The Tampa Bay Lightning left the Thunderdome a couple decades back, but fans still bring the noise in Tampa's Amalie Arena. Fans have walked into this Sunshine State arena since the mid 90s and megastars like Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier have all hit the ice in a bid to make the crowd roar. One Stanley Cup banner sits in the rafters, but this Florida-based club has their eyes set on adding to that collection.
Tampa Bay Lightning Stadium
Boasting a near sellout crowd capacity average, Tampa's Amalie Arena has been packed with fans that are happy with the current state of the franchise. Things have been fairly rosey attendance-wise for the Bolts as fans have kept the arena at above 96% capacity for the past four seasons. The strong turnout was rewarded handsomely last season with Tampa racking up the most home wins of 2014-15 (a whopping 32 victories at Amalie Arena) and their playoff run was filled moments of on-ice glory.
Speaking of memorable hockey moments in Tampa, Amalie Arena's seen its share beyond last season's Eastern Conference title clinching campaign. Previous to the name change, the Bolts hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2004 while rooted on by the Lightning faithful in their home rink. If you hear XL's "Fluxland" blaring over the arena's speakers, that's the signal that the home team has lit the lamp. It's a welcome sound in Tampa, but they'd also like to hear "We Are The Champions" make a return too.
Arena Vitals
Date Opened: 1996
Construction Cost: $139 Million
Architect: Ellerbe Becket
Capacity Attendance: 19,204
Has A Stanley Cup Final Been Played There: Yes
Previous Tampa Bay Lightning Arenas
Thunderdome
Expo Hall
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