Sawgrass Mills sits right next door to Amerant Bank Arena (1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise, FL 33323) — two of Broward County's biggest traffic generators sharing one stretch of road. On a Friday night with a Florida Panthers game and a mall full of shoppers both letting out at once, Panther Parkway and West Sunrise Boulevard back up fast, and the lot you paid for at the gate can turn into a 20-minute crawl before you've even parked. The question that actually decides your night: where does a bus drop your group, and where does it sit until the final horn?
Short answer — a charter bus or party bus heading to Amerant Bank Arena is directed through Gate 1 or Gate 7 and parks in Lot D2, close to the arena doors, according to the arena's own directions and parking page. Below is everything else your group needs: what that spot costs, which road gets you there fastest from Plantation, what the arena's cashless, no-re-entry rules mean for a group outing, and how to size the right vehicle for a Panthers game, a concert, or a family show.
Charter Bus & Party Bus Drop-Off at Amerant Bank Arena
Buses and large RVs are routed to Gate 1 or 7 and park in lot D2, per the arena's own parking guidance — the same lot general car traffic uses, but staged separately so your group isn't hunting for a spot after everyone else has already claimed one. Lot D2 sits close enough to the doors that your group walks in on its own schedule instead of trailing a line of cars looking for an open space.
General car parking splits into two zones: A Lot, reached through Gate 2 or Gate 3, and D Lot, reached through Gate 1 or Gate 7 — the same gates a bus uses. Beyond those, the arena runs a set of upgraded lots (Amerant Vault, Valet, Garage, DEX VIP, F Club, B Club, and C Club) tied to specific ticket packages, each with its own gate sequence. None of that matters for a bus group; Gate 1 or 7 and Lot D2 is the whole instruction.
The arena also runs a designated rideshare setup through Lyft at Gate 3, with drop-off on the North Pedestrian Walkway and post-event pickup at the north end of that same walkway before exiting through Gate 2 — a separate flow entirely from Lot D2. That's useful to know if part of your group splits off, but it also means a bus group headed for Gate 1 or 7 never has to merge into the rideshare queue at all.
Amerant Bank Arena Bus & RV Parking — What Lot D2 Actually Costs
General A Lot and D Lot parking runs $40–$50 plus tax at the gate for a standard car, with prepaid options sold through SeatGeek for a discount over paying at the booth. A bus is not charged the standard-car rate. The arena's own parking page states buses and large RVs are charged per extra space they occupy beyond a single spot — meaning the cost scales with the size of the vehicle, not a flat car-sized fee.
Limousines are charged double the general parking rate.
Run the comparison the way a trip planner actually has to: a 30-person group splitting into eight cars needs eight separate $40–$50 passes bought before the gate, eight transportation providers who can't have a drink at the game, and eight vehicles trying to leave Lot A or D at the same moment postgame. One charter bus in Lot D2 replaces all eight passes with a single parking charge, tied to a single vehicle that everyone rides home in together.
A charter bus or party bus to Amerant Bank Arena uses Gate 1 or Gate 7 and parks in Lot D2 — the same gates as D Lot car traffic, but a separate space, close to the doors, with the vehicle's rate based on how many spaces it occupies rather than a flat per-car price.
Driving Directions to Amerant Bank Arena From Plantation and the Highways
Most of Plantation sits well within a half-hour of Panther Parkway off-peak, and the fastest way in usually runs west on I-595 to Exit 1 (136th Avenue), heading north. According to the arena's own directions page, 136th Avenue becomes Panther Parkway, and the arena sits “one mile north of Sunrise Boulevard on the left.” That's the route most groups leaving from Plantation, Broward Boulevard, or the Sunrise commons area will use.
Two other routes matter if part of your group is coming from farther out. From the Sawgrass Expressway heading south, the arena's directions call for exiting onto Oakland Park Boulevard, turning left, then right onto Flamingo Road, then right onto Panther Parkway — landing the arena a half mile south on the right. From I-75 coming up from the south, the shortest path runs the Sawgrass Expressway north to Pat Salerno Drive, which feeds directly into the arena property at Gate 1 or Gate 2 without ever touching Panther Parkway's stoplights.
The wrinkle unique to this venue: Sawgrass Mills sits immediately next to the arena property on West Sunrise Boulevard, and its own weekend traffic overlaps directly with event traffic on the same stretch of road. A group that times its arrival around normal mall-adjacent congestion — rather than just event start time — avoids getting stacked up behind shopping traffic that has nothing to do with the game.
None of that routing is the reader's problem to track once the trip is booked. A Plantation charter bus rental arrives already pointed at the right gate, on the route that clears fastest for that night's event, while the group inside worries about nothing but the game.
Amerant Bank Arena Is Cashless — and Other Entry Rules a Group Should Know
Two policies at this arena surprise first-time visitors more than any parking rule. First: “The Amerant Bank Arena is a cashless building,” with no ATMs inside — so every card, phone, or ticket holder in your group needs a working card before walking in, because there's no way to convert cash once you're through the gate. Second: the arena's exit policy is final.
