Amalie Arena

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The doors to the 670,000-square-foot Amalie Arena (originally called the Ice Palace) first opened on October 12, 1996 with its first event, the Royal Hanneford Circus. The Circus was followed shortly thereafter by the first Lightning game played on October 20, 1996. The Lightning won 5-2 over the New York Rangers. The arena, also home to the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm, has hosted numerous high-profile events including the 1999 NHL All-Star Game, the 2007 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, the 2008 NCAA Women’s Final Four, the 2009 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, a rally for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, the 2012 NCAA Men's Frozen Four and more. The Tampa Bay Times Forum is scheduled to host the 2012 Republican National Convention in August. In 2002, the building was renamed from the Ice Palace to the St. Pete Times Forum as part of a new partnership with the St. Petersburg Times. From 2011-2013, the publicly-owned Amalie Arena underwent a $62 million transformation that was privately funded by Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment owner and chairman, Jeff Vinik. On December 31, 2011 the St. Petersburg Times changed its name to the Tampa Bay Times, and the arena was unveiled as the Tampa Bay Times Forum to follow suit. In August 2014, local Tampa Bay company Amalie Oil entered an agreement for the naming rights to the arena.