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The War Memorial | |
Full name | Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial |
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Former names | Rochester Civic Center Arena (planning/construction) Rochester Community War Memorial (1955–1998) |
Address | 1 War Memorial Square |
Location | Rochester, New York |
Coordinates | 43°09′13.3″N77°36′38.8″W / 43.153694°N 77.610778°W |
Owner | City of Rochester |
Operator | Buffalo Sabres (Rochester Arena LLC) |
Executive suites | 25 |
Capacity | Hockey: 10,662 [1] Lacrosse: 10,662 [2] End stage 180°: 10,877 End stage 270°: 11,352 End stage 360°: 12,428 In the Round: 12,906 General Admission: 14,000 Floor Size: 85' wide x 200' deep Seating Configuration:
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Construction | |
Broke ground | February 1, 1953 [4] |
Opened | October 18, 1955 |
Renovated | 1998 |
Construction cost | US$7.5 million ($85.4 million in 2023 dollars [5] ) $41 million (1998 renovations) ($79.7 million in 2023 dollars [5] ) |
Architect | Leonard A. Waasdorp [6] |
Tenants | |
Rochester Royals (NBA) (1955–1957) Rochester Americans (AHL) (1956–present) Rochester Colonels (EPBL) (1958-59) New York Tuck Tapers (NIBL) (1959-61) Rochester Griffins (NLL) (1974) Rochester Zeniths (CBA) (1978-83) Rochester Knighthawks (NLL) (1995–2019) Rochester Brigade (af2) (2001–2003) Rochester Razorsharks (ABA/PBL/NAPB) (2005–2018) Rochester Raiders (CIFL/IFL) (2008–2009) Rochester Lancers (MISL/MASL) (2011–2015) Rochester Knighthawks (NLL) (2019–present) | |
Website | |
Venue Website |
Blue Cross Arena, also known as the War Memorial, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 10,662. The arena opened on October 18, 1955, as the Rochester Community War Memorial. It was renovated in the mid-1990s and reopened as The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, on September 18, 1998. It is home to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
The arena was built on a downtown site as a replacement for Edgerton Park Arena, bounded by Exchange Boulevard on the west, East Broad Street on the north, the Genesee River on the east and Court Street on the south. The property was formerly the home of the Kimball Tobacco Co. and other retail buildings. Originally named the Rochester Community War Memorial, the arena opened on October 18, 1955. The building included a full stage on the south end and an exhibition hall located on the basement level. One of the members of the construction team was a young Robert Marella, who later achieved fame as professional wrestler Gorilla Monsoon. [7] The arena's first tenant was the Rochester Royals NBA basketball team, who played their final two seasons in Rochester at this arena. They were joined by the Americans the next year, who have played in the arena for 63 consecutive seasons.
On March 13, 1996, renovations to expand the arena took place, eliminating the permanent stage at the south end of the building. On July 24, 1998, Blue Cross Blue Shield and City officials announced that the name of the renovated arena would be Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. On September 18, 1998, the arena reopened to the public during a formal ribbon cutting/rededication ceremony. DeWolff Partnership Architects completed the project as Architects of Record with Rossetti Architects in a consultant relationship. C.E. DeWolff, Senior Partner of DeWolff Partnership, Geno Rossetti of Rossetti Architects, were Design Associates who collaborated on features of the design. [8] In 2018, the city terminated the arena management contract with long term operator SMG who had been running the arena since 2000. In July 2018, the city reached an agreement with Pegula Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Americans, Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills and operators of KeyBank Center in Buffalo to operate the arena beginning on August 1, 2018. [9] Shortly after the Pegula takeover the arena received updates of a new center scoreboard, a new ribbon board at the stage end of the arena and enhancements to the audio and video equipment. There are plans for expansion along the Exchange Boulevard side of the arena that will make room for additional office space and improved locker room facilities as well as planned upgrades to the bathrooms, new concessions and a restaurant. [10]
Blue Cross Arena's portable stage, which measures 80 feet deep by 80 feet wide, is said to be deeper than, and is nearly the same size as, the proscenium stage at Radio City Music Hall across the state in New York City.
The first event at the facility was a public trade show held in the exhibition hall and featured such famous Rochester-based companies as Eastman Kodak, Haloid (now Xerox), Bausch & Lomb, General Railway Signal and Rochester Products.
It hosted the 1956 NBA All-Star Game, the two-month finals of the American Bowling Congress tournament in both 1956 and 1966.
