Among the plans for the Sportatorium were sports events, ice follies programs, auto and boat shows, and eventually a "Gold Coast State Fair".

Additionally, the arena was only accessible from the then two-lane Hollywood Boulevard, resulting in massive traffic jams whenever events there attracted decent-sized crowds.

Four million dollars were spent renovating the arena and installing air conditioning, new and expanded seating upstairs, and pipes under the floor to make ice.

)[14] In addition, the Sportatorium did host one preseason NBA matchup when the New Orleans Jazz defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 113–104, in front of 6,068 fans on October 7, 1977.

On April 21 Creedence Clearwater Revival, with opening acts Freddie King and Tony Joe White, performed for the last time in Florida before the breakup of CCR.

[16] The Doobie Brothers, with the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Lynyrd Skynyrd as the opening acts, and Baker Gurvitz Army played the Sportatorium in 1975, shortly before renovations began on the arena.

[16] In 1978, there were concerts from Kiss, Rush with Pat Travers and Head East, John Denver, the Grateful Dead, Journey and Van Halen with Montrose, Blue Öyster Cult, The Isley Brothers, Aerosmith with Mahogany Rush, Foghat, Sweet, Genesis, Queen, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Bob Dylan, and Ambrosia.

[16] In the 1980s, the arena was the site of concerts for AC/DC, Beastie Boys, Billy Idol, Billy Joel, Billy Squier, Blue Öyster Cult, Bob Seger, Bon Jovi, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, The Cars, Cheap Trick, Cinderella, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Dio, Dokken, Duran Duran, Electric Light Orchestra, Foghat, The Firm, Foreigner, Grateful Dead, Guns N' Roses, Heart, Huey Lewis and the News, INXS, Iron Maiden, The J. Geils Band, Joan Jett, John Mellencamp, Jonathan Butler, Judas Priest, Kenny G, KISS, Krokus, Loverboy, Madonna, Mötley Crüe, Nazareth, Neil Young, Night Ranger, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, The Police, Public Image Ltd, Queensrÿche, Quiet Riot, Ratt, REO Speedwagon, Rick James, Robert Plant, Rush, Scorpions, Starship, Stevie Nicks, Sting, Stryper, Ted Nugent, Tina Turner, Triumph, Tom Petty, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, U2, Whitesnake, Whitney Houston and Willie Nelson, Yes, as well as many of the bands who had already played the Sporto in the 1970s.

Roberto Durán successfully defended his WBA world lightweight championship at the Sportatorium on October 15, 1976, scoring a first-round knockout against Alvaro Rojas.

In another bout on the same card, former heavyweight champion George Foreman, in the midst of his first comeback attempt, knocked out John (Dino) Dennis in the fourth round.

[19] Roger Waters described the Sportatorium as a "real compromise" because even though its acoustics left much to be desired, there was no other large concert venue in South Florida at the time.

[20] Ironically, numerous bootleg recordings of concerts from the Sportatorium by bands such as Pink Floyd, Rush, Ambrosia, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and U2 remain sought after.

[19] Robert Plant postponed a 1985 concert for one day due to leaks in the roof, and remarked to the crowd the following night, "This is the first gig I've ever done that was rained out inside the building.

[22] In July 1980, about 500 fans attending a Ted Nugent concert at the Sportatorium rioted after deputies from the Broward County Sheriff's Office arrested 15 people suspected of smoking marijuana and took them to a command trailer.

[23] In 1981, Pembroke Pines police arrested 13 people at a Rick James concert on charges of illegally carrying weapons, including a .38-caliber revolver and semiautomatic pistols, and possession of cocaine and marijuana.

Interstate 75 would not expand to the Miami area until 1986, and most concertgoers were forced to take a lengthy, miles-long trek westward on Pines Boulevard, which by 1985 was still only a two-lane road for 8 of the 10 miles (16 km) west of the Florida Turnpike, the nearest major highway.

This posed some danger, however, because impatient drivers would sometimes attempt to dart down the shoulder of the road to bypass traffic, resulting in a number of pedestrians being struck.

[25] The Broward Sheriff's Office recommended what regular concertgoers knew: to avoid this traffic by taking U.S. 27 either northwest from Miami or south from State Road 84 and approaching the arena from the west.

[25] In 1985, the county began widening a four-mile (6 km) stretch of Pines Boulevard from University Drive to Flamingo Road, although the remaining four miles—with the exception of the roadway immediately in front of the arena—remained two lanes.

Elton John arrived by helicopter for a 1984 performance, while Kenny Rogers stopped playing at the Sportatorium for a few years after 200 to 300 ticketholders were unable to attend a show because of the traffic.

It gained a short reprieve in August and September 1988 when shows by AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and others that were originally scheduled to take place at the newer facility had to be moved to the Sportatorium due to construction delays.

Although by the mid-1980s it had become known as the heavy-metal showplace of South Florida, the Sportatorium's final show on October 21, 1988, featured country music acts Highway 101, The Desert Rose Band, and Larry Boone.

[2] In 1991, a franchise owner in the newly formed Continental Hockey Association proposed spending $6 million to renovate the Sportatorium, and negotiated a buy/lease agreement with Stephen Calder's heirs.

[28] The new team was to be called the Florida Makos, but shortly before the owner was due to put down a deposit on the Sportatorium and commence renovations, the fledgling hockey league failed.

Some of the Sportatorium's target business would return to Broward County in 1998 with the completion of Amerant Bank Arena (originally the National Car Rental Center) in nearby Sunrise, Florida.