History
| “ | I think the James L. Knight Center is to Miami what the Apollo is to New York. We've had some top notch entertainment here and we're proud of that. Proud of a facility rich in history and filled with memories that continues to serve its community and play a vital role in its growth. | ” |
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—Lorenzo Muniz, GM of Knight International Center |
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The complex originally was built to be an exhibition hall for the downtown Miami area, to attract business conferences, trade shows and conventions. Previous conventions were held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. However, the business atmosphere for Miami Beach began to decline. City officials saw this as an opportunity to claim the market for the blossoming downtown business district. The space, known as James L. Knight Convention Center, was the project of the City of Miami. During its construction, the University of Miami sought a sports arena for its revitalized basketball program. Famed newspaper publisher, James L. Knight donated over one million dollars towards the cost of the arena. The space became known as the University of Miami Auditorium.
Along with the Hyatt Regency Hotel, the complex opened October 2, 1982 to the public. Although this venture was promising for the city government, it proved to be very costly. Although the center hosted many events, it was not able to draw large convention crowds due to its limited size. The venue began to accumulate debt for the county and city officials were unsure of how to solve the problem. Taxes were increased to handle the $5 million dollars annual operating costs and debt foe the venue. In 1983,the FIU Sunblazers men's and women's basketball team used the UM Auditorium until the completion of the Sunblazer Arena in 1986. Shortly after, the newly formed Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team occupied the auditorium and the center was revitalized.
To meet demand, the city looked to expand the Knight Center to be used for large conventions, which would not only gained higher revenue for the county, but also solve the city's growing unemployment issue. Concurrently, the University of Miami were also looking to build upon the athletic success of the auditorium by added a public meeting space and lecture hall. During this time, the auditorium hosted its first concert event for the band, R.E.M..
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