It was built in 2003 as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan to replace the outdated coliseum. On March 12, 2019, a 19–0 vote led to VyStar Credit Union becoming a sponsor for the arena. The 15-year agreement includes an annual contribution to the veterans trust fund along with upkeep of the arena. It is corporately sponsored despite a city ordinance that on its face prohibits the arena from having such a name. The ordinance does not cover any other venues, which allows for two other venues in Duval County to have corporate sponsors, most notably TIAA Bank Field.
The arena was designed, using state-of-the-art techniques, to have the acoustical characteristics necessary for concerts. The first artist to hold a concert in the Arena was Elton John in November 2003. Since that time, dozens of groups, including country, rap, rock, and others, have performed at the arena. Sporting events hosted include the 2004 USA Men's Olympicbasketball team in their only game played in the United States, as well as some early round games of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2019. On October 17, 2006 an episode of ECW on Sci-Fi was held in the arena. In 2007, WWE held the Pay-Pay view event One Night Stand in the arena and as of 2017 it has been their first and only major event to be held in the arena. However, a WWE Raw episode was held on August 6, 2018. The arena found huge success when the arena became the home of the Jacksonville Sharks in 2010 when they were introduced as an expansion team of the Arena Football League. The team was founded by former Orlando Predators executive Jeff Bouchy, who is also the brother of former Orlando Predators owner Brett Bouchy. The Sharks generally have maintained the highest attendance among the arena's regular tenants. The arena was the host for the Davis Cup first round tie between the US and Brazil on the weekend of February 1–3, 2013. It has hosted PBRBuilt Ford Tough Series events in the past. In 2016, Rihanna opened her Anti World Tour at the arena, which attracted an audience of 11,000 people. On December 1, 2019 Ariana Grande held a concert at the arena, which was part of her Sweetener World Tour. The arena held Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts in May 2020, one of the few sporting events to be held during the COVID-19 pandemic. The arena was scheduled to host days 2-4 of the 2020 Republican National Convention from August 25 to August 27, originally to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, these plans were ultimately cancelled to the COVID-19 pandemic.
