The complex originally was built to be an
exhibition hall for the downtown Miami area, to attract
business conferences,
trade shows and conventions. Previous conventions were held at the
Miami Beach Convention Center. However, the business atmosphere for
Miami Beach 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 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 men's and women's basketball team used the UM Auditorium until the completion of the
Sunblazer Arena in 1986. Shortly after, the newly reestablished
Miami Hurricanes men's basketball 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. During this time, the auditorium hosted many events, including the NWA Wrestling's
Clash of the Champions televised event in June 1988 and two concert appearances for the band
R.E.M. The Knight Center became used primarily for concerts when the Hurricanes moved into
Miami Arena in 1988, and became the original home of the annual
Premios Lo Nuestro ceremony in the 1990s, remaining until the ceremony moved into the newly completed Waterfront Theater at
American Airlines Arena 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. On July 7, 2021, professional wrestling promotion
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) hosted a special episode of their weekly television show
AEW Dynamite 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. ==Facilities==