The Buffalo Sabres home has been called by many names since they moved from the Memorial Auditorium in 1996. It was originally named the Marine Midland Arena, then in 2000 it switched to the HSBC Arena, then in 2011 to the First Niagara Center before changing in 2016 to KeyBank Center. The club was entering the final year of a 10-year naming rights agreement, but announced on Wednesday a 10-year extension with KeyCorp.
“We are thankful for the support of KeyBank over the course of the last decade and look forward to the continued relationship with such a valued partner of the Buffalo Sabres,” Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula said in a press release. “We take great pride in our home arena bearing the name of an organization with such strong roots in the Western New York community and feel this partnership will continue to drive community impact for many years to come.”
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KeyBank Center is one of the older buildings in the NHL and is in need of some major upgrades. Pegula gave it a facelift last summer in the form of a new roof and scoreboard, but the future upkeep of the 29-year-old structure is in question after County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced in April that Erie County will walk away from the lease on the arena this October.
The Sabres have been responsible for most of the renovations inside the building under the current lease, but with the ownership of the building transferring to the City of Buffalo, this could potentially be a hot potato for city, county, and state government in the near future in terms of divving up the costs.
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