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The Buffalo Memorial Auditorium - "The Ole Grey Mare"During the mid-1930's, the federal government pumped public works dollars into the national economy in an effort to put a halt to the Great Depression. Employment and construction programs spurred municipal projects across the country.In Buffalo, one such project was the replacement of the aging Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo's only convention hall. The cornerstone was laid on November 30, 1939. Located between Lower Terrace and Lake Streets, the $2,700,000 Arena stands at one end of what was once the Erie Canal in the oldest section of Buffalo. Opening ceremonies for the 422' by 262' auditorium with its 12,280 tiered red, blue and gray-colored seats and 2,000-3,000 floor-level moveable seats was held on October 14, 1940. A parade and 3,000-person luncheon was held at the Auditorium. The affair was described as one of the largest civic celebrations ever held in Buffalo. The Aud was formally dedicated in memory of those who had died in World War combat.The huge building became the center of entertainment for Buffalo. In its first seven months, events drew over one million spectators. Locals flocked to the Aud to see concerts, political rallies, dog shows, circuses, ice shows and sporting events.The Aud became the new home of the Buffalo Bisons Professional Hockey Club. By 1955, the Aud was in need of vast improvement and a $595,000 plan was undertaken. The Bisons were sold to the Pastor family in 1956. The Pastors introduced a local youth ice hockey program that utilized the Aud for it's games. The programs ensured that the love for the sport remained large in the hearts of many young Buffalonians. The Bisons folded in 1970 when the NHL expansion Buffalo Sabres were born. An $8.7 million renovation, raised the 2,200-ton roof 24 feet for expansion of seating capacity by 18,000 seats.In 1996, the Aud was locked and boarded up when the state-of-the-art Crossroads Arena/Marine Midland Arena/HSBC Arena, opened its doors for the first time. A new era of history for the City had been ushered in.Source/Author: Tim Warchocki___________________________________________________ _________ ------------------------------------------------------------ Planning and ConstructionThe Buffalo Memorial Auditorium began as a public works project to replace an aging civic auditorium. In June 1938, city officials sent a loan and grant application to the WPA for funds to build the new structure. The $1.2 million grant's approval was announced in Washington D.C. on October 7, 1938 and construction began on November 30, 1939.The Auditorium's construction brought a great deal of activity to downtown Buffalo. On December 2, 1939, Buffalo Evening News reporter Nat Gorham wrote:As if overnight the Terrace once more is coming back to life. The massive new hall will be the mainstay, but city planners also want to improve the section with a boulevard in the old canal bend, waterfront parks and relocation, if not removal, of the New York Central tracks. Visible proof of these good intentions is construction of the new hall, which is being watched daily by hundreds of citizens.—Nat Gorham =========================================================== ---Opening--- ----------------------------------------------------------- Built for $2,700,000, Memorial Auditorium's grand opening celebration was held on October 14, 1940. The arena originally seated 12,280 for ice hockey, with an additional 2,000-3,000 sitting in the floor area for basketball and other events. Among the first events held in Memorial Auditorium were an auto show and roller skating.In its first seven months, Auditorium events drew nearly one million spectators, and the first year's attendance was 1.3 million.Circuses, dog shows and political events all took place at the Aud. The building was also set as a war memorial for the Spanish-American war. =========================================================== ---Expansion--- ----------------------------------------------------------- An $8.7 million renovation took place after the 1970-71 inauguration of the Sabres and Braves franchises. The arena's roof was raised 24 feet, making room for a new upper level. (orange level). This raised the total capacity of the arena to about 18,000 for basketball and 16,433 for hockey, making it a more suitable home for the NBA and NHL. =========================================================== ---Sports--- ------College Basketball------ ----------------------------------------------------------- Before the NHL and NBA came to Buffalo, college basketball was Memorial Auditorium's most popular sporting event. On December 11, 1940, the Auditorium hosted its first college basketball game when Canisius College played the University of Oregon.After World War II, the era of college basketball doubleheaders began. While the participants were typically from Western New York - Canisius, Niagara University, St. Bonaventure University, the University of Buffalo, and Buffalo State College - teams from outside the area