Carnival Cruise Lines founder Ted Arison became the majority owner and the team played its games from November 5, 1988 to December 28, 1999, moving into the state-of-the-art Miami-Dade Arena on January 2, 2000.
Fans were given a choice between naming the team the Miami Vice or the Miami HEAT, with the HEAT winning out in a survey, and Ron Rothstein was named the franchise’s first head coach. He coached the team for the first three seasons and was followed by Kevin Loughrey (1991-95) and Alvin Gentry for the remainder of 1995.
Center Rony Seikaly was the team’s first ever draft pick and earned league Most Improved Player honors in his second season, but Miami struggled out of the gate and didn’t put together a winning record until finishing 42-40 in 1993-94, reaching the playoffs for the second time.
