Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose

indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

in downtown

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the

Canisius Golden Griffins The Canisius College Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius College in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men's spo ...

(

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

), the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

( AHL), the

( NBL), the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

(

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

), the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

(

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

), the

Toronto-Buffalo Royals The Toronto-Buffalo Royals were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT) founded by John F. Bassett and John C. Eaton, III. The team was sometimes referred to as the Buffalo-Toronto Royals. The Royals played half of their home matches in Tor ...

( WTT), the

Buffalo Stallions The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. It was the last professional club for which the Portugues ...

( MSL), the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more po ...

(

MILL Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

), the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

( NPSL) and the

Buffalo Stampede The Buffalo Stampede was a basketball team in the Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) that started as a franchise in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) in the 2009 season. The team was originally the NexxNow Buffalo Dragons (c ...

( RHI). It also hosted events such as college basketball, concerts, professional wrestling and boxing. The venue was closed in 1996 after the construction of the venue now known as

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey Leagu ...

, and remained vacant until being demolished in 2009.

History

Planning and construction

The Buffalo Memorial Auditorium was a public works project designed by Green & James to replace the aging

Broadway Auditorium Broadway Auditorium is a former multipurpose arena in Buffalo, New York. It was part of a complex that first opened as Broadway Arsenal in 1858 to accommodate the 65th and 74th Regiments of the New York National Guard. The facility was expanded i ...

and

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

's recently collapsed

Peace Bridge Arena Peace Bridge Arena was the main sports arena located in Fort Erie, Ontario. Built in 1928, it held 5,000 people. It was located near the Peace Bridge connecting Fort Erie with Buffalo, New York. Both the Chicago Black Hawks and Pittsburgh Pira ...

. In June 1938, city officials sent a loan and grant application to the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

for funds to build the structure. The approval of the $1.2 million grant was announced in Washington, D.C. on October 7, 1938.Vogel, Mike. "Buffalo's Town Hall". ''The Buffalo News'' (Buffalo), Magazine – page 4, August 1, 1994. Construction at the junction of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

and Main-Hamburg Canal began on November 30, 1939. The Auditorium's construction brought a great deal of activity to downtown Buffalo. On December 31, 1939, '' Buffalo Evening News'' reporter Nat Gorham wrote:

Opening and reception

Built for $2.7 million, Memorial Auditorium's grand opening celebration took place on October 14, 1940. The dedication event was a luncheon attended by 3,000 people, including the mayors of more than 60 local communities. The building was dedicated as a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

to those who had perished in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The arena originally seated 12,280 for

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, with an additional 2,000-3,000 seats in the floor area for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and other events. Memorial Auditorium's first event—a rally for Republican Presidential candidate

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

—took place on October 14, 1940. In its first seven months, events such as auto shows, roller skating, circuses and dog shows drew nearly one million spectators. All told, the Auditorium's first year attendance was 1.3 million.

Alterations

An $8.7 million renovation took place after the 1970–71 inauguration of the

Sabres A sabre is a type of sword. Sabre, Sabres, saber, or SABRE may also refer to: Weapons and weapon systems * Sabre (fencing), a sporting sword * Sabre (tank), a modern British armoured reconnaissance vehicle * Chinese sabre or ''dao'', a variety ...

and

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

franchises, making it a more suitable home for the

and

. The arena's roof was raised to make room for an upper level that increased the arena's capacity from 10,449 for hockey to over 17,000 for basketball and 15,360 for hockey in 1971–72, to 15,668 for hockey in 1972–73, and to 15,858 for hockey in 1973–74. Other changes to the Aud's original design included: * A new scoreboard, which would be the Aud's final scoreboard upgrade. * A new upper level with stairways, escalators and upper exits. * Repainted and replaced seats. The original gray seats at the top of the lower bowl were painted blue, and all seats in the lower sections were replaced with cushioned seats in the Red and Gold sections. * The removal of exit tunnels in Red sections 6, 7, 14, 15, 22, 23, 30 and 31, and Blue sections 2, 3, 10, 11, 18, 19, 26, 27, 34 and 35. The areas the tunnels occupied were replaced with seats, and the continuous wall that separated the red and blue sections was opened at each stairway. * The removed exit tunnel openings in the wall that separated the red and upper gold sections were closed into a continuous wall between the remaining red exit tunnels. The Aud's seats were mostly made of white ash, but the gold seats were converted to padded cushion seats. From top to bottom (floor level), the seating colors went orange, blue (originally grey), red and gold. In 1974, the city added five seats, increasing capacity for hockey in the 1974–1975 season to 15,863. After the hockey season, the city removed the walls and aisle that separated the upper gold and red seating sections. The 570 gold seats the city installed in the vacant space raised the arena's capacity to 16,433 for hockey and over 18,000 for basketball. In the late 1980s, the Buffalo Common Council and mayor

James D. Griffin James Donald "Jimmy" Griffin (June 29, 1929 – May 25, 2008) was an American politician who served in the New York State Senate (56th District, 1967–77) and then for 16 years as the Mayor of Buffalo, New York (1978–93). He later returned t ...

scaled back plans to renovate the Aud after the Sabres' owners made it clear the franchise's long-term viability depended upon a new arena. A compromise led the city to agree to build a new venue (

Marine Midland Arena KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League ...

