Knight Center Complex

The James L. Knight Center Complex is a contemporary entertainment and convention complex located in Downtown Miami, Florida. Located within the Miami Central Business District, the venue opened in 1982. The complex is named after famed newspaper publisher, James L. Knight. Since its opening, the complex has hosted many business, entertainment and political events. Annually, it hosts Miami Dade College graduation ceremonies. It also hosted Miss Universe in 1984 and 1985, Miss USA in 1986 and Miss Teen USA in 1985.

James L. Knight Center
Address400 SE Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131
LocationDowntown Miami
Coordinates25°46′15″N 80°11′28″W
OwnerMiami-Dade County
OperatorSMG
OpenedOctober 1982
Renovated1997, 2005
Expanded1986
Construction cost
~$10 million
Former names
James L. Knight Convention Center (1982–86)
James L. Knight International Center (1986–2013)
Classroom-style seating
117 (Miami Lecture Hall) theatre capacity = 4,569 (James L. Knight Center Theater)
3,200 (Riverfront Exhibition Hall)
444 (Ashe Auditorium)
Enclosed space
 • Exhibit hall floor28,000 sqft (Miami Convention Center)
Website
Official Website

History

The complex originally was built to be an exhibition hall for the downtown Miami area, to attract business conferences, trade shows and conventions. Previous conventions were held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. However, the business atmosphere for Miami Beach began to decline. City officials saw this as an opportunity to claim the market for the blossoming downtown business district.[1] The space, known as James L. Knight Convention Center, was the project of the City of Miami.[2] During its construction, the University of Miami sought a sports arena for its revitalized basketball program. Newspaper publisher James L. Knight donated over one million dollars towards the cost of the arena.[3] The space became known as the University of Miami Auditorium.

Along with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the complex opened October 2, 1982 to the public. Although this venture was promising for the city government, it proved to be very costly. Although the center hosted many events, it was not able to draw large convention crowds due to its limited size.[4] The venue began to accumulate debt for the county and city officials were unsure of how to solve the problem. Taxes were increased to handle the $5 million annual operating costs and debt for the venue.[5] In 1983, the FIU Sunblazers men's and women's basketball team used the UM Auditorium until the completion of the Sunblazer Arena in 1986.[6] Shortly after, the newly formed Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team occupied the auditorium and the center was revitalized.[7]

To meet demand, the city looked to expand the Knight Center to be used for large conventions, which would not only gain higher revenue for the county, but also solve the city's growing unemployment issue.[8] Concurrently, the University of Miami were also looking to build upon the athletic success of the auditorium by adding a public meeting space and lecture hall.[9] During this time, the auditorium hosted many events, including the NWA Wrestling's Clash of the Champions televised event in June 1988 and two concert appearances for the band R.E.M..[10]

The Knight Center became used primarily for concerts when the Hurricanes moved into Miami Arena in 1988, and became the original home of the annual Premios Lo Nuestro ceremony in the 1990s, remaining until the ceremony moved into the newly completed Waterfront Theater at American Airlines Arena in 2000.

Facilities
  • Miami Convention Center
    • James L. Knight Center Theater (formerly the James L. Knight Center from 1982-2013)
    • Riverfront Exhibition Hall
      • North Hall
      • Central Hall
      • South Hall
    • Riverwalk & Dockage
  • Miami Conference Center
    • Ashe Auditorium
    • Miami Lecture Hall
  • Hyatt Regency Hotel
    • Regency Ballroom
    • Riverwalk Cafe
    • Riverwalk Deli
    • Pure Verde

Location

The complex is located along the Miami River near Bayfront Park. Also in the area is Mary Brickell Village, Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and New World School of the Arts. The complex is serviced by the Knight Center station for the Metromover.

  • James L. Knight Center Theater - Front View
  • James L. Knight Center Theater - Floor View
  • James L. Knight Center Theater Lobby
  • Ashe Auditorium at the James L. Knight Center
  • Ashe Auditorium at the James L. Knight Center
  • Ashe Auditorium Lobby at the James L. Knight Center
  • Riverwalk & Dockage View at the James L. Knight Center
  • Riverwalk & Dockage View at the James L. Knight Center
  • Riverwalk & Dockage at the James L. Knight Center
  • Riverfront Hall at James L. Knight Center - Miami Convention Center
  • Riverfront Hall at James L. Knight Center - Miami Convention Center
  • Miami Lecture Hall at the James L. Knight Center
  • Miami Lecture Hall at the James L. Knight Center
gollark: They have divides about how to grill things.
gollark: Like most ideologies, actually, even centrists.
gollark: Libertarians apparently disagree with each other a lot.
gollark: Also, following on from what I said:> Saying you can never be convinced of something is kind of bad in my opinion.That sort of thing just completely neglects the possibility that there might be more information, or something you haven't considered, and it's pretty arrogant to assume that you are entirely right and there's nothing which could reasonably cause you to update.
gollark: More as in a higher % of income, that is.

See also

References
  1. "Knight Center a costly dream". Miami Herald. 1999-07-04.
  2. Brubaker, Dale (1982-10-09). "This is the magic of Miami". The Miami News. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  3. "James L. Knight". Miami Herald. 1991-02-06.
  4. "Local rivalries spell trouble in convention city". The Miami Herald. 1983-02-10.
  5. "Join the Consortium". Miami Herald. 1984-09-13.
  6. "FIU plays Knight Center opener". Miami Herald. 1983-12-15.
  7. Otterson, Chuck (1983-10-13). "Basketball Returns to Miami in 1985". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  8. Lynch, Ray (1986-01-07). "5,000 jobs foreseen in exhibit hall plan". The Miami News.
  9. "UM: Put new hall near Knight Center". Miami Herald. 1986-01-16.
  10. Gleason, Holly (1986-11-25). "R.E.M. improves concert presence". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.