MVP Arena

Times Union Center
	File:TUCenterlogo.jpg
Former names	Knickerbocker Arena (1990–1997); Pepsi Arena (1997–2006)
Location	51 South Pearl Street; Albany, NY 12207
Coordinates	42°38′55″N 73°45′17″W / 42.64861°N 73.75472°W
Owner	Albany County
Operator	SMG
Capacity	15,357 (concerts); 15,229 (basketball); 14,236 (hockey); 13,785 (arena football); 17,500 (max)
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction
Broke ground	February 5, 1987
Opened	January 30, 1990
Construction cost	$69.4 million, $1.6 million (2010 renovation)
Architect	Crozier Associates
Structural engineer	Clough Harbour & Associates
General contractor	Beltrone/MLB
Tenants
	Albany Firebirds (AFL) (1990–2000); New York Kick (NPSL) (1990–1991); Albany Choppers (IHL) (1990–1991); Albany Patroons (CBA) (1990–1993); Siena Saints (NCAA) (1990–present); Albany River Rats (AHL) (1993–2010); Albany Attack (NLL) (2000–2003); Albany Conquest/Firebirds (af2) (2002–2009); Albany Devils (AHL) (2010–2017)

Times Union Center (originally Knickerbocker Arena) is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacity of 15,500 for sporting events.

The building, designed by Crozier Associates and engineered by Clough Harbour & Associates, was built by Beltrone/MLB at a cost of $69.4 million.

The arena also has 25 luxury suites; each has sixteen seats, cable television, a refrigerator, and a private bathroom. They are located at the top of the inner bowl. All suites are rented on three-year terms; all are currently sold out.

History

The arena was opened on January 30, 1990, as the Knickerbocker Arena, with a performance by Frank Sinatra.^[1]

The naming rights of the arena were sold to Pepsi in 1997 and it was known as Pepsi Arena from 1997 to 2006.

In May 2006, the naming rights were sold to the Times Union, a regional newspaper, and the name of the arena became the Times Union Center on January 1, 2007.

The building is managed by SMG.

It is within walking distance from the city's Greyhound bus station, as well as being close to hotels, bars and restaurants.

When the New Jersey Devils' AHL franchise relocated to this arena in the summer of 2010, the arena received a new scoreboard, LED ribbons above the luxury suites and new outside lighting, as well as an upgraded home team locker room.^[2]

Sports

Current tenants of the Times Union Center include Siena College's men's basketball team and the Albany Devils of the AHL.

Previous tenants have included the Albany Firebirds (formerly Albany Conquest) of af2, the Albany Firebirds of the AFL, the Albany Patroons of the CBA, the Albany Choppers of the IHL, the Albany River Rats of the AHL, the Albany Attack of the NLL and the New York Kick of the NPSL II.

The Times Union Center also regularly hosts exhibition games of major sports leagues. The NBA, WNBA and NHL have all played games at the arena.

The PBR hosted a Built Ford Tough Series event at the arena in January 2008.

In the Center's only tennis event, Andre Agassi played John McEnroe just three days after Agassi won the U.S. Open in 1994.

Ice hockey

The Times Union Center has been home to the American Hockey League since 1993, when the Albany River Rats became the building's primary tenant. The River Rats won the Calder Cup championship in 1994-95.

On April 24, 2008, the longest game in the history of the American Hockey League took place at the Times Union Center. Ryan Potulny scored the winning goal for the Philadelphia Phantoms at 2:58 of the fifth overtime period after 142 minutes and 58 seconds of hockey, played over 5 hours and 38 minutes. In the process, River Rats goaltender Michael Leighton set a modern-day record by making 98 saves.^[3]

Following the River Rats' relocation to Charlotte, N.C., in 2010, the Albany Devils began play in the AHL.

It was announced on January 31, 2017, that the Devils would relocate to Binghamton following the completion of the 2016–17 season^[4] ending 24 years of AHL hockey in the arena. At the time of the relocation, the Devils were drawing the lowest average attendance in the league.^[5]

College sports

The Times Union Center hosted the ECAC Hockey championships each March from 2003 until 2010, when the league announced the tournament would be moved to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and is often home to the annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament (1990–96, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008–10, and 2015).

In 2003, the Times Union Center hosted the NCAA basketball East Regional, which was won by Syracuse University on their way to their first national championship. The arena also hosted the first and second rounds of the 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as the Knickerbocker Arena.

In 2008, the Times Union Center hosted the NCAA ice hockey East Regional tournament. The arena has hosted ice-hockey regionals in even-numbered years since 2004 and hosted again in 2010, which was the eighth time the East Regional has been held at the site.^[6]

In 2000, the Times Union Center hosted a regional quarterfinal between St. Lawrence University and Boston University, which went into quadruple overtime; becoming the longest game in the history of the tournament and the second longest game in Division I men's college hockey history (it is currently the third longest game).

The Times Union Center also hosted the Frozen Four on two occasions, in 1992 (as Knickerbocker Arena) when Lake Superior State University defeated Wisconsin for the national championship, and again in 2001 as the Pepsi Arena when Boston College defeated North Dakota.

The venue is set to host the NCAA women's basketball tournament from March 28–31, 2015 and NCAA hockey East Regional for the ninth time from March 25–27, 2016.^[7]They also are hosting the NCAA March Madness East Regional in 2018

High school sports

The Times Union Center has been a regular host of the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships since 2005 and has won a bid to host the annual event each year through 2018.^[8] According to the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the wrestling state tournament annually contributes more than $1.5 million into the Capital Region economy, and in 2011 it was the second-largest sporting event in Albany County.^[9]

Music

The Times Union Center and its parking garage, as viewed from the Empire State Plaza. The 1997–2006 Pepsi Arena signage is visible in this photo.

