Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Façade of the Miami Jai Alai in 2013. The fronton in 2013. Leon Shepard a.k.a. Tevin playing at the fronton. Casino Miami (formerly known as Miami Jai-Alai Fronton) is a 6,500-capacity indoor arena and casino located at 3500 NW 37th Avenue in Miami, Florida. [1] Today, it is primarily used for gambling and concerts.
The Miami Jai-Alai Fronton was the biggest in the world with a record audience of 15,502 people on 27 December 1975. Besides the fronton in Miami, there were at one at least 10 other jai alai frontons in the state. The Tampa Jai Alai fronton opened in 1952 and operated until 1998.
The Miami Jai Alai Fronton also held concerts, so Joey got to see some of the biggest acts up close. Elton John and the Allman Brothers were among the musicians who played there in 1972.
There used to be 14 frontons in the United States. Today, only two in the country offer performances year-round -- Dania and Miami.
Casino Miami, built in 1926 and known as "The Yankee Stadium of Jai Alai" Geoff Brabham in the Nissan NPT-91 about to take the checkered flag at the conclusion of the 1992 Miami Grand Prix on the Bicentennial Park circuit.
Players and fans of jai alai hope the closing of the last fronton or court in Florida doesn't mean the end of the sport.
Sports telecasts included Miami Hurricanes football in the 1949 and 1950 seasons—before the university revoked permission, fearing telecasts would hurt attendance [32] —as well as the Orange Bowl, roller derby, horse racing, golf, and jai alai.
The establishment also had a jai alai team when in season. [2] The facility was 60,000 square feet and on a 50-acre property. [5] The institution was first established in 1973 as Ocala Jai-alai, which was a branch office of the Miami fronton. [6] [7] At one time, the jai alai performances could attract about 2,000 people. [8]