Judy Garland performed a one-night stand concert at the War Memorial on her comeback tour, the night of October 17, 1961.
A semifinal game and the final game of the ECAC Upstate-Southern Region tournament, an NCAA Division I men's college basketball tournament organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), took place at the War Memorial in 1978; the tournament champion received an automatic bid to the 1978 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. [11] [12] [13]
World Wrestling Entertainment has run many shows at the arena, most notably several television tapings 1997's In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker Pay Per View event. In 1990 at a television taping, Mr. Perfect won the Intercontinental title from The Texas Tornado and in 1994, Diesel (Kevin Nash) beat Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental title.
On July 28, 2007, the CIFL Championship Game was held in the arena. It was the first arena football game played in the venue since the Rochester Brigade folded in 2003. [14]
Local high school basketball games are played here, most notably the New York State Public High School Section V (5) Championships at the end of each season. Additionally, the arena is the home of high school cheerleading championships each year. The arena also hosts college basketball, and Section V hockey and wrestling.
On Saturday and Sunday, March 8–9, 2008, the Blue Cross Arena played host to the 46th NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships, just the second time the annual interscholastic event has been held in the Rochester area. [15]
The arena attendance record of 11,650 was set December 3, 2003 when Syracuse University defeated St. Bonaventure University in men's basketball. St. Bonaventure has hosted one of its home games in Rochester every year since 2002.
In 2016, the arena hosted the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions. [16]
On May 18, 2019, the arena held their first MMA event UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee.
In addition to sporting events, the arena hosts a wide variety of entertainment events, including live concerts, ice shows and the circus.
On November 1, 1965, The Rolling Stones played here in a concert that lasted only 7 minutes, when several thousand fans rushed the stage causing police to cancel the show. [17] On August 9, 1971, The Who played at the War Memorial just five days before releasing their classic album "Who's Next". [18] Led Zeppelin played to a standing room audience concert on September 11, 1971. [19] The Grateful Dead's performance, on November 5, 1977, was recorded and later released as a live album, entitled Dick's Picks Volume 34 . Part of the Grateful Dead's performance on September 2, 1980, is included as bonus tracks on Dick's Picks Volume 21 . The band performed at the arena ten times between 1973 and 1985.
Footage from Phish's documentary Bittersweet Motel , was filmed here on December 11, 1997.
Aside from the Rochester Americans, who play their home games in the arena, the Blue Cross Arena has played host to several notable ice hockey events and games. On November 12, 2003, the Buffalo Sabres and the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils played the first National Hockey League regular season game in the venue. The game was made possible by then Sabres owner Tom Golisano, who hails from Rochester, and featured two Rochester natives: Brian Gionta of the Devils and Rory Fitzpatrick of the Sabres. It ended in a 2–2 tie. A second regular season game was held at the arena on October 26, 2005, with the Sabres falling to the Washington Capitals, 3–2 with 8,552 in attendance. [20]
On March 23, 2006, Atlantic Hockey, an NCAA Division I Men's ice hockey league, announced that its league tournaments in 2007, 2008, and 2009 would be held at the Blue Cross Arena. 2007 was the first time the tournament was held at a neutral site. The league continued to hold their tournament there each year through 2018 when it then moved to Buffalo's LECOM Harborcenter. Additionally, the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey East Regional was held at the Blue Cross Arena. Attendance was low due to high ticket prices and distance from large Division I programs. [21]
The Rochester Institute of Technology men's hockey team has played periodic regular-season games at Blue Cross Arena instead of at their smaller on-campus rink, due to the large capacity. [22] The RIT women's hockey team hosted an exhibition game at the arena on October 16, 2021, after the Gene Polisseni Center was temporarily shut down for an ammonia leak. [23]
Every year, the Blue Cross Arena hosts regular season Section V high school hockey games and the Section V Basketball championship.
KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League since 1996, is the largest indoor arena in Western New York, seating 19,070. It replaced the Sabres' former home, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, where the team played from 1970 to 1996. The venue is also home to the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League.
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, adjacent to the Meadowbrook Parkway. It is one of the larger public auditoriums in the New York metropolitan area.
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Americans are the fourth oldest franchise in the AHL, and have the second longest continuous tenure among AHL teams in their current locations after the Hershey Bears.
