Notable Events
Sports
Notable basketball events include the 1990 SEC men's basketball tournament, as well as early rounds of the NCAA Tournament in the early- to mid-1990s. The 42nd annual NBA All-Star Game was held at the facility on February 9, 1992. Games 1 and 2 of the 1995 NBA Finals between the Magic and the Houston Rockets were held at the facility, as well as Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals between the Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. The final NBA game at Amway Arena was Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on May 26, 2010.
Other sporting events include the 1992 United States Figure Skating Championships and the IHL Finals in 1996, 1999 and 2001, when the Orlando Solar Bears won the Turner Cup in the IHL's last season of operations. During the 1993–94 NHL season, the Tampa Bay Lightning played five of their home games at the arena. In 2004, Orlando was selected as one of five cities to host the Dew Tour, an extreme sports franchise started in 2005. It was the site of the PlayStation Pro, the final event each season on the tour. Three ArenaBowl games were held at the facility. The Orlando Predators lost to the Detroit Drive in 1992 and Arizona Rattlers in 1994 before defeating the Nashville Kats in 2000. The final sporting event at Amway Arena was an Orlando Predators game on July 24, 2010 against the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.
Political Events
On September 20, 2008, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama held a major outdoor rally immediately outside the Amway Arena north entrance that drew over 50,000 supporters and was televised nationally. Additional speakers at the rally included U.S. Senators Hillary Clinton and Bill Nelson, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. The major rally drew national attention to Florida as an election battle-ground state and was covered live on national evening newscasts on all major networks. A similar rally was held in 2004 by Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry inside the Amway Arena.
Other Events
Many professional wrestling pay-per-view events have been held at Amway Arena over the years, including the 1990 WWF Royal Rumble, 1994 WCW Bash at the Beach, and WWE Armageddon 2003. On March 29, 2008, World Wrestling Entertainment held their Hall of Fame induction at the arena in conjunction with WrestleMania XXIV, which was held at the Citrus Bowl.
Many Orange County public high schools held their graduation ceremonies at the arena.
The final event at Amway Arena was the So You Think You Can Dance Tour on September 30, 2010.
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