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 An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

in University Park,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was opened on February 1, 1986, and is home to the

FIU Panthers 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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

s. It was originally named Sunblazer Arena, but was renamed Golden Panther Arena when FIU's athletic teams changed their nickname from Sunblazers to Golden Panthers in 1987. It was renamed Pharmed Arena in 2004, and then was briefly named FIU Arena in 2008 before being renamed to U.S. Century Bank Arena. The facility reverted to the FIU Arena name again from 2014 to 2018 before being renamed the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in 2018. The arena contains a wooden arena floor. It is also used for

banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

s, conventions,

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

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

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

s including FIU's own commencement ceremonies. The main court is a Cincinnati Robbins perma-cushion maple

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

basketball floor, made up of some of wood. Four retractable basketball backboards allow for the floor to be divided into two practice courts, while Hydra Goal II portable basketball standards are used for intercollegiate competition. Nevco scoreboards are found at either end. Support areas include an equipment room, athletic training room, 876 lockers in six different, offices and boardrooms for FIU athletic administrators, and full-service dressing rooms. Academic space in the building includes three classrooms, as well as physiology and

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

laboratories. In late 2008,

U.S. Century Bank U.S. Century Bank is a community bank in Miami-Dade County, Florida, with headquarters in the city of Doral. U.S. Century Bank is a Minority Depository Institution (MDI) operating in South Florida. As of December 2024, it has $2.6 billion in tot ...

bought naming rights to the arena, changing the arena's name to U.S. Century Bank Arena. The arena was scheduled to undergo a $5 million renovation beginning in the summer or fall of 2010, with a completion date of early 2011. In January 2015, the Ocean Bank Convocation Center hosted the

Miss Universe 2014 Miss Universe 2014 was the 63rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the FIU Arena in Miami, Florida, United States on 25 January 2015. This was the first time in the history of the competition that the pageant was not held during the year the title ...

pageant. On January 26, 2019, the arena broke its attendance record for a basketball game with 4,710 spectators for a game between FIU and their local rivals Florida Atlantic.

References

External links

U.S. Century Bank Arena
{{Conference USA basketball venue navbox College basketball venues in Florida College volleyball venues in the United States U.S. Century Bank Arena 1986 establishments in Florida Sports venues completed in 1986

See also

References

External links