Per the A-Z guide, once a guest leaves, “re-entry will not be allowed” except through an event supervisor in an emergency — meaning anyone who steps out to the parking lot mid-event doesn't get back in for the third period.
The bag policy is stricter than most arenas, too. Backpacks, purses, cinch bags, and sling bags are not permitted at all; only a small clutch, 4 inches by 6 inches or smaller, gets through the gate, with exceptions for diaper bags and medical bags. Bag lockers are available, but only outside the main entrance, “at the bottom of the Publix Plaza stairs” — worth knowing before your group hauls jackets, gifts, or gear to the gate expecting to check it inside.
The building is also smoke and tobacco-free, including e-cigarettes and vaping devices, with no exceptions carved out anywhere on the property.
None of these rules change based on how your group arrives, but a bus group has one advantage: gear that would otherwise get turned away at the gate rides in the bus's storage instead of getting left in a locker or a car.
Amerant Bank Arena Party Bus Rental: Picking the Right Size
Group size and how much gear you're hauling — jerseys, coolers for the tailgate lot, gifts for a birthday outing — decide the vehicle more than anything else. Compare the full vehicle lineup against your headcount before you request a quote.
| Vehicle | Typical seats | Best for an Amerant Bank Arena trip | Amenities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprinter van | Up to ~14 | Suite holders, small friend groups | Leather seating, tinted windows, USB charging |
| Party bus | 15–50 | Panther games and concerts where the group wants the ride to feel like part of the night | Built-in bar, color-changing LED lighting, Bluetooth sound, flat-panel TVs |
| 25-passenger minibus | ~25 | Mid-size fan groups and family outings to Disney on Ice or a family concert | Reclining seats, strong A/C |
| Charter bus | Up to 56 | Season-ticket groups, corporate suite outings, large watch-party crowds | Reclining seats, climate control, overhead and undercarriage storage, onboard restroom |
For a Panthers game where the group wants the pregame to start the moment the wheels roll, a 15- to 50-passenger party bus rental keeps everyone together with a full-length bar and sound system running before you ever reach Gate 1. For a company outing filling a suite, or a season-ticket group that fills forty seats every home stand, a 40- to 56-passenger charter bus rental carries everyone plus gear in one trip, with the undercarriage bays absorbing what the arena's own bag policy won't let inside.
Amerant Bank Arena Charter Bus Rental Prices
Plantationminibuscompany.com shows quotes from a network of bus companies serving Plantation in under a minute, with no account required. Pricing on any given date shifts with a handful of factors: vehicle size, total hours booked (including how long the bus needs to sit in Lot D2), the specific event and date, and how far the pickup point is from Sunrise. A Panthers preseason Tuesday prices differently than a Weezer concert on a Saturday, when demand for every vehicle in the county climbs at once.
To give you an idea: a 28-person group leaving Plantation for a Wednesday Panthers game might book an 8-hour minibus rental — pickup at 5:00 PM, drop at Gate 1 or 7 by 5:45 PM, the bus staged in Lot D2 through the third period, and pickup arranged for roughly 30 minutes after the final horn. At that size and duration, a rental in that range often comes out to somewhere in the neighborhood of $60–$75 per person once split across the group — covering the ride, the parking, and every transportation provider in that group having a drink if they want one, none of it possible if everyone had shown up in separate cars. Figures like this move with the date, the vehicle, and demand, so the fastest way to get a number for your specific trip is to fill out the quote form or call 954-400-1220.
Compare current ranges any time on the Plantation bus rental prices page.
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood Airport to Amerant Bank Arena
Groups flying in for a concert or a Panthers weekend usually land at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL), roughly a 20-minute run from Sunrise depending on the hour. Every ground transportation option at FLL — taxis, rideshare, hotel shuttles, rental cars — loads from the same lower-level Arrivals roadway, per the airport's own ground transportation page, with staffed booths on that level during peak flight times to help sort out where each option picks up.
For a group landing together, sorting out which of those lower-level options fits fifteen or thirty people arriving on the same flight burns time nobody has before a 7 PM puck drop. One bus gathering the whole group curbside on the Arrivals level and running straight to Gate 1 or 7 skips that sorting entirely. See the Plantation airport transportation page for how that pickup gets arranged.
Leaving Amerant Bank Arena After the Final Horn
Getting out is where a bus group notices the difference most. When 15,000-plus fans hit the parking lots at once, Lot A and Lot D both funnel back toward Panther Parkway and Sunrise Boulevard at the same time, and every car in those lots is trying to merge onto the same two roads Sawgrass Mills traffic already shares. A bus staged in Lot D2 for the whole event doesn't need to find its spot in that scramble — it's already parked close to the doors it dropped your group at.