such as Cornell University also took part. Over time, the rivalry among the "Little Three" colleges -- Niagara, Canisius, and St. Bonaventure - came to dominate the Auditorium's college basketball schedule. Throughout the 1950s, the three schools were each national powers, and their games at Memorial Auditorium drew strong local and national interest.In 1991, a visit from Buffalo native Christian Laettner and the national champion Duke University Blue Devils drew an Aud collegiate record crowd of 16,279.A 1996 Buffalo News article named Memorial Auditorium's all-time all-visitors team: Ed Macauley (St. Louis University), Tom Gola (La Salle University), Tom Heinsohn (College of the Holy Cross), Jerry West (West Virginia University), Willie Somerset (Duquesne University), Dave Bing (Syracuse University), Sonny Dove (St. John's University (Jamaica, NY) and Bob Lanier (St. Bonaventure =========================================================== --Professional Basketball--------Buffalo Bisons------ ----------------------------------------------------------- The first professional basketball franchise to call Memorial Auditorium home were the National Basketball League's Buffalo Bisons. The Bisons featured center Don Otten and coach Nat Hickey, but on December 27, 1946 - only thirteen games into their inaugural season - owner Ben Kerner moved the team to Moline. After stops in Milwaukee and St. Louis, the team became the Atlanta Hawks. =========================================================== --Professional Ice Hockey-- ------Buffalo Sabres------- ----------------------------------------------------------- The National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres played their first home opener at Memorial Auditorium on October 15, 1970. They occupied the Auditorium until after the 1995-96 season, when they moved across the street to the Marine Midland Arena (now HSBC Arena). Michael Peca scored the last in-game goal at The Aud while Pat Lafontaine put in a ceremonial goal after the 4-1 win over the Whalers. 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).Many Sabres players noted Memorial Auditorium's atmosphere:The thing about that building was that everyone was so close that you could recognize people just by looking up. You don't get that in a lot of places today. The people felt like they were a part of the team and we felt like they were a part of our success. That was the special thing about Memorial Auditorium. I don't think anything like that can ever be replaced.—Lindy Ruff =========================================================== -------Concerts------- ----------------------------------------------------------- In addition to sporting events the Aud hosted concerts by major acts such as The Grateful Dead who performed there three times; 3-31-73, 5-9-77 (long lauded as one of the band's finest shows ever), and 9-26-81. =========================================================== --------Closing--------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Since 1996, the building has remained closed to the public although Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre was at times allowed to use the large floor surface to paint backgrounds for its productions. During the 2001-02 season, Sabres officials and the city of Buffalo entered the building to relocate some items from the main concourse of The Aud to HSBC Arena, including a sign for the "Pour Man's Aud Club" which was re-incarnated by popular demand. During a CBC television broadcast from the winter classic during the 2007-2008 regular season, the inside of The Aud was shown and the video showed that the seating bowl and arena floor have remained virtually untouched. Most notably, the advertisements that were on the boards during the final Sabres home game in 1996 were still present and the scoreboard hanging above center ice remained in the rafters. =========================================================== ------The Future------ ----------------------------------------------------------- For the last few years plans were in the works to renovate The Aud and re-purpose it as a Bass Pro Shops store, however on March 29, 2007 these plans were officially abandoned. Instead it was announced that Bass Pro will build a new building on the site of the to-be-demolished auditorium. The Aud is now set for demolition to begin in October 2008. Asbestos removal and other environmental remediation is currently being done in preparation for the demolition. It is expected to cost 10 million dollars and be done by early 2009.In December, 2007 The Aud was sold by the city of Buffalo to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation for $1 in hopes that it would move along asbestos removal and demolition. All salvageable items are to be sold, stored, or removed before demolition begins. The sales of these artifacts, especially of seats, will help pay for a memorial to the Aud.Source: Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Memorial_Auditorium You should create your own MySpace Layouts like me by using nUCLEArcENTURy .COM's MySpace Profile Editor !