Elevated Status

One80, the top-level indoor-outdoor nightclub at the Amway, heightens downtown’s nightlife experience.

You can get a bit confused about what kind of bar One80 Grey Goose Lounge is. Set on the top floor of the city-owned Amway Center, One80 is open to the crowd inside the arena while at the same time catering to young, well-dressed partiers who may or may not even know it’s an event night at the Amway.  It’s not unusual to see Magic fans wearing T-shirts or team jerseys and shorts standing next to men and women elegantly dressed for a night on the town.

But on nights when the 18-month-old arena is dark and One80 is open, there is no confusion over what this nightclub is all about—beauty. It’s in the stylish contemporary décor inside and out, the dress code-approved clientele and the view from the outdoor terrace, a 180-degree (One80, get it?) sightline of the city’s skyline.
It’s a gorgeous location on a balmy night, what with the Amway’s spire glowing above a semicircular terrace bar, DJ mixed music and pyramid-style glass heat lamps adding to the ambience. But the patio is not the place to be on cold, windy or wet nights.
Still, the indoor area, a sleek, tight space with a white onyx bar, VIP couches and floor-to-ceiling windows, can hold its own as a chic nightclub.   
There are two ways to do the One80: VIP and not. Not is easy—there’s no cover charge and beer and standard cocktails are reasonably priced. The good stuff costs quite a bit more, though. VIP sections inside and out can be reserved for $500, which includes two bottles from a selection of premium liquors, mixers and a guaranteed private seating area.  
The VIP treatment makes sense when you consider who owns the best seats at Magic games. They’re the same people who want the best seats—preferably all to themselves—at One80, which begins to fill up at halftime on game nights.        
There’s just enough pretentiousness here to make you feel like you’re part of an exclusive scene, but it’s not to the point where you feel like you’re out of your league. That is, unless you’re over 50 and it’s a non-event night at the arena. That’s when the demographic is decidedly young (20s and 30s)—and hot, like the flames shooting up those glass heat lamps set among the rows of patio couches.  
One80 opens at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and at 10 p.m. on Mondays and Saturdays. It closes at 2:30 a.m. The club also is open during event nights at the Amway. One80downtown.com