The James L. Knight Center is a contemporary entertainment and convention complex located in Downtown Miami, Florida. Located within the Miami Central Business District, the venue opened in 1982. The complex is named after famed newspaper publisher, James L. Knight. Since its opening, the complex has hosted many business, entertainment and political events. Annually, it hosts

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

graduation ceremonies. It also hosted

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

in 1984 and 1985,

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

in 1986 and

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...

in 1985 and the

OTI Festival OTI Festival (, ), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), featuring participants representing primarily Ibero-Americ ...

in 1989. Most recently, the CONMEBOL hosted the draw for the 2024 Copa America™ Group Stage at the James L. Knight Center.

History

The complex originally was built to be an

exhibition hall A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

for the downtown Miami area, to attract

business conferences Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

trade shows A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

and conventions. Previous conventions were held at the

Miami Beach Convention Center The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2020 for $640 million. The re-imagined and enha ...

. However, the business atmosphere for

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

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 The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

sought a sports arena for its revitalized basketball program. 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 annual operating costs and debt for the venue. In 1983, the

FIU Sunblazers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...

men's and women's basketball team used the UM Auditorium until the completion of the

Sunblazer Arena Ocean Bank Convocation Center (formerly known as Sunblazer Arena, Golden Panther Arena, Pharmed Arena, U.S. Century Bank Arena, and FIU Arena) is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena at Florida International University in University Park, Miami, Fl ...

in 1986. Shortly after, the newly formed

Miami Hurricanes men's basketball The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team is the college basketball team of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The University of Miami men's basketball team was formed in ...

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 gain higher revenue for the city, 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 adding a public meeting space and

lecture hall A lecture hall or lecture theatre is a large room used for lectures, typically at a college or university. Unlike flexible lecture rooms and classrooms with capacities normally below one hundred, the capacity of lecture halls can sometimes be m ...

. During this time, the auditorium hosted many events, including the NWA Wrestling's

Clash of the Champions ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). ...

televised event in June 1988 and two concert appearances for the band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

The Knight Center became used primarily for concerts when the Hurricanes moved into

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). From 1988 until 1999, it also ...

in 1988, and became the original home of the annual

Premios Lo Nuestro The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro ( Spanish for "Ours") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by TelevisaUnivision, and is carried by its Univision network in association with its related radio sta ...

ceremony in the 1990s, remaining until the ceremony moved into the newly completed Waterfront Theater at

American Airlines Arena Kaseya Center is a multi-purpose arena on Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida. The arena is home to the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. The arena was previously named American Airlines Arena from opening in 1999 until 2021, FTX ...

in 2000. In February 1994 the game show ''Wheel of Fortune'' taped episodes at the Knight Center. 7 years later in November 2001 ''Wheel of Fortune'' would again tape at the Knight Center, however the audience size was reduced following the

September 11 Attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. On July 7, 2021, professional wrestling promotion

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...

(AEW) hosted a special episode of their weekly television show ''

AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...

'' called Road Rager at the arena. AEW would return to the Knight Center in October 2021 to tape another episode of ''Dynamite'' and two episodes of its other weekly television show, ''

AEW Rampage ''AEW Rampage'', also known as ''Friday Night Rampage'' or simply ''Rampage'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), running from August 13, 2021, to Dece ...

''. James L. Knight Center also kicked off the first half of 2023 breaking its record for the most sold-out shows in property history with two sold-out performances by Morat, ranked No. 65 on the Top 100 North American Tours chart, as well as maximum-capacity performances by internationally acclaimed artists, including Lil Nas X, Pablo Alborán, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Isabel Pantoja. In 2024 the James L. Knight Center achieved a remarkable milestone, ranking number 19 worldwide among theaters with a capacity of 5,000 seats or less, according to the Billboard Boxscore Midyear report. This recognition highlights the ongoing success of the James L. Knight Center, which has proven to be one of the leading venues in its category in terms of revenue and popularity. The ranking underscores the center’s commitment to providing high-quality entertainment experiences for the Miami community and its visitors. For the remainder of 2024, the James L. Knight Center expects to continue this positive trend with a variety of sold-out events, including recent shows by P1 Harmony, Brandon Lake, and Fridayy, as well as upcoming performances by Flor Bertotti, Myriam Hernández, and many more that will continue to attract Miami’s diverse community.

Facilities

*Miami Convention Center **James L. Knight Center Theater (formerly the James L. Knight Center from 1982 to 2013) **Riverfront Exhibition Hall ***North Hall ***Central Hall ***South Hall **Riverwalk & Dockage *Miami Conference Center **Ashe Auditorium **Miami Lecture Hall *Hyatt Regency Hotel **Regency Ballroom **Riverwalk Cafe **Riverwalk Deli **Pure Verde

Location

The complex is located along the Miami River near

Bayfront Park Bayfront Park is a public, urban park in Downtown Miami, Florida on Biscayne Bay. History The park began construction in 1924 under the design plans of Warren Henry Manning and officially opened in March 1925. Beginning in 1980, it underwent ...

. Also in the area is Mary Brickell Village, Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and

New World School of the Arts The New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising ...

. The complex is serviced by the

Knight Center station Knight Center is a Metromover station in Downtown, Miami, Florida located in the Miami Tower. This station is located at the intersection of Southwest Second Street and Second Avenue, connected to the namesake James L. Knight Center by a gla ...

for the

Metromover Metromover is a fare-free automated people mover system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves the Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. Metromover con ...

Venue Gallery

File:James L. Knight Center Theater - Front View.jpg, James L. Knight Center Theater - Front View File:James L. Knight Center Theater - Floor View.jpg, James L. Knight Center Theater - Floor View File:James L. Knight Center Theater - Lobby View.jpg, James L. Knight Center Theater Lobby File:Ashe Auditroium at The James L. Knight Center - Side View.jpg, Ashe Auditorium at the James L. Knight Center File:Ashe Auditroium at The James L. Knight Center - Back View.jpg, Ashe Auditorium at the James L. Knight Center File:Ashe Auditroium Lobby at The James L. Knight Center.jpg, Ashe Auditorium Lobby at the James L. Knight Center File:Riverwalk and Dockage View at The James L. Knight Center - View 2.jpg, Riverwalk & Dockage View at the James L. Knight Center File:Riverwalk and Dockage at The James L. Knight Center.jpg, Riverwalk & Dockage View at the James L. Knight Center File:Riverwalk and Dockage View at The James L. Knight Center - View 3.jpg, Riverwalk & Dockage at the James L. Knight Center File:Riverfront Hall at The James L. Knight Center - View 1.jpg, Riverfront Hall at James L. Knight Center - Miami Convention Center File:Riverfront Hall at The James L. Knight Center - View 2.jpg, Riverfront Hall at James L. Knight Center - Miami Convention Center File:Miami Lecture Hall at The James L. Knight Center - Back View.jpg, Miami Lecture Hall at the James L. Knight Center File:Miami Lecture Hall at The James L. Knight Center.jpg, Miami Lecture Hall at the James L. Knight Center

References

External links