Stadium Report Cards: American Airlines Arena

Our friend Nick, who has done places like Marlins Ballpark, and Citi Field went to a Heat game and hooked us up with a report card.

Team: Miami Heat
Location: Miami, FL
League: National Basketball Association(Eastern COnference)
Built: 1999
Capacity: 19,600
My event: Regular Season Game vs Atlanta Hawks

1. Outdoor Design

The arena was beautifully designed. I like the feature on the roof, although you can not see it, of the American Airlines plane with the lights. Miami chose a great location for the arena right along Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. You have a tremendous view of the Miami skyline. What really impressed me was the media mesh on the window of the main entrance. It covers up 12 window panes so it's big and it's beautiful and also very clear quality. The palm trees also gave it that Miani feel. 9/10 

2. Indoor Design

The concourses were nice and easy to navigate. The team store was not that big but that wasn't a big deal to me. The lower bowl is what stuck out to me. The red and orange color scheme that creates a flame was very impressive. Not a bad view pretty much anywhere you sit since it is a small arena. Still nicely done.  9/10

3. Prices

Normal prices for a sporting event. My friends and I got our tickets from stubhub for $30 otherwise they would have been $48. Food prices were typical as well. Souveniers from the team shop were lower than usual which was nice. Overall average prices.  7/10

4. Food

The Triple A provides a variety of food and drink options. From your typical pizza, burgers and hot dogs to choices of latin food. Nice variety although I didn't get to try it all.   8/10

5. Staff

Staff was a hit or miss. Some were enthusiastic and nice but others just seemed like they did not want to be there. They opened the doors a little later than normal, arguing with each other over who was going to stand next to whom so that got annoying. The concession attendants were nice and helpful as was one of the ladies doing the surveys whom was very nice to me. As I was leaving though one staff member was rude to me. I wanted to take a picture of the bay at night and she was nasty about it. Put a small damper on my night.   6/10

6. Cleanliness

Really clean arena and well kept. No complaints whatsoever.  8/10

7. Parking

Parking wasn't too bad. Typical prices but very accomidating. The only down side was leaving due to heavy traffic it was hard to get out but it is afterall Downtown Miami. No major complaints.  7/10

8. Atmosphere

This was the element I was anticipating the most and man did Heat fans deliver. Even on a Monday night in December the fans turned out and I don't hold it against them for being a little late to the game, for the arena did not really fill till midway through the first quarter, due again to traffic but the fans still came out and boy were they loud. They let the Hawks have it and supported their team. A LeBron alley-oop sent the crowd into a frenzy. The crowd was also very encouraged to make noise and have fun. The Heat fans did not dissapoint. 10/10

9. Playing Surface

The court design was nice. No issues with the court.  8/10

10. Scoreboard
                               
A unique design to the scoreboard. It featured 4 big screens in a circle and 8 small screens above the big ones. In the center was a design that looked at first like an octopus but after a closer look was a sun with heat waves coming off of it that featured the lighting of the heat colors.  8/10

So overall that's a 80. I believe it, the Atmosphere should be nice, and the architecture is top notch.