) and keep the Aud functional until the new arena was complete. The 1990 renovation added designated handicap-accessible seating areas (lowering the

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

to 16,325 for hockey), new air conditioning and elevators. The money the city borrowed for these improvements was not repaid until 2001, five years after the Aud closed.

Closing and vacancy

The Aud closed in 1996, at which time the Sabres, Bandits and

Blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...

moved to

. After 1996, the building remained vacant, although members of Studio Arena Theatre used the floor as a surface for painting backgrounds. During the 2001–02 season, Sabres officials and the city moved items from the Aud's main concourse to the new venue, by then renamed

HSBC Arena Jeunesse Arena is an indoor multi-purpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named for the American cosmetics company Jeunesse Global through a naming rights deal closed in 2017. Before, the spons ...

, including a sign for the "Pour Man's Aud Club" which was reincarnated at the new venue. In 2003, the Sabres filmed a 30-minute infomercial inside the Aud to promote season ticket sales. While the production showed the arena was intact, it was without utilities and the crew had to supply all light and electrical sources. The Aud continued to deteriorate after the 2003 production visit. Water pipes ruptured, moisture began to take its toll and the city's lax monitoring led to graffiti, vandalism and theft of many artifacts. A segment aired during the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' broadcast of the 2008 NHL Winter Classic showed the arena's seating bowl and floor were virtually untouched. Notably, the advertisements on the boards from the final Sabres game in 1996 against the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

and the scoreboard above center ice remained. The door to the Sabres' penalty box was gone, as it had been presented as a memento to notable Sabres enforcer

Rob Ray Robert John Ray (born June 8, 1968) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy by the National Hockey League in 1999 for ...

Demolition

The city abandoned its plans to repurpose the Aud as a

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass P ...

store on March 29, 2007 when Bass Pro announced it would construct a new building on the site after the auditorium's demolition. In December 2007, the city sold the Aud to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation for $1 in hopes it would lead to asbestos removal and demolition. All salvageable items were to be removed and sold or stored. The sales of these artifacts, especially of seats, would help pay for a memorial to the Aud. The salvaged items include

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

flag holders, limestone eagles, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

as well as a number of blue and orange level seats, which were sold at auction. The city also salvaged ten cylindrical stainless steel "ice tanks" that helped maintain chilly conditions at ice level during hockey season and cooled spectators during warmer weather. In 2007, the city moved them to

Shea's Performing Arts Center Shea's Performing Arts Center (originally Shea's Buffalo) is a theater for touring Broadway musicals and special events in Buffalo, New York. Originally called Shea's Buffalo, it was opened in 1926 to show silent movies. It took one year to b ...

as part of a $1.5 million overhaul of the landmark theater's heating and cooling system.Linstedt, Sharon. "Shea's to get a cool Aud gift: 10 ice tanks to keep theater comfortable." ''The Buffalo News'' (Buffalo), July 12, 2007 Asbestos removal and other environmental remediation took place in late 2008 and the expected $10 million demolition of the Aud began in January 2009. On February 9, 2009, the "Buffalo Memorial Auditorium" entablature above the main entrance fell and much of the front façade met the same fate soon afterward. The "Farewell Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Ceremony" took place on June 30, 2009 at 1:30 pm when officials opened the copper box time capsule. The structure's final pieces came down in early July 2009. In February 2010, Bass Pro Shops announced that it was no longer pursuing a store in Buffalo, leaving the site vacant.

Legacy

After the Bass Pro Shops decision, the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation began to convert the site (known as the Aud Block) into an extension of

Canalside Canalside, formerly known as Canal Side and Erie Canal Harbor, is the recreation of the western terminus of the Erie Canal in Buffalo, New York. Canalside is situated on the Buffalo River, in an area that was historically home to the Seneca peop ...

with the junction of the old Erie Canal and Main-Hamburg Canal re-dug (although shallower than the original canals) and new bridges. The canals that opened in 2014 are frozen for skating and other winter activities by an underground refrigerant plant housed in a rebuilt sub-basement that was part of Memorial Auditorium. In addition, a marker on the canal ice denotes center ice's former location. Across Main Street at

LECOM Harborcenter LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected ...

is the one-of-a-kind

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service res ...

restaurant with a memorial to the Auditorium. A statue of the chain's founder and namesake, who played at the arena during his time with the Buffalo Sabres, occupies the corner of the site facing the restaurant.

Notable events

Basketball

College

Before the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

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 The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

.Northrop, Milt. "College Basketball Breathed Life Into Newborn Aud". ''The Buffalo News'' (Buffalo), page 1D, March 27, 1996. Interest in college basketball grew after World War II, and the first college basketball sellout crowd occurred in the 1946–1947 season when 11,029 spectators saw Canisius lose to Notre Dame. Ten days later, a record 11,891 watched Canisius defeat Niagara 52–44. While the teams were typically from Western New York, including Canisius, Niagara University, St. Bonaventure University, the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

and

Buffalo State College The State University of New York College at Buffalo (colloquially referred to as Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo State, or simply Buff State) is a public college in Buffalo, New York. It is part of the State University of Ne ...

