From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Benchmark International Arena (formerly known as Ice Palace, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Times Forum e Amalie Arena) is an indoor arena located in Tampa, Florida, used for hockey, basketball, arena football, and concerts. It currently hosts home games for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, the AFL’s Tampa Bay Storm and the LFL’s Tampa Breeze.
The first event held at the arena was a game between the Lightning and the New York Rangers, which ended in a 5-2 victory for the home team.
The arena was built as the Lightning’s new home to replace the Thunderdome in St. Petersburg, currently known as Tropicana Field and which was renovated to become a baseball stadium that now hosts MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays. The Tampa Bay Storm, another team that played at the Thunderdome, also moved to this arena upon completion in 1996.
The naming rights were sold to St. Petersburg Timesa local newspaper published in the Tampa Bay Area, which includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
The most important events that have taken place here are: the 1999 NHL All-Star Game, the 2000 WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view and 4 of the 7 games of the 2004 NHL Finals between the Lightning and the Calgary Flames, with the Tampa team winning the series 4-3 to win their first Stanley Cup. The Forum has also hosted ArenaBowl XII (1998) and the ArenaBowl XVII (2003), as well as several episodes of Raw and SmackDown!.
