Blue Cross Arena

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Blue Cross Arena

Location	Rochester, New York
Broke ground	1951
Opened	October 18, 1955
Owner	City of Rochester
Operator	SMG
Construction cost	$7.5 million + $41 million renovation
Tenants
Rochester Royals (NBA) (1955-1957) Rochester Razorsharks (PBL) (2005-present) Rochester Brigade (af2) (2001-2003) Rochester Americans (AHL) (1956-present) Rochester Knighthawks (NLL) (1995-present)
Capacity
12,428 (maximum)

The Blue Cross Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Rochester, New York.

It is home to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League, and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.

The arena is located at 100 Exchange Blvd. and was built on a site that is bordered by 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. The arena was opened on October 18, 1955, and named the Rochester Community War Memorial. It was constructed in the style that was popular in the 1950s. The buliding included a full stage on the south end of the building and an exhibition hall located on the basement level. The first event 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 NBA All-Star Game in 1956 and the 14th WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1997.

From 1996 to 1998, renovations to expand the arena took place. On September 18, 1998, the arena re-opened and was renamed The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

Its maximum seating capacity is 12,428. For hockey and lacrosse, its seating capacity is 11,215.

[edit] Events

On 23 March 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 2007 NCAA Division I Men's ice hockey East Regional was held at the Blue Cross Arena as well. Attendance was low due to high ticket prices and distance from large Division I programs.

The arena has hosted many National Hockey League exhibition games in its existence, but on November 12, 2003, the Buffalo Sabres and the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils played the first NHL regular season game in the venue, a game which ended in a 2-2 tie. The game was made possible by Sabres owner Thomas Golisano, who hails from Rochester. The game also featured two Rochester natives, Brian Gionta of the Devils and Rory Fitzpatrick of the Sabres. 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 the Sabres recent success and high demand for tickets at Buffalo's HSBC Arena, there are no current plans to bring a regular season game back to Rochester in the near future.

[edit] External link

Blue Cross Arena Website

Preceded by Edgerton Park Arena 1948–1955	Home of the Rochester Royals 1955–1957	Succeeded by Cincinnati Gardens 1957–1972

Current arenas in the American Hockey League
Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Arena at Harbor Yard \| Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena \| Cumberland County Civic Center \| DCU Center \| Dunkin' Donuts Center \| GIANT Center \| Hartford Civic Center \| MassMutual Center \| Norfolk Scope \| Times Union Center \| Tsongas Arena \| Verizon Wireless Arena \| Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza \| Wachovia Spectrum		Allstate Arena \| AT&T Center \| Blue Cross Arena \| Bradley Center \| Carver Arena \| Copps Coliseum \| MTS Centre \| Omaha Civic Auditorium \| Ricoh Coliseum \| Toyota Center \| Van Andel Arena \| War Memorial at Oncenter \| Wells Fargo Arena

Eastern Division		Western Division
Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League
Air Canada Centre \| Blue Cross Arena \| HSBC Arena \| Madison Square Garden¹ \| Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum² \| Sears Centre \| Wachovia Center \| Xcel Energy Center		HP Pavilion \| Jobing.com Arena \| Pengrowth Saddledome \| Pepsi Center \| Rexall Place \| Rose Garden Arena
¹The New York Titans play four of their home games at Madison Square Garden. ²The New York Titans play four of their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.