Amalie Arena is a multipurpose arena in Tampa, Florida, United States, that has been used for ice hockey, basketball, arena football, concerts, and other events. It is mainly used as the home for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons (AHL), the Buffalo Bisons (NBL), the Buffalo Braves (NBA), the Buffalo Sabres (NHL), the Toronto-Buffalo Royals (WTT), the Buffalo Stallions (MSL), the Buffalo Bandits (MILL), the Buffalo Blizzard (NPSL) and the Buffalo Stampede (RHI). It also hosted events such as college basketball, concerts, professional wrestling and boxing. The venue was closed in 1996 after the construction of the venue now known as KeyBank Center, and remained vacant until being demolished in 2009.
The Greensboro Complex, formerly known as the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venues that includes an amphitheater, arena, aquatic center, banquet hall, convention center, museum, theatre, and an indoor pavilion. It is the home of the UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with their Men's and Women's basketball tournaments.
Houston Field House is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It is the nation's third-oldest college hockey rink, behind Northeastern University's Matthews Arena and Princeton University's Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. Further, it is the second-oldest arena in the ECAC Hockey League, behind Princeton's rink. Until the opening of the Times Union Center in Albany in 1990, it was the largest arena in the Capital Region.
The Amica Mutual Pavilion is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the Providence College Friars men's basketball program, due to the high demand for tickets to their games in Alumni Hall, as well as for a home arena for the then–Providence Reds, who played in the nearly 50-year-old Rhode Island Auditorium. Current tenants include the Providence Bruins ice hockey team, of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Providence College Friars men's basketball team, of the Big East Conference. The center is operated by the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which also operates the Rhode Island Convention Center and Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Wells Fargo Arena is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Part of the Iowa Events Center, the arena opened on July 12, 2005, at a cost of $117 million. Named for title sponsor Wells Fargo, the arena replaced the aging Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center as the Des Moines area's primary venue for sporting events and concerts. Beginning July 1, 2025, Wells Fargo Arena will be renamed Casey's Center for the new title sponsor Casey's General Stores.
The XL Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) under a lease with the city and operated by Spectra. In December 2007, the center was renamed when the arena's naming rights were sold to XL Group insurance company in a six-year agreement. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. It opened in 1975 as the Hartford Civic Center and was originally located adjacent to Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004. It consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.
The MassMutual Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center complex located in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, in the city's Metro Center. The arena opened in 1972 and the convention center opened in 2005. It serves as a venue for meetings, conventions, exhibitions, sporting and entertainment events.
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the northwestern United States, located in downtown Spokane, Washington. Opened in 1995, it is home to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Agganis Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on the campus of Boston University, built on the location of the former Commonwealth Armory. It is home to the five-time national champion Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey team. It is named after Harry Agganis, a football and baseball player for BU. The ice hockey rink is named Jack Parker Rink, after the legendary BU hockey player and coach. The arena is part of Boston University's John Hancock Student Village, which also includes dormitories and the university's five-story Fitness and Recreation Center.
Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, with the nearby College of William & Mary playing North Carolina State University in a college men's basketball game. On January 31, 1970, the Coliseum formally opened as the first large multi-purpose arena in the Hampton Roads region and the state of Virginia
The 2007 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey as the culmination of the 2006–07 season. The tournament began on March 23, 2007, and ended with the championship game on April 7.
The Main Street Armory is a multi-purpose arena located at 900 East Main Street in Rochester, New York. The Armory was built between 1904 and 1907 by the United States Army and was used for the training and processing of soldiers. Its main arena also hosted several non-military events, including high school basketball, circuses, and auto shows prior to the mid-1950s. In 1990, the New York National Guard left the facility, leaving it vacant and allowing it to fall into disrepair. It was purchased and renovated in the mid-2000s with the intention of refurbishing the Armory's main arena to hold events once again. The building opened for this purpose on February 3, 2007.
The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is a collegiate ice hockey team representing the Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York, United States. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey America. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and Division III levels. It lost in the semifinals of the Division I "Frozen Four" in 2010.
Upstate New York is a storied region in North American athletics.
The ECAC men's basketball tournaments are postseason college basketball tournaments organized by the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The city and metropolitan area of Rochester, New York, has several sports teams. Rochester was named the top minor league sports market in the country by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal in July 2005, the number 10 "best golf city" in America by Golf Magazine in 2007, and the fifth-best "sports town" in the country by Scarborough Research in September 2008.
Events and tenants | ||
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Preceded by | Home of the Rochester Royals 1955–1957 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Host of the NBA All-Star Game 1956 | Succeeded by |