Tampa Bay Lightning

AMALIE ARENA

STADIUM DUDE’S NHL ARENA RANK: #8

ARENA INFORMATION

  • Location: Tampa, Florida
  • Opened 1996
  • Capacity 19,092
  • Games attended: 7
  • Last visited: 2024
Amalie Arena

ARENA REVIEW

You may be asking, “What the hell is an oversized arena in Florida doing in the Top 10 of the ratings?” But with a consistently competitive squad this past decade, the team pretty much fills the place nightly.  Add a neat little downtown scene and the lovely Florida winter weather, and you have yourself a fun night out.

Since opening in 1996, Tampa Bay Lightning management has done a great job tweaking the arena experience, producing a strong on-ice product, and building a fan base.  Those efforts have paid off: arguably, the Lightning has the strongest local fan base of any southern hockey market. Unlike other non-traditional markets, the home fans always “out loud” the visitors here.  It has showed me that this area, despite having a transient population, CAN be a strong sports market if you have a good facility in the right part of town (take note Rays). 

The pre-game festivities outside the arena’s main entrance, in an area dubbed Thunder Alley, offer some games, giveaways, a Cigar City brewpub, and a live band to get you in the right mood before you even get in the building; it’s also where fans flock for outdoor watch parties during the playoffs. Once inside, the well-signed arena is easy to navigate.  Concessions are strong with several Floribbean options amongst the standard fare.  The strong pre-game hype presentation involves on-ice projections, laser lights, smoke, and lightning bolts from ceiling-mounted Tesla coils.  During the game, the fans make Amalie Arena a tough place to play.  There’s even an organist playing a massive pipe organ to add to the hockey vibe.

There’s something to be said about seeing a well-played, exciting hockey game, then going outside to 70-degree weather, hopping on the free streetcar to Ybor City to continue the party until 2am despite being old and knowing you have an early morning wake-up the next day (hypothetically, of course).  Bottom line, Lightning games are straight-ass fun.  If you needed another reason to hit the Gulf Coast for a winter long weekend, consider coming when the Bolts are in town and check this place out.