AmericanAirlines Arena To Unveil Xfinity East Plaza

Environmentally friendly outdoor space is Miami’s newest entertainment venue extends in-arena experience outdoors overlooking Biscayne Bay.

AmericanAirlines Arena will officially unveil downtown Miami’s newest and sexiest entertainment venue—the Xfinity East Plaza—on January 31st when the Miami HEAT take on the Atlanta Hawks. The Xfinity East Plaza is a 23,000 square foot outdoor space located on the east side of the Arena, which provides stunning views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. The Plaza, which was previously uncovered and underutilized primarily because of Miami’s year-round sun and rain, is now an environmentally friendly, technologically sophisticated, and fully functional entertainment space. This project is the product of a clean energy partnership with NRG, the Official Alternative Energy Partner of the Miami HEAT and AmericanAirlines Arena, which has equipped some of the nation’s greatest sports venues with tailor-made smart energy solutions.

The Xfinity East Plaza is a multi-faceted venue that takes all the excitement of a HEAT game or Arena event outdoors. On the Plaza, guests can enjoy expertly crafted cocktails and spirits at the BACARDÍ Bar, food from local eateries Pincho Factory and Philly Cheesesteaks, live music and/or entertainment, a variety of seating options, three The Miami HEAT Store retail kiosks (jerseys, kids merchandise and Court Culture apparel), and a kiosk dedicated to New Era caps. Music mogul and social media motivator, DJ Khaled, will host a special post-game concert on the Xfinity East Plaza following the Hawks vs. HEAT game.

One of the centerpieces of the Plaza is the "Xfinity Zone" featuring the X1 Entertainment Operating System™.  X1 is an interactive TV experience that gives you instant access to all of your entertainment.  X1 also features a Sports app to provide fast and easy access to live games on TV, live scores of all games currently in progress, and coverage of games you aren't watching, keeping fans connected to all the HEAT game action and stats at any time. The Xfinity Zone also offers multiple large screen televisions and solar-powered charging stations.  Xfinity is Comcast’s residential service brand and is one of the nation’s largest video and high-speed Internet providers.

Also for the first time at AmericanAirlines Arena, Xfinity WiFi hotspots will provide Internet access to all visitors on the Xfinity East Plaza. Fans can use the complimentary high-speed wireless Internet service to stay connected, post on social media sites or stream their favorite entertainment on the go. The Plaza also features charging stations located in the "Xfinity Zone." A live feed of HEAT games and Plaza entertainment will be displayed on a high definition, 16’ x 9’ LED video board.

"We’ve been sitting on this great outdoor space for 16 years and it came to a point where we felt like it was time to cover it and extend our concourse outdoors into beautiful Miami," said Eric Woolworth, President of The HEAT Group's Business Operations. "Our partners in this venture—NRG, Xfinity and BACARDÍ—helped us to transform, rather dramatically, an underused space into an elegant, vibrant, sustainable venue."

"We are very excited to showcase the best of entertainment and technology to all of the fans that experience the new Xfinity East Plaza," said Thomas Zemaitis, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Comcast Florida. "Fans today want to be connected to their favorite online content all the time – whether it’s to stay up to date on the latest NBA scores or follow along on social media. With the new high-speed Xfinity WiFi hotpsots, fans visiting the Xfinity East Plaza will be able to get online and surf on their mobile devices for free."

"This unique venue brings together the passion of the Miami HEAT with cutting-edge energy design that complements the mission of the AmericanAirlines Arena to create an inspiring and exciting venue," said Rob Gaudette, Senior Vice President of Business Solutions, NRG. "Driving smarter, cleaner energy solutions and creating an iconic functional space serves fans of all kinds while supporting both sustainability and economic growth."

"We are thrilled to join forces with the AmericanAirlines Arena to bring exciting experiences and epic parties to Miami HEAT fans, and more importantly, delicious cocktails from the beautiful new BACARDÍ Bar on the East Plaza with a killer view," said Fabio Di Giammarco, Global Vice President for BACARDÍ rum. "We have big plans for entertainment, giveaways and other surprises for fans that will make each game night a special one they won’t want to miss."

The venue also has a 720 square foot, bi-level performance stage outfitted with unique LED lighting as well as a special effects lighting truss and a 70,000-watt audio system. Five NanoLumens—360-degree LED cylinder technology—deliver spectacularly clear imagery into the Plaza creating an eye-catching visual environment.

The Xfinity East Plaza will also present the BACARDÍ Concert Series, a variety of live entertainment acts, during pre-game, halftime and post-game on the following dates: January 31st vs. Atlanta featuring DJ Khaled, February 20th vs. Washington, February 24th vs. Golden State, March 19th vs. Cleveland and April 7th vs. Chicago. More information on the Bacardi Concert Series will be forthcoming.

An elegant installation with a visually appealing design, the Xfinity East Plaza’s roof is also an energy efficient solar array and adds a modern architectural flair to the 16-year-old arena. The solar array is dotted throughout with 14 translucent solar panels, which utilize Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) solar technology allowing for the offset of energy consumption. In addition, most of the all-weather seating (lounge chairs, sofa seating, coffee and side tables, and picnic tables and benches) on the Xfinity East Plaza is environmentally sustainable having been made from both 80% recycled aluminum and 100% recycled plastic—the equivalent of 24,104 milk jugs.

The unveiling of the Xfinity East Plaza is the latest example of The HEAT Group’s commitment to environmentally sound principles and practices. In January 2015, AmericanAirlines Arena became the first sports and entertainment facility in the world to receive LEED Gold recertification cementing its status as an international leader in operational sustainability. LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council’s leading rating system for designing, constructing and operating the world’s greenest, most energy- efficient, and highest performing buildings.

For more information, visit AAArena.com.