| Introduction The Amway Center is a new state of the art green facility. It opened its doors on October 1, 2010. The new center has replaced the old Amway Arena also formerly known as Orlando Arena, TD Waterhouse centre and The Arena in Orlando. The new center is an 875,000 square foot facility that sits on 8.75 acres. It is owned by the City of Orlando and located in the Parramore Neighborhood. The history of the Arena dates back to 1983. The city of Orlando was looking to build an arena downtown to hold concerts and large scale event; they were a big thing at this time. After some financing issues, groundbreaking finally began in January 1987. Construction was complete in 1989 at a cost of $110 million, entirely publicly financed. The Amway Arena was also home to Orlando Magic Basketball Team. In 1989 the city allowed the Magic to sell the naming rights as part of a five year extension of the team lease of the building. In 1999 TD Waterhouse a division of Canadian finance company, Toronto Dominion purchased the rename and rights. December 7, 2006 it was renamed again. Magic owner De Vos co-founder of Amway Soap Products Company, used the name for the arena and sponsor. They agreed to pay $375,000 a year for 4 years. The Orlando Magic wanted to renovate the building from as far back as 1994. The cost did not pay to renovate. In 2000 the Magic pushed to City of Orlando for a new arena. The Magic agreed to contribute to the building cost or they would go elsewhere. The team was losing $8 Million annually. The City of Orlando and the Parramore Neighbor started going downhill and tourist tax revenue dropped. Finally on September 26, 2006 the City of Orlando and Orange County finally agreed on the new arena with the Magic. Ground breaking for the new Amway center began July 26, 2007. The Parramore neighborhood was home to many prominent African American citizens. The first commercial building was a blacksmith shop built in 1892. The first Orlando black chamber of commerce was formed and the first African American school was located here. The Mayor of Orlando wanted to revitalize this historic district. The areas needing help were: housing, public safety, business development children, education and quality of life. 73 % of Parramore 2000 lived in poverty and 84 % lived in single parent homes. The new Amway center was the help the city needed. It brought in new jobs to the city and gave Parramore a re-birth of the city. The Amway Center is providing jobs and opportunities to residents and local businesses. A Blueprint employment office was opened to help residents with employment issues. The Center also plans to build a Central Florida Men’s Service center to help the homeless population, allow space for a farmers market, picnic area and playground. The New Amway Center has helped to turn this poverty stricken town around. With the help of the Magic, the city has remolded the Youth Center in the Parramore neighbor, which was moldy and infested with rats. The new center has been painted and had new carpets installed. It has also received new flat screen televisions, computers and central air. The project is also in the process of renovating the boys and girls club and providing the kids with school supplies. |