Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
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Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (also known as The Aud) is an indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. It hosted the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL from 1970-1996 and the Buffalo Braves of the NBA from 1970-1978.
Originally completed in 1940 as a WPA project, the arena originally sat 12,280 for ice hockey, with an additional 2,000-3,000 sitting in the floor area for basketball and other events. An $8.7 million renovation took place for the 1970 inauguration of the Sabres and Braves franchises. The roof of the old arena was removed, an upper deck was added, and a new roof was built above it. This raised the total capacity of the arena to about 18,000 for basketball and 16,284 for hockey.
The renovations preserved the arena for another two and a half decades, but the Sabres moved out after the 1996 season, moving across the street to the Marine Midland Arena. It was the last arena in which the ice sheet fell short of the league-mandated 200 ft. by 85 ft. size (though Maple Leaf Gardens still had irregularly shaped corners). The arena still stands, but remains mostly unused. As of spring 2005, plans for its renovation and reopening as an outdoor sports superstore were stuck in legeslation and negotiations.