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Located in downtown Tampa, the 19,764 seat St. Pete Times Forum (formerly the Ice Palace) became the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning in October, 1996. Situated on the Garrison Channel between the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Convention Center, the 600,000 square foot arena is designed for hockey but will house over 150 events annually with seating capacity expanded to 20,500 for basketball and up to 21,500 for center-staged events.
The St. Pete Times Forum features 28 luxury suites just 20 rows from the playing surface and another tier of 43 on a higher level. Each suite includes 12 cushion theater-style seats in front of a sliding glass wall which may be opened or closed to the remainder of the suite which will have catered dining, private bar and restaurant service, private restrooms and personal furnishing features. In addition, suiteholders have access to a suite-holders only parking lot with a private enterance to the St. Pete Times Forum, and first choice at other headlining events in the area.

Additionally, the St. Pete Times Forum features an exclusive 3,000 seat Palace Club that combines first-class service and amenities with season tickets to Lightning games. A most unique aspect of the arena, the Palace Club provides members with their own private club level to enjoy the action, the best seats in the house, membership to the private restaurant/club, in-seat wait service, concierge service, business facilities, reserved parking in the arena garage and much more.

The St. Pete Times Forum was financed by a unique public/private partnership, including the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, the state of Florida, and Lightning Partners, Ltd. Total cost of the project was estimated at $160 million. Ellerbe Becket designed the facility and Huber, Hunt, and Nichols was the construction contractor.

October 21, 1996 AP - On a night that they opened their $160 million St. Pete Times Forum, the Tampa Bay Lightning gave their fans something to remember. The New York Rangers probably won't forget it, either.

Dino Ciccarelli and Alex Selivanov scored 32 seconds apart early in the second period as the Lightning beat the Rangers 5-2 last night in the inaugural game at the new arena.

A crowd of 20,543 in the 19,764 seat building saw Ciccarelli break a 1-1 tie 23 seconds into the period. The Lightning right wing converted the rebound of a shot from Rudy Poeschek for his fourth goal.

The 1999 NHL All-Star game was played at the St. Pete Times Forum.

St. Pete Times Forum history

First regular-season game: October 20, 1996 win over the New York Rangers 5-2
First goal: October 20, 1996 by Bradley at 11:46 of the first period

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING USING SPONSORSHIP DEAL TO FUND ICE PALACE IMPROVEMENTS
September 30, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures

A five-year agreement with local Chrysler and Plymouth dealers will provide funding for the Tampa Bay Lightning to renovate the Ice Palace's club and suite levels. Terms of the deal were not announced, but they are estimated at $10 million and include naming rights for the arena's club and suite levels, restaurant and VIP entrances. Signage is included along with space inside the arena to display automobiles. The renovation work will cost up to $5 million.

The team and the venue were recently purchased by Palace Sports and Entertainment. The company is also investigating sale of naming rights to the arena.