Because re-entry is final at this arena, the group needs one clear meet-back point decided before puck drop, not sorted out by text message once everyone's phone signal drops inside the bowl. The arena's own Guest Services desk sits in the North entrance lobby near the box office — a fixed, named landmark that works better than "meet by the doors" for a group of thirty scattering after a win.
What's on the Amerant Bank Arena Calendar This Fall
Amerant Bank Arena runs events nearly every week through the fall, and each one changes how early a group should book. Per the arena's own events calendar, the near-term lineup includes:
- Monster Jam — August 22–23, 2026
- Lil Baby & Kodak Black, Fall Fest 2026 — September 5, 2026
- Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! — September 10–13, 2026
- Florida Panthers preseason vs. Carolina — September 20, 2026
- Florida Panthers preseason vs. Tampa Bay — September 26, 2026
- Florida Panthers home opener vs. Minnesota — October 10, 2026
- Weezer, “The Gathering” — October 13, 2026
- Florida Panthers vs. Vancouver, “Vamos Gatos” — October 15, 2026
- Journey, Final Frontier Tour — October 16, 2026
- Florida Panthers vs. Seattle, “Pink in the Rink” — October 17, 2026
- $uicideboy$, Grey Day 2026 — October 18, 2026
- Teddy Swims, The Ugly Tour — October 23, 2026
Notice how tight that stretch runs in October — four different Panthers games plus three touring concerts inside three weeks. Every one of those nights draws on the same limited pool of vehicles in Broward County, and a group booking for a mid-October date should lock in a vehicle well before the week of the show rather than the week of.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amerant Bank Arena Bus Rental
Where does a charter bus or party bus drop off at Amerant Bank Arena?
Buses and large RVs use Gate 1 or Gate 7 and park in Lot D2, per the arena's own parking page — the same gates D Lot car traffic uses, but staged in a separate space close to the doors.
How much does bus parking cost at Amerant Bank Arena?
General car parking in A Lot or D Lot runs $40–$50 plus tax at the gate, with a prepaid discount available through SeatGeek. Buses and large RVs are charged per extra space they occupy rather than a flat car rate; limousines are charged double the general rate.
Is Amerant Bank Arena cashless?
Yes. The arena states plainly that it is a cashless building with no ATMs inside, so every guest needs a working card or mobile payment method before entering.
Can we leave and come back into Amerant Bank Arena during an event?
No. Per the arena's A-Z guide, all exits are final and re-entry is not allowed, with exceptions only handled through an event supervisor in an emergency.
What's the bag policy at Amerant Bank Arena?
Backpacks, purses, cinch bags, and sling bags are not permitted. Only a small clutch measuring 4 inches by 6 inches or smaller is allowed, with exceptions for diaper bags and medically necessary bags. Bag lockers sit outside the main entrance at the bottom of the Publix Plaza stairs.
How far is Amerant Bank Arena from Plantation?
The arena sits a short run up I-595 to Exit 1 (136th Avenue/Panther Parkway) from most of Plantation, generally well under a half hour off-peak and longer on event nights when Sawgrass Mills traffic overlaps the same roads.
How far is Amerant Bank Arena from Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport?
Roughly a 20-minute drive north via I-595, depending on the hour. FLL's ground transportation loads from the lower-level Arrivals roadway for every option, including rideshare, taxis, and hotel shuttles.
Does Amerant Bank Arena have accessible parking?
Yes. North ADA parking uses Gate 1, 2, or 5, and South ADA parking uses Gate 1 or 7, both offered on a first-come, first-served basis according to the arena's parking page.
What size bus fits our group for a Panthers game?
A Sprinter van covers up to roughly 14 people, a 15- to 50-passenger party bus suits fan groups wanting a rolling pregame, and a 40- to 56-passenger charter bus fits season-ticket groups, corporate suite outings, or any crowd bringing tailgate gear that needs storage space.
How far in advance should we book a bus for Amerant Bank Arena?
As early as your date is set, especially for the run of Panthers games and concerts packed into October. The tighter the calendar gets around your date, the fewer right-size vehicles remain in the area, so booking the week of the show is the riskiest time to start looking.
Are ADA-accessible vehicles available to rent?
Yes, ADA-accessible vehicles can be requested through the network — note it in your quote request ahead of your date so the right vehicle gets arranged.
What is the arena's box office phone number?
The box office can be reached at 954-835-SHOW (7469), located on the Plaza Level with extended hours on event days and windows open for an hour after the event starts.
Book Your Amerant Bank Arena Party Bus or Charter Bus Today
Whether it's a Panthers game against Vancouver, a Weezer show, or a family trip to Disney On Ice, a bus dropped at Gate 1 or 7 with Lot D2 waiting nearby beats circling A Lot with a group of thirty in tow. Fill out the quote form or call 954-400-1220 and Plantationminibuscompany.com can compare party buses, charter buses, minibuses, and Sprinter vans from a network of bus companies serving Plantation — no account required, and pricing back in under a minute.
Also planning a night at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino or a cruise departure from Port Everglades? Those guides cover their own drop-offs.
