Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium [Renovation Completed]

[sunshine]

Now i am just waiting to see our PAC get designed. Hopefully it is a Disney Concert hall and not a bob carr the second.

[WeNeed2Progress]

source orlando sentinel..

so the front of the arena as portrayed will be Church Street.?

From a source, I was told that this Orena rendering is not just a rendering, but good to go, that blueprints are made and ready. Apparently it has 5 restaurants (3 of which I believe they said will be available to the public unlike the current 2), full bars and a child-care centre.

I'm not certain how valid the information the source gave me, but they seemed to know people close to DeVos. I don't mind the design really. It ought to look stunning from street level. Also, with that indentation in the domed part it ought to have some killer up-lighting, much like the LYNX Central Station (when it's all operating). Imagine THAT vision from I-4 at dusk.

Edited September 30, 2006 by WeNeed2Progress

[UPSDAN]

Below are the stats for the new Bobcats arena in Charlotte. The new Orlando arena stats should be similar...

Owner: City of Charlotte

Operator: NBA Charlotte Bobcats; Charlotte Coliseum Authority

Total project cost: $265 million

Design and build cost: $200 million

Land and infrastructure cost: $65 million

Construction start date: July 2003

Completion date: October 2005

Land area: 9 acres

Arean area: 780,000ft

Edited September 30, 2006 by UPSDAN

[hillcity]

From a source, I was told that this Orena rendering is not just a rendering, but good to go, that blueprints are made and ready. Apparently it has 5 restaurants (3 of which I believe they said will be available to the public unlike the current 2), full bars and a child-care centre.

I'm not certain how valid the information the source gave me, but they seemed to know people close to DeVos. I don't mind the design really. It ought to look stunning from street level. Also, with that indentation in the domed part it ought to have some killer up-lighting, much like the LYNX Central Station (when it's all operating). Imagine THAT vision from I-4 at dusk.

Not true.

[neon9]

Below are the stats for the new Bobcats arena in Charlotte. The new Orlando arena stats should be similar...

Owner: City of Charlotte

Operator: NBA Charlotte Bobcats; Charlotte Coliseum Authority

Total project cost: $265 million

Design and build cost: $200 million

Land and infrastructure cost: $65 million

Construction start date: July 2003

Completion date: October 2005

Land area: 9 acres

Arean area: 780,000ft

[JFW657]

Reading this I start to wonder, who is the idiot who signed off on our oversized high school gymnasium? No bar, no restaurant, no shops, just things shoved in corners and under the stands, placed in a sea of asphalt.

Well cut em a little slack. While I've always been of the opinion that the place was too small re: seating capacity ever since the place was under construction, to be fair no other arena in the country had those kind of amenities back then. All these "super arenas" with the bars, restaurants, gift shops, etc. were built after ours. They should have designed ours so it could have been easily expanded. That was a lack of forsight.

From a source, I was told that this Orena rendering is not just a rendering, but good to go, that blueprints are made and ready.

I don't mind the design really. It ought to look stunning from street level. Also, with that indentation in the domed part it ought to have some killer up-lighting, much like the LYNX Central Station (when it's all operating). Imagine THAT vision from I-4 at dusk.

I love the design. I hope you're right and they build it exactly the way it's shown.

[OrlandoMagic3]

Well cut em a little slack. While I've always been of the opinion that the place was too small re: seating capacity ever since the place was under construction, to be fair no other arena in the country had those kind of amenities back then. All these "super arenas" with the bars, restaurants, gift shops, etc. were built after ours. They should have designed ours so it could have been easily expanded. That was a lack of forsight.

I love the design. I hope you're right and they build it exactly the way it's shown.

I"d like to see alternate designs not that we really have any control of it but still. I'd like to see all the various designs they came up with.

[gumpking1]

Iam prob. wrong but I think the staples center in LA is the most expensive arena yet. For $485 million the new arena here in Orlando could be the most expensive yet. And does anyone have any idea what kind of seating capacity this arena will have when set up for b-ball?

18,500 for basketball

[JRS1]

isn't 18.5k the capacity now? I thought this arena was supposed to be alot bigger, unless they were only talking about square footage overall.

[orlandonative]

17,248. So I guess technically...

[Dale]

But remember that capacity in TD Waterhouse was increased, on the cheap, by making the seats smaller.

[gumpking1]

isn't 18.5k the capacity now? I thought this arena was supposed to be alot bigger, unless they were only talking about square footage overall.

I think i read somewhere that that is for NBA Basketball.And more for college.I dont know what the difference is.Orlandonative can you help me out here with this?

[orlandonative]

To be honest, I don't really understand the question.

[F-L-A]

Pfft. That capacity is barely larger than the Waterhouse's. Is that the best they can do?

