About Ice Palace
Ice Palace is a former name of Benchmark International Arena, used 1996–2001. Benchmark International Arena is an NHL arena in Tampa, Florida. It opened in 1996. It was designed by Ellerbe Becket. It seats 19,204. Its current tenant is Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), since 1997. It was formerly home to Toronto Raptors (NBA, 2021). By capacity it ranks 12th of 32 current NHL venues, counting only venues with a known capacity. On our ranked lists it ranks 232nd oldest of 368 stadiums and arenas still in use and 5th for most name changes among 125 venues with 3 or more names. It has also been known as St. Pete Times Forum (2002–2011), Tampa Bay Times Forum (2012–2013) and Amalie Arena (2014–2025).
Appears in
- 232nd oldest of 368 stadiums and arenas still in use
- 5th for most name changes among 125 venues with 3 or more names
- 2nd for most name changes among 30 basketball arenas with 3 or more names
- 3rd for most name changes among 27 hockey arenas with 3 or more names
- 20th longest single tenancy (29 years) of the 100 longest on record in hockey arenas
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Venue Information
Address
Architect
Operator
Address derived from the venue's coordinates using data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Elevation of the venue's coordinates from USGS and NASA SRTM elevation data, via Open Topo Data.
Architect and operator credits from Wikidata.
Teams
| Team | League | Years |
|---|---|---|
|
Tampa Bay Lightning While based here: 30 seasons · 1123-1115-79 regular season · 17 postseason trips · 2026-27 in progress
NHL · 1997–present
|
NHL | 1997–present |
|
Toronto Raptors While based here: 1 season · 27-45 regular season · no postseason trips
NBA · 2021
|
NBA | 2021 |
Records are each team's full-season results while it was based here, home and away games alike, from final scores. They are not records of games played at this venue.
NHL records count overtime and shootout losses as losses.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the capacity of Ice Palace?
The capacity of Ice Palace is 19,204.
When was Ice Palace built?
Ice Palace opened in 1996.
Who designed Ice Palace?
Ice Palace was designed by Ellerbe Becket.
Who operates Ice Palace?
Ice Palace is operated by Tampa Bay Lightning.
Who plays at Ice Palace?
Ice Palace is the home venue of Tampa Bay Lightning.
Where did the Toronto Raptors play before Ice Palace?
Before moving to Ice Palace in 2021, the Toronto Raptors played at Scotiabank Arena from 1999 to 2020.
Where did the Toronto Raptors play after Ice Palace?
After leaving Ice Palace in 2021, the Toronto Raptors moved to Scotiabank Arena in 2022.
Where did the Tampa Bay Lightning play before Ice Palace?
Before moving to Ice Palace in 1997, the Tampa Bay Lightning played at Tropicana Field from 1994 to 1996.
Sources
Where the facts on this page were read from. How VenueStats compiles them.
- Open Topo Data (Public domain): Elevation.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim (ODbL): Address.
- VenueStats compilation: Opening and closing years, name history and teams (compiled by VenueStats from Sports Reference and Wikipedia).
- Wikidata (CC0): Capacity, Coordinates (Wikidata places the building within 13 m of this point), Architect and operator.
- Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA): Photograph.
Historical Names
Benchmark International Arena
2026 - Present
Amalie Arena
2014 - 2025
Tampa Bay Times Forum
2012 - 2013
St. Pete Times Forum
2002 - 2011
Ice Palace
1996 - 2001
CurrentLocation
Nearby Venues
| Venue | Years | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pepin-Rood Stadium | 1899–2002 | 1.0 mi |
| Phillips Field | 1937–1967 | 1.1 mi |
| Raymond James Stadium | 1998– | 3.9 mi |
| Houlihan's Stadium | 1967–1998 | 4.0 mi |
| George M. Steinbrenner Field | 1996– | 4.2 mi |
| Expo Hall | 1976– | 6.4 mi |
Straight-line distance between the venues' coordinates.
References
Teams on Wikipedia
Every source for the facts on this page is listed under Sources.