The HSBC Arena is a sports and entertainment venue located in downtown Buffalo, New York, USA. This state-of-the-art venue was designed with live entertainment in mind. It is home to the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team. The arena also hosts concerts and is used regularly for college basketball games, including opening-round games of the NCAA basketball tournament and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball tournaments (1997, 1999, 2001, 2005). It recently has been used for wrestling as well, hosting Fully Loaded 1999, WCW Fall Brawl 2000, and the 2005 WWE Great American Bash. It is also the former home of the Buffalo Destroyers, Buffalo Blizzard and Buffalo Wings. It additionally was the host of the 2003 NCAA Frozen Four.
The HSBC Arena opened on September 21, 1996, replacing the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Its original name was the Crossroads Arena; however, this was changed to Marine Midland Arena before the first game had even been played there. The Marine Midland Bank, which was part of the HSBC banking group, had purchased the naming rights. In 1999, as part of HSBC's worldwide corporate rebranding, the arena's name was changed to The HSBC Arena, when the US bank's name became HSBC Bank USA N.A.. This name change coincided with the playing of the first college basketball tournament game in the arena's history. It has been occasionally referred to by Buffalo residents as The Marina (a portmanteau of Marine Midland Arena), Fort Knox (a reference to the Sabres original owners Seymour and Northrup Knox) or "The Bank" (a reference to HSBC Bank). The press box in the arena is named after former Sabres broadcaster and Hockey Hall of Fame member Ted Darling.
The arena has 18,690 seating arrangements for sporting events. However, the total number of seats and number of Spectators would increase if the arena is being used for a concert, basketball game, or similar event as standing space on the arena's floor. The Special Events station of the Buffalo Metro Rail successfully manage both the sporting events and concerts at the arena.
The HSBC Arena has been so much popular that more than 10 million people have attended the wide variety of events held at this wonderful Arena since the time of its opening. This multi-purpose facility has always been a place of great attraction for the renowned musicians -- including Bruce Springsteen, Dixie Chicks, Billy Joel, Metallica, and U2; family shows, such as Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, Stars on Ice; and other major events such as World Wrestling Entertainment, Monster Truck and Motorcross racing, the World's Toughest Rodeo and the Harlem Globetrotters.
The Arena’s Jumbotron is an eight sided score board and an accident happened with it on Nov 16, 1996 when Jumbotron fell to the ice while it was being remotely moved minutes after a few players ended practice and hours before an NHL hockey game. Luckily, No one was injured but the game was postponed.
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