Keybank Center
In 2011, the Western New York centered First Niagara Financial Group purchased much of HSBC’s upstate New York and Connecticut departments. It was in 2015 KeyCorp publicized its strategies to acquisition First Niagara, with the name of the arena officially becoming KeyBank Center in 2016. The current arena replaced the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, fondly remembered as “The Aud”, which was home to a vast amount of local sports teams.
Key Bank is home to Canisuis Golden Griffins, Buffalo Bisons (American Hockey League and National Basketball League, not the current Minor League Baseball team), Buffalo Braves, Buffalo Stallions, Buffalo Blizzard, Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Stampede, Toronto-Buffalo Royals, and last but not least the Buffalo Sabres, as well as a plethora of concerts, college basketball, boxing and pro wrestling events.
More about the Keybank Center:
The arena has undergone many different transformations over the years since its first initial design. In 1999 95 seats were added to the top echelons of the 300 level. Then around 2003 the glass boards were swapped with plastic so they didn’t crack when players were rammed into them anymore. They have added LED ribbon boards in various places around the entire complex over the years.The center expanded the home and away locker rooms, giving a major overhaul to the home locker room which included: new coaching offices, a state of the art fitness center, film rooms where players and coaches can watch previous games, a new post-game interview room, and a players lounge with a kitchen and team chef.
They re-painted the entire grounds with the Sabres Blue and Gold scrapping the red and black color scheme that was adopted when the new arena was built. And lastly, Tops Markets sponsored the Alumni Plaza in 2012. The area between the entrance and the parking ramp was decorated with commemorations attached on the bridge pillars that included custom inscriptions bought by the community together with every member of the Sabres team throughout the current organization. And the flagship statue of a ten-foot-high bronze sculpture of The French Connection being a central focus of the renovations made to the Alumni Plaza.
Who does Keybank House?
Keybank arena has accommodated the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament, Rochester Americans games during the 2012 NHL Lockout, an Ontario Hockey League game, the 1998 and 2016 NHL Drafts and three of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals games. It was the home of the Buffalo Blizzard, the Buffalo Destroyers, and the Buffalo Wings. It is the current home of the Buffalo Bandits. Canisuis Golden Griffins used to play there, as well as many NCAA and MAAC tournaments. It has also hosted a UFC event, on top of a bunch of pro wrestling events and even more concerts.The arena is located at 1 Seymour H. Knox III Plaza in Buffalo, NY 14203