The first look at Kaseya Center’s upgrades, including photos of Heat’s new ‘fireball’ scoreboard

The core of the Miami Heat’s roster will look just about the same as it did last season, but the Heat’s home arena will look and feel a bit different this season.

Kaseya Center will unveil “a series of multimillion-dollar facility upgrades” when the Heat hosts its annual Red, White and Pink Game intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 7 following its week-long training camp in the Bahamas.

The arena upgrades include a new scoreboard, new lighting and audio systems and a new retractable seating system in the lower bowl. The upgrades were made during the Heat’s offseason this summer.

“We take great pride in providing our employees, guests and community with the best sports and entertainment experience,” Heat president of business operations Eric Woolworth said in a press release issued by the team. “The ‘Home of the HEAT’ will celebrate its 25th anniversary this coming New Year’s Eve and during the past two and a half decades, the Arison family has continued to reinvest in Kaseya Center ensuring it remains a competitive, efficient and award-winning facility. These latest upgrades provide a huge boost to the fan experience no matter where you’re seated inside Kaseya Center.”

Kaseya Center opened in 1999 on New Year’s Eve as AmericanAirlines Arena before a series of name changes during the past three years that resulted in the building eventually becoming known as Kaseya Center in April 2023.

Here’s a rundown of the arena upgrades set to be unveiled in two weeks:

▪ New scoreboard: “A spectacular, one-of-a-kind scoreboard display — nicknamed “Fireball” — a dynamic three-dimensional replica of the team’s iconic ball and flame logo,” according to a press release issued by the Heat. “The flame ball features 2,525 square feet of LED screens, which are capable of variable content zoning allowing them to show one large image or multiple zones of engaging content. The flame ball is framed by four large video displays measuring 19.5 feet by 29.5 feet, two top ring displays and four underbelly displays totaling 7,440 square feet and 55 million pixels of digital display space. Throughout the arena, new corner displays, vomitory displays, stanchion displays and event floor clock displays have also been added totaling 11,000 square feet of additional digital space — a 585 percent increase over the previous system.”

For perspective, the four underbelly displays on the new scoreboard are the same size as the old video boards at 9 feet by 15.5 feet. Each of the new scoreboard’s large video displays are about twice as large as the old displays at 19.5 feet by 29.5 feet. This represents the first time that the scoreboard has been upgraded since the Heat’s home arena opened more than two decades ago.

▪ New lighting: “The Kaseya Center’s new lighting system is a holistic upgrade comprised of new house, special effects, sports, perimeter bowl and center-hung lighting instruments,” according to a press release issued by the Heat. “The house, sports and special effect lighting, manufactured and installed by Musco Lighting, allows programmable color wash lighting throughout the arena. For basketball games specifically, Heat fans will be treated to a very dramatic ‘boxing ring effect’ where the hardwood is blanketed in light while the lower and upper bowls are noticeably dimmer making the action on the court the focal point.”

This new theater lighting will resemble the lighting for New York Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden and Los Angeles Lakers home games at Crypto.com Arena.

▪ New audio: “The Kaseya Center’s new, state-of-the-art audio system will revolutionize the way guests experience live events,” according to a press release issued by the Heat. “The system, manufactured by L’Acoustics and installed by Solotech, boasts an almost 50 percent increase in speakers delivering a powerful 696,800 watts of crystal clear sound. With digital processing and surround sound features, along with a special group of speakers dedicated to low frequency effects, every note, beat, and chord will be perfectly balanced and immersive no matter where in the arena a guest is seated.”

▪ New retractable seating: “The Kaseya Center’s new retractable seating system will upgrade approximately 2,100 seats in the lower bowl and create new, more secure pathways for the home and visiting teams to travel between their respective locker rooms and the court,” according to a press release issued by the Heat. “Designed and installed by StageRight Corporation using their latest retractable technology, the new retractable seating system is expected to increase the arena’s changeover efficiency by more than 33 percent.”