Marine Midland Arena
Located in Buffalo, New York

Stadiums Buffalo Marine Midland Arena

It is the largest indoor arena in Western New York, seating 19,070 fans in its normal configuration, and was constructed primarily for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL), who have called the arena home since 1996, when it replaced the now-demolished Memorial Auditorium. The arena was renamed as KeyBank Center starting with the 2016–2017 NHL season. It is owned by Erie County and operated by Pegula Sports and Entertainment (as Hockey Western New York, LLC). Naming rights were sold to Marine Midland Bank, part of the HSBC banking group in 1996, and the building was renamed Marine Midland Arena before the first game had been played. The bank bought the naming rights for 30 years then to expire in 2026. In 1999, as part of HSBC's worldwide corporate rebranding, the arena's name was changed to HSBC Arena, with the official renaming taking place on March 17, 2000. This name change coincided with the playing of the first college basketball tournament game in the arena's history. The press box in the arena is named after former Sabres broadcaster and Hockey Hall of Fame member Ted Darling. In 2011, Buffalo-based First Niagara Financial Group reached an agreement to purchase HSBC Bank's upstate New York and Connecticut branch network, including much of the core of the old Marine Midland. While naming rights to HSBC Arena were not included in the sale, First Niagara, HSBC, the Buffalo Sabres and other parties reached an agreement to establish a new naming rights deal with First Niagara. The name of the arena became First Niagara Center that summer, with the official renaming taking place that fall. First Niagara bought the naming rights for 15 years, approximately the remainder of the time that was left on HSBC's naming rights deal with the arena. KeyCorp announced its plans to purchase First Niagara—and thus also the naming rights to the arena—on October 30, 2015. Although exterior signage was installed during the week of August 11, 2016, the renamed KeyBank Center became official on September 19, 2016.

Arena Details

Name Marine Midland Arena

Style Enclosed Arena
Retro-Classic Architecture

Capacity 19,070

Location 1 Seymour H. Knox III Plaza
Buffalo, NY 14203

Architects Hamilton, Houston & Lownie
Bergmann Associates PC
Ellerbe Becket

Owner Erie County New York

Links

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Known As

KeyBank Center 2016‑2024

First Niagara Center 2011‑2016

HSBC Arena 2000‑2011

Marine Midland Arena 1996‑2000

Teams

Sabres (NHL) 1997-2021

F i l t e r & S o r t

Recap

Arena Details

Known As

Teams