Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
| The Vet | |
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| Location | 300 A Philip Randolph Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32202 |
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| Coordinates | 30°19′32.77″N 81°38′42.25″W / 30.3257694°N 81.6450694°WCoordinates: 30°19′32.77″N 81°38′42.25″W / 30.3257694°N 81.6450694°W |
| Owner | City of Jacksonville |
| Operator | SMG |
| Capacity | Concerts: 15,000 Basketball: 14,091 Hockey: 13,141 Arena Football: 13,011 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 27, 2001 |
| Opened | November 28, 2003 |
| Construction cost | $130 million ($176 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect |
Populous (Formerly HOK Sport) Bessent, Hammack & Ruckman |
| Project manager | Gilbane/Scheer/Renaissance Group |
| Structural engineer | Bliss & Nyitray, Inc. |
| Services engineer | Smith Seckman Reid, Inc. |
| General contractor | Turner/Perry-McCall/Northside Partnership |
| Tenants | |
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Jacksonville Dolphins (NCAA) (2003–2015) Jacksonville Barracudas (WHA2/SPHL) (2003–2007) Jacksonville Giants (ABA) (2010–present) Jacksonville Sharks (AFL/NAL) (2010–present) Jacksonville Bullies (PLL) (2012) Jacksonville Breeze (LFL) (2013–2014) Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL) (2017–present) |
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The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It was built in 2003 as part of Mayor John Delaney's Better Jacksonville Plan to replace the outdated Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The field is titled Sea Best Field.
The Memorial Arena also serves as a multi-functional entertainment venue.
The arena was designed, using state-of-the-art techniques, to have the acoustical characteristics necessary for concerts; the first artist to hold a concert in the Arena was Elton John in November 2003. Since that time, dozens of groups, including country, rap, rock, and others, have performed at the arena.
In 2006, a scheduled Dixie Chicks concert was cancelled, due to lack of ticket sales, which was seen as part of the general backlash against the group's comments on the Iraq War.
Sporting events hosted include the 2004 USA Men's Olympic basketball team in their only game played in the United States, as well as the first, second and third rounds of the 2006, 2010, and 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The arena found huge success when the arena became the home of the Jacksonville Sharks in 2010 when they were introduced as an expansion team of the Arena Football League. The team was founded by former Orlando Predators executive Jeff Bouchy who is also the brother of former Orlando Predators owner Brett Bouchy. The Sharks have recently generated the highest attendance for a tenant in the arena's history.
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Wikipedia