Amalie Arena
Hosting Tampa Bay Lightning home games since 1996, Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida gives fans a refuge from the heat and humidity to come and watch the amazing action of Lightning hockey. This great venue, located in the Channelside District of Downtown Tampa, has much more to offer than strong air conditioning.
Nearly 70 luxury suites encircle the playing surface here, each offering a great view. Beautiful accommodations on the exclusive suite level will make your guests feel special. Delicious catering adds to the splendor of the experience. Win or lose, you and your group will have a great time.
While primarily built for hockey, this facility has hosted a number of other events over the years. In addition to playing host to Lightning home games, the 1999 NHL All Star Game, 2004 and 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, Amalie Arena has also seen two ArenaBowls, the 2007 ACC Men’s basketball tournament, the 2008 and 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four, NBA preseason games, WWE events, and the NCAA Frozen Four. Major concert tours have come through the building as well, including Britney Spears, Kanye West, The Who, and Paul McCartney.
If you are looking to host a group in the Tampa area, whether for business or pleasure, Amalie Arena is the place to be. Contact LuxuryVIPSuites.com to take advantage of the opportunity to rent a suite for the event of your choosing. Our exclusive access to suite owners affords us the chance to pass these great boxes along to our clients at the best prices in the marketplace. Call us today at 610-828-7407 to inquire further about your next event.
Already own a suite at Amalie Arena? We would love the chance to represent you and your suite. Our clients are hungry for Tampa events and you could help offset your annual expenses by allowing us to market your suite to our top clientele in the region. Email us direct at sales@luxuryvipsuites.com for more information about the process and how partnering with LuxuryVIPSuites.com can be the beginning of a very lucrative and beneficial relationship.
Tampa Bay Lightning luxury suites can be found here at Luxury VIP Suites!
The climate of Tampa, Florida does not lend itself to being a natural hockey location. However, the NHL saw potential in the region and granted franchise rights to an ownership group led by hockey hall of famer Phil Esposito which established the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992.
Typical for most expansion teams, the Lightning endured adversity in their first few seasons which left them in last place in their division. Their first winning season was in 1995-1996 which culminated in their first trip to the playoffs. A first round exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers led to six more seasons without a postseason berth. Injuries, business issues, and poor play had the Lightning in a tailspin.
By 1999, the Lightning had been sold twice and were beginning to stabilize. Vincent Lacavalier, their first overall draft pick from 1998 was blossoming into a star. So, too, was another draft pick in Brad Richards. John Tortorella was bumped up to head coach in 2001 and the team took off. Martin St. Louis joined the team and made a name for himself. A first place division finish brought the Lightning back to the playoffs where they would make it as far as the second round. In 2004 the group cemented themselves in NHL history with their first Stanley Cup championship. Defeating the Calgary Flames in seven games, the Lightning were at the top of their game.
Perhaps poised for a repeat, the plans were spoiled by the NHL lockout. While remaining competitive in the years the followed, Tampa was just never able to reach that championship plateau again. As with all great teams, time saw the demise of this dominant club. Through free agency, trades, firings, and retirement, the Lightning turned over their roster and dropped to the bottom the standings.
The silver lining for this team came in the form of draft picks. The Lightning selected Steven Stamkos 1st overall in the 2008 draft and Victor Hedman 2nd overall in the 2009 draft. Both players would play a huge role in the resurgence of Lightning hockey. Acquiring pieces from all over, the Lightning added goaltender Ben Bishop and Ryan Callahan. Under head coach Jon Cooper, the puzzle began to come together and Tampa was back on the hockey map. Demanding more from his players, Cooper pushed his squad along through a talented Eastern Conference field to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in team history in 2015. They would lose to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games but proved to the league that they were not a mirage. They would make it to the Conference Finals again in 2016, but fell in seven games to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
After missing the playoffs in 2017, the Bolts would return to the postseason in 2018. Posting a first place finish in the Atlantic division on their way to a Conference Finals, the Lightning put up a valiant effort against the Washington Capitals. It would take seven games for Tampa to be eliminated by the eventual champions. 2019 saw another division title for the Lightning, but a quick exit at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in four games of the opening round.
