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Pensacola Bay Center Future Begins To Take Shape Following Joint Government Meeting
April 19, 2026
A better image of what the future of the Pensacola Bay Center might look like emerged during a recent joint meeting of the Escambia County Commission and the Pensacola City Council.
No final decisions were made on the $180 million project. In June, the commission is expected to discuss next steps for the design of the Bay Center renovations and the design of a new flexible event center, which will help determine the scope of the project along with next steps.
The current Bay Center, which opened in 1985, has a capacity of 8,050 for hockey and 10,000 with a center stage. It currently averages 123 annual events with an attendance of 352,700.
A three-part proposal from Legends Global includes $71 million in renovations for the Bay Center, which will happen. A new ice rink, it appears, will rely upon private financing, and plans for a new event center are still taking shape.
To see the proposal, click here.
The complete proposal as pesented included:
Pensacola Bay Center (PBC) Improvements $71 million
Exterior upgrades & façade enhancements.
New club seats (between 400 and 600).
2 new club rooms/areas.
Expanded concourses.
Expansion & improvement of F&B and retail spaces & offerings.
New/expanded LED signage offerings.
Back-of-house & central plant improvements and upgrades.
Seamless connectivity to new Practice Ice Rink and Event Center.
New Practice Ice Rink $29.8 million
Attached or connected via enclosed walkway to PBC and Event Center.
one permanent ice sheet (NHL size, 200’ x 85’) with fixed seating for between 600 and 1,000.
4 locker rooms with toilets and showers.
2 coaches/officials rooms.
2 party rooms/flex rooms.
Pro shop/first aid.
Concessions & vending space.
(Optional) Physical therapy/weight room/fitness space.
Small allotment for dryland training space/other amenities (i.e., esports, golf simulator, stickhandling station, etc.).
350 incremental parking spaces needed.
New Event Center $84.4 million
Attached or connected via enclosed walkway to
PBC & Practice Ice Rink.
55,500 net square feet (185’ x 300’), column free, concrete floor, 2 moveable airwalls allowing for subdivision into 3 halls, minimum of 35-foot ceiling height.
6,000 square feet of breakout meeting space.
Warming/prep kitchen.
Enhanced FF&E:
Portable retractable seating for 2,000.
Rollable carpet for one subdivided hall (approximately 18,500 SF).
Portable SportCourt-type athletic surface.
(Alternate) Portable hardwood courts plus climate-controlled storage on-site.
Athletic netting systems & game equipment.
Approx. 105,000 gross square feet (2.4 acres) for facility footprint.
1,200 incremental parking spaces needed.
Comments
6 Responses to “Pensacola Bay Center Future Begins To Take Shape Following Joint Government Meeting”
Building a practice rink is a major opportunity cost. The number of people and amount of money it will service are tiny compared to what the city could get by spending the same amount on, say, a convention annex or even a parking garage.
It all looks fabulous, but without MUCH. MORE ATTENTION TO PARKING, people will come to hate going for the trouble to find parking! It may not be as pretty as all this is made up to be, but parking should actually be numero uno after rehabbing the present PBC. Why not incorporate parking ABOVE some of this? Less land taken and problem handled. I’m no architect, but rather than another hotel, that spot would be better put to use for PARKING, unless you can incorporate parking going upward.
Why not create this area to be able to bring off Broadway Productions here. No One Else has a large enough venue to do so around this area and it would also bring in visitors who would need overnight accommodations and would make a real difference in downtown Pensacola!
These “mental giants” in the city plan all of these structures and events without the thought of where to park. The city has become a “drive by” city because you either can’t find a place to park or you pay an outrageous fee to park. Just my thought!
Building the practice rink and upgrading the arena is long overdue. Pensacola has been a great town for minor league hockey since the 90s. I have officiated many ice flyers games in the sphl since 2010 and I always love working in Pensacola because the fan base and the ownership there are amazing. They are loyal fans and this upgrade would go along way with the community. Being able to have a youth hockey program, figure skating and even just public skate would also continue to pull in new fans. Would love to see it happen!
It is unfortunate that the National Museum of Naval Aviation is “stuck” (so to speak) in what is now a restrictive security zone. Aside from the beaches, it really is the best tourist attraction for this area. Yet, it has restrictive hours and all kinds of hoops to jump through because of the security issues that have come up since 9/11.
The price tag to relocate it off of NAS would be mind blowing. And the right location would be a challenge. But it would fit right in with all the tourist attractions in and around downtown Pensacola.