, other teams such as

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

took part. Over time, the rivalry among the "

Little Three The ''Little Three'' is a term started by and used in reference to athletic competition between three private liberal arts colleges in the New England region of the United States: Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Wesleyan University i ...

" colleges—Niagara, Canisius, and St. Bonaventure—came to dominate the Auditorium's college basketball schedule. Throughout the 1950s, the three schools were all national powers, and their games at Memorial Auditorium drew strong local and national interest. * The Aud hosted first round games of the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament. * The Auditorium hosted the mens Division I ECAC Upstate Region tournament organized by the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fro ...

(ECAC) in 1975. * In 1991, a visit from Buffalo native

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

and the national champion

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

Blue Devils against Canisius drew an Aud collegiate-record crowd of 16,279. * A 1996

Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

article named Memorial Auditorium's all-time all-visitors team:

Ed Macauley Charles Edward Macauley (March 22, 1928 – November 8, 2011) was a professional basketball player and coach. His playing nickname was "Easy Ed". Early life Macauley spent his prep school days at St. Louis University High School, then went on to ...

(

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

Tom Gola Thomas Joseph Gola (January 13, 1933 – January 26, 2014) was an American basketball player and politician. He is widely considered one of the greatest NCAA basketball players of all-time. Gola was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball ...

( La Salle University),

Tom Heinsohn Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

(

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

Jerry West Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...

(

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

Willie Somerset Willard F. Somerset (born March 17, 1942) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Somerset attended Farrell High School in Farrell, Pennsylvania and later, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvani ...

(

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring a ...

(

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Sonny Dove Lloyd "Sonny" Dove (August 16, 1945 – February 14, 1983) was a Native American professional basketball player. As a star at St. John's University in New York, in his last season of 1967, Dove won the Haggerty Award. That year he was part o ...

( St. John's University) and

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted in ...

(St. Bonaventure University).

National Basketball League

The National Basketball League's Buffalo Bisons were the first professional basketball franchise to call Memorial Auditorium home. The team featured center

Don Otten Donald Frederick Otten (April 18, 1921 – September 18, 1985) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'10" center from Bellefontaine High School (Ohio) and Bowling Green State University, Otten began his professional career in 1946 wi ...

and coach

Nat Hickey Nicholas J. "Nat" Hickey (born Nicola Zarnecich; January 30, 1902 – September 16, 1979) was a Croatian-American professional basketball coach/player and baseball player. He turned to coaching basketball after his retirement from playing full-tim ...

, but on December 27, 1946—only 13 games into their inaugural season—owner Ben Kerner moved them to

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline, Illinois, East M ...

. After the 1949 merger of the National Basketball League and the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA absorbed most of National Basketball League (NBL) and rebranded as the National Ba ...

and stops in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, the team became the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

National Basketball Association

Professional basketball returned to the Aud in 1970 with the

. The Braves were a modest success but often found the competing interests of the Sabres and the Little Three college teams made it difficult to schedule home games. The Braves moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in 1978 and then to Los Angeles in 1984, where they are now the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. The NBA retained a presence at the venue by staging an annual series of preseason exhibitions called the NBA Classic: * The

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

defeated the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

105–93 on October 24, 1988 * The

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

defeated the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

96–93 on October 14, 1989 * The

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

defeated the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

115–107 on October 26, 1989 * The Boston Celtics defeated

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

104–96 on October 26, 1990 * The

defeated the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

105–96 on October 27, 1992 * The

defeated the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

100–98 on October 17, 1995

World University Games

The basketball events of the World University Games were held at the venue in July 1993. The United States defeated Canada in the gold medal game 95–90 before a crowd of 11,000.

Hockey

American Hockey League

The

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

played 30 seasons at the Memorial Auditorium, beginning with the 1940–41 season. The Bisons won five

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championships, with the last coming in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

during the franchise's final game. The team folded in 1970 after the

awarded Buffalo an expansion team. On May 15, 1973, the

Cincinnati Swords The Cincinnati Swords were an American Hockey League team that played at the Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1971 to 1974. They were owned by and the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. History The Swords ...

, then the Sabres' AHL affiliate, played the final game of the 1973 Calder Cup Finals at the Auditorium. The Swords won the Calder Cup with a 5–1 win over the

Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League, from 1971 to 1984. Originally chartered as the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League, the org ...

in front of 15,019 fans—the largest playoff crowd in AHL history at the time. The

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

also played several games at the Aud after they became the Sabres' affiliate, including several during their 1987 Calder Cup championship season.

National Hockey League

The

made their Memorial Auditorium debut on October 15, 1970 in a game attended by NHL President

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, th ...

that began with a ceremonial faceoff between Sabres captain

Floyd Smith Floyd Robert Donald Smith (born May 16, 1935, in Perth, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach. Biography Smith grew up in Galt, Ontario, playing junior hockey with the Galt Black Hawks. He made his National Ