officially on 10/1 at 10:01 when Mayer Buddy Dyer cut the ribbon. He said: “The Amway Center is a testament to what can be accomplished when we come together to realize a dream. This building was dedicated to the residents of Orlando and Central Florida on October 1, 2010.”
Amway Center
On Saturday 10/2, the arena was open to the public for a community tour. I attended with a few friends and was blown away with what I saw. It is absolutely gorgeous inside with a state of the art sound system and the largest scoreboard display in North America. The Gentleman Jack Terrace is a great spot to watch the games from with views of the city. We did not get to see the Star Lounge at the top of the center which I really wanted to see. The lounges will be open after the games which is nice. We enjoyed free popcorn and soda at the open house. My friends also tried the $2 hot dogs and tacos that were on special and said they were delicious. I have heard great things about the food options. I even saw a Panera and Cold Stone there.
Amway Center Fun Facts:
*The seats at the Amway Center range from 20-24 inches in seat width compared to an average 18-inch width in the Amway Arena.
*There are 27 restrooms (19 women’s/18 men’s) in the Amway Center, compared to just 8 restrooms in Amway Arena.
*The Amway Center has 9 retail locations, anchored by the Orlando Magic’s Team Shop presented by Adidas.
*There are 10 fan interactive areas open to all levels of ticket buyers, highlighted by the Nutrilite Magic Fan Experience, Orlando On Demand Info Garden, STUFF’s Magic Castle kid’s zone presented by Club Wyndham, the Budweiser Baseline Bar and Gentleman Jack Terrace.
I was very happy to hear about how busy the Church Street businesses were during the weekend’s festivities. Many new businesses are scheduled to open there which is great for our city. I look forward to seeing the growth and development of the beautiful downtown that I call home.
The first Magic pre-season game is this Sunday. Go Magic! I hope we have our best season yet.