Since its opening show, starring Frank Sinatra on January 30, 1990,^[10] the Times Union Center has become a popular concert venue, due to its proximity to larger cities like New York City, Boston, and Montreal, where concert tickets tend to sell out faster.

The open parking lots near the arena provide an excellent tailgating area for fans before the show.

In 1990, the Grateful Dead recorded their 1996 release, Dozin' at the Knick, at the arena.

Dave Matthews Band has played at the arena four times, most recently in 2010.

Whitesnake played at the arena during their Slip Of The Tongue world tour in 1990. The concert took place February 15, and there were a lot of empty seats due to a blizzard keeping many fans from getting to the arena.

Metallica played at the arena on November 12, 2009 during their World Magnetic Tour.

Notable capacity sellouts

Aerosmith – Only band to sell out the arena in same year on two different tours (1998)^{[citation needed]}
Garth Brooks – The fastest gross income for any event when 51,000 tickets were sold in less than three hours for his 1997 three-day appearance – 283 tickets per minute.^{[citation needed]}
Grateful Dead – Hold record for most concerts played at arena (13) between 1990 and 1995.^{[citation needed]}
Green Day
Billy Joel – Record nine-straight times since 1990. A banner hanging from the rafters commemorates this.
Billy Joel and Elton John
Dave Matthews Band
Paul McCartney, Out There Tour – July 5, 2014; sold out in 28 minutes on April 14, 2014.^[11]^[12]
Luciano Pavarotti – Highest single event gross revenue (1999)^{[citation needed]}
Pearl Jam
Phish
R.E.M. – The band filmed their video for their song "Tongue" there on June 20, 1995.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rolling Stones – September 17, 2005 ^[13]
Bruce Springsteen
Justin Timberlake – One of the fastest sold-out shows ever at the arena. Tickets for his The 20/20 Experience World Tour sold out in under 22 minutes for the show, which was held on July 16, 2014.^{[citation needed]}
U2
2003 NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional – Syracuse, Auburn, Oklahoma and Butler.

Other events

The New York State Democratic Convention nominated First Lady Hillary Clinton as the U.S. Senate candidate at their statewide convention at Times Union Center on May 16, 2000. Her husband, former President of the United States Bill Clinton, attended the event.

Gallery

Full Exterior
Front Main Entrance
Main Atrium

References

^ DeMare, Carol (May 5, 2006). "Times Union Enters a New Arena". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ Dougherty, Pete (October 9, 2010). "Devils Era Begins at Refurbished Times Union Center". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ McGuire, Mark (April 25, 2008). "The Greatest Game?". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "Binghamton Secures New AHL Team as Devils Relocate Franchise". TWC News. January 31, 2017.
^ Sources: Albany Devils leaving for Binghamton
^ Dougherty, Pete (March 21, 2010). "Denver, Cornell, New Hampshire, RIT in Albany Regional". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ Singelais, Mark (December 12, 2013). "NCAA Again Calls on Albany". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ "NYSPHSAA Tweet". New York State Public High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
^ Allen, James (October 28, 2011). "State Wrestling Tournament Will Stay in Albany Through 2016". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ DeMare, Carol (January 31, 2010). "20 Years in Albany's Arena". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^ Barnes, Steve (6 July 2014). "Paul McCartney rocks Albany". Albany Times Union. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
^ "Paul McCartney: The Jew-ish Beatle?". JBiz Tech Valley. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
^ https://www.iorr.org/tour05/albany.htm

External links

Official website

Events and tenants
Preceded by Houston Field House (as Capital District Islanders)	Home of the Albany River Rats 1993 – 2010	Succeeded by Time Warner Cable Arena (as Charlotte Checkers)
Preceded by Saint Paul Civic Center Saint Paul, Minnesota	Host of the Frozen Four 1992	Succeeded by Bradley Center Milwaukee
Preceded by Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island	Host of the Frozen Four 2001	Succeeded by Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minnesota
Preceded by Tsongas Center (as Lowell Devils)	Home of the Albany Devils 2010–present	Succeeded by current arena

[1] DeMare, Carol (May 5, 2006). "Times Union Enters a New Arena". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[2] Dougherty, Pete (October 9, 2010). "Devils Era Begins at Refurbished Times Union Center". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[3] McGuire, Mark (April 25, 2008). "The Greatest Game?". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[4] "Binghamton Secures New AHL Team as Devils Relocate Franchise". TWC News. January 31, 2017.

[5] Sources: Albany Devils leaving for Binghamton

[6] Dougherty, Pete (March 21, 2010). "Denver, Cornell, New Hampshire, RIT in Albany Regional". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[7] Singelais, Mark (December 12, 2013). "NCAA Again Calls on Albany". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[8] "NYSPHSAA Tweet". New York State Public High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 1, 2015.

[9] Allen, James (October 28, 2011). "State Wrestling Tournament Will Stay in Albany Through 2016". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[10] DeMare, Carol (January 31, 2010). "20 Years in Albany's Arena". Times Union (Albany). Retrieved June 10, 2014.

[11] Barnes, Steve (6 July 2014). "Paul McCartney rocks Albany". Albany Times Union. Retrieved 7 July 2014.

[12] "Paul McCartney: The Jew-ish Beatle?". JBiz Tech Valley. Retrieved 7 July 2014.

[13] ttps://www.iorr.org/tour05/albany.htm

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v t e Siena Saints men's basketball
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