The opening of the Amway Center to the public resulted in a sizable crowd assembling in the street for a ribbon cutting. Just to get into this area, all bags were searched. The security officer joked with me about having so many pens and notebooks. Seems most media folks are all digital. Mayor Buddy Dyer spoke about the long road that had to be traveled to get to this point. He pointed out that a major feature of the building was its transparency. A practice basketball court can be seen from outside the building from Division Street. He felt that the tower and beacon wodld be known years from now as an iconic Orlando feature. A great consideration is that the building offers great amenities to everyone, not just the Box seat season ticket holders. The $5 seats offer great views of the game. Rainwater is captured from the roof saving an estimated 8000 gallons of water a year.
The Center houses an art collection with work from 25 artists with 300 pieces in the hallways and suites. The open wire mesh that was used in the construction of the tower was produced by a metal worker in Parramore, just a few blocks from the Center. Rather than trying to get a glimpse of the ribbon getting cut, I focused on the media that were on hand to record the cutting. Once the ribbon was cut, fireworks exploded out from the Amway Center letters. Then as I was rushing to put on some watercolor washes, the crowds rushed into the huge open space.