Energized for the 2019-2020 season, the Tampa Bay Lightning were back in action and looking to raise the Cup once again. A healthy Steven Stamkos led the charge alongside Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Alex Killorn, Braydon Point, Anthony Cirelli, Ryan McDonagh, and Kevin Shattenkirk all provided important contributions to this club. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was a beast in net and kept Tampa in every game.
Tampa was rolling along in their season when the NHL suspended play due to Covid-19. After eventually returning in June, the Lightning seemed to pick up where they had left off. Incredibly fast and playing with smooth finesse, this group passed the puck around like magic to open up their talented offensive game while the defense and goaltending was tight. Moving past Columbus in the opening round of the playoffs, Tampa’s depth was no match for Boston as they eliminated the Bruins in five games. A hard-fought series against the New York Islanders went to six games but Tampa Bay was on a mission.
Matching up against the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Lightning were firing on all cylinders. Leaving everything out on the ice, Tampa came back after losing game one to take the next three. The Stars pushed back in game five and forced a game six with a win in double overtime. However, the Lightning proved absolutely dominant in the final game, shutting out Dallas 2-0 to secure the Stanley Cup. The Tampa Bay Lightning were champions of hockey!
The Stanley Cup is often referred to as the hardest trophy to win in all of professional sports. To do it in back to back years? That is something only the best of the best can accomplish. However, this was the mission all throughout the 2020-2021 season. Coasting to a respectable third place position in the Central Division, the Lightning headed back to work in the playoffs. Management maneuvers succeeded in keeping this team intact with its chemistry in place. Nikita Kucherov missed the entire regular season due to injury, but came back strong in the playoffs to be the leading scorer.
Opening up against the Florida Panthers, the Lightning sent their in-state rivals home in six games. The second round series against Carolina ended in five games with Tampa moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Matching up against the New York Islanders, the Lightning were challenged with a surging team that was hungry for the Finals. However, in a seven game series that became an instant classic, Tampa Bay fended off the Islanders, with game seven ending in a 1-0 shutout.
The Montreal Canadiens were the only team that stood between the Lightning and a second consecutive Stanley Cup. This Cinderella team had advanced to the Finals with heart and grit. They would not go down easy. However, Tampa wasn’t short on heart or grit either. The Lightning took two at home before traveling to Montreal for game three. A decisive 6-3 victory in game three set the table for a potential sweep in game four. With their backs against the wall, Montreal won 3-2 in overtime to force a game five.
It was in game five that the Lightning shut out the Canadiens 1-0 to win back to back Stanley Cups. Ross Colton scored the lone goal, assisted by David Savard, the only two players on the Lightning who hadn’t won the Cup before. Captain Steve Stamkos, who couldn’t play in the final game last year, made his impact felt throughout this one and hoisted the Cup again alongside his teammates. Winning in the bubble in 2020 meant no family or friends in attendance last season. Tampa more than made up for it in 2021 with a full capacity crowd cheering their hearts out for the hometown team.
Andrei Vasilevskiy took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP. His incredible performance kept Tampa in every game and his streak of five consecutive shutouts in elimination games is unbelievable. Could this team go for the threepeat next year? It will be difficult as the business part of the game will undoubtedly change the lineup, but Stamkos and company have this goal on their minds as they head into the 2021-2022 season.
The biggest move of the offseason for Tampa was the trade with Chicago that sent Tyler Johnson to the Blackhawks. They acquired defenseman Brent Seabrook in exchange, but seeing how he announced his retirement, this move was made to free up cap space for the Lightning. Corey Perry joins the team after facing off against them last season in the finals.
Though still a fairly young franchise, the Tampa Bay Lightning has been home to a number of hockey greats. Some of the favorites in the Tampa area are Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lacavalier, Victor Hedman, Brad Richards, Nikita Kucherov, Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson, and Nikolai Khabibulin. More information about the Tampa Bay Lightning can be found by clicking here.
If you own a Tampa Bay Lightning suite, we can market your luxury suite for the dates you choose not to use or are unable to attend.
This is a great opportunity to offset much of your suite expense which you incur each year. You have thousands of dollars just sitting there – no Tampa Bay Lightning game should go unused.
Benefit from extra revenue with LuxuryVIPSuites while helping out a corporate group that needs to entertain clients at a game or concert in your Tampa Bay Lightning suite.