BankAtlantic Center

The BankAtlantic Center is an indoor concert and entertainment venue located just outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It is located near the Sawgrass Mills Mall. The arena is the home of the Florida Panthers, Florida's NHL team and the Miami Caliente, Florida's Lingerie Football League team. The arena features more than 2,600 seats and 70 private suites. The private suites contain leather seating, wet bars and closed circuit televisions to make viewing of the events possible when inside of the suites. They are approximately 650 square feet, which is the record for suites in a facility like this. The arena opened in 1998, shortly after the Panthers changed ownership. The arena is easy to access from the Florida highway system and features a variety of nearby parking. Previous events hosted by the arena include the 2003 NHL All Star Game, the Bee Gees last full arena concert, the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, the recording of a live CD by The Who and two pep rallies for then-candidate Barack Obama. The inaugural event at the arena was a Celine Dion Concert. In 2006, Barbara Streisand has items thrown at her by the audience when she included a political rant in her concert.