[OrlandoMagic3]

Pfft. That capacity is barely larger than the Waterhouse's. Is that the best they can do?

is it finalized?

they really should aim for 22-25 range..i know that its a lot but 10-20 years from now..i can see it getting THAT full.

[bic]

People who actually follow the NBA will know that league arenas are fairly consistent in their capacities and rarely feature more than 20,000 seats. Heck, Madison Square Garden, in the largest U.S. market, seats just 19,673. L.A.'s Staples Center holds even less at 18,997. In fact, the only NBA arenas with capacities greater than 20,000 are:

DC's MCI Center (20,674) - 85.6% - 17,122

Chicago's United Center (21,711) - 92.6% - 21,188

Detroit's Palace of Auburn Hills (22,076) - 100% - 22,076

Minneapolis' Target Center (20,500) - 85.6% - 15,808

Cleveland's Q (20,562) - 94.3% - 19,326

Philadelphia's Wachovia Center (21,600) - 78.7% - 16,518

*Percentage is 2005-2006 NBA home game attendance; last figure is the average attendance for the season.

In this USA Today article from April 12, 2005, the average league-wide attendance up until that point of the 2004-2005 season was 17,248-- less than the TD Waterhouse Centre's maximum capacity of 17,282. Granted, the then-Orlando Arena was already being criticized in 1994 for being undersized in this The Sporting News article. Back then, the article states, the ideal NBA arena would seat 18,000. Obviously a lot has changed since then in terms of indoor stadium design, but nowadays it's more important to fill the venues with revenue-drawing amenities and premium box seats rather than having the greatest capacity. Despite the original home of the Miami Heat, the Miami Arena, being greatly undersized when it debuted with 15,200 seats, American Airlines Arena, the [fairly] new home of the Heat, was designed for only 19,600 spectators-- that's only 2,318 more than the TD Waterhouse Centre. Most of the new arenas in the league are being constructed with capacities in the 19,000-20,500 range. I would expect a size on the lower end of that spectrum for the new Orlando arena.

It seems like the people complaining that an 18,500-seat arena isn't big enough are the same people who want Solaire to be 10-stories taller. People who actually attend games want a quality experience. This entails comfortable seats with optimum viewing angles, proximity to the court, intimacy of the venue, amenities, affordability, parking convenience, and of course a winning team. Some of the best places to catch a professional sports game in this country are in some of the smallest arenas in their respective leagues-- Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Arco Arena, etc. Bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to stadium design. Besides, the Magic averaged 15,561 last season. While attendance will no doubt increase as the team improves and after the new arena is built, it's still pretty brazen to expect a 30% increase. As long as the arena is sold out, loud, and the Magic are winning, I couldn't care less if we had the smallest arena in the league. Let's just hope they get the design right this time.

Edited October 3, 2006 by bic

[orlandonative]

^Perfection.

[Dale]

I want Solaire to be 10 stories taller. Is that so wrong ?

[Bucktown_Orl]

I want Solaire to be 10 stories taller. Is that so wrong ?

I want it to be 11 stories taller, so I guess im not one of "those people" right?..........good, Im glad that would be embarassing.

[bic]

I want Solaire to be 10 stories taller. Is that so wrong ?

You know what I mean.

[Dale]

[cwetteland]

I want Solaire to be 10 stories taller. Is that so wrong ?

I'm pissed that the 7-11 down the street isn't 8 stories! Is that so wrong? Answer: No, it's just stupid.

If you won 5 million in the lottery would you cry that it wasn't 10 million? I'd have no pitty for you. If they built a 200 MPH High Speed Rail, would you complain that it wasn't 300 MPH? So what is your point? If they announced a 100-story tower would you say "great!" or just complain because they aren't building two 100-story towers? I just don't get the meaning of your post unless it is just to say, "I wish everything was better than it is."

[Go Gators]

I'm pissed that the 7-11 down the street isn't 8 stories! Is that so wrong? Answer: No, it's just stupid.

If you won 5 million in the lottery would you cry that it wasn't 10 million? I'd have no pitty for you. If they built a 200 MPH High Speed Rail, would you complain that it wasn't 300 MPH? So what is your point? If they announced a 100-story tower would you say "great!" or just complain because they aren't building two 100-story towers? I just don't get the meaning of your post unless it is just to say, "I wish everything was better than it is."

I think the rest of us got Dale's sarcasm. Dale always provides a good laugh.

[cwetteland]

I think the rest of us got Dale's sarcasm. Dale always provides a good laugh.

My bad.

[Dale]

Sobering after-analysis of the deal by Scott Maxwell in The Sentinel today. Says not a done deal, says the Magic really stuck it to Orlando, says local officials are dreaming if they think they can raise $100 million for the PAC. Says that PAC took the biggest hit and will be scaled-back, with arena having taken the lightest hit:

www.orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-maxwell0306oct03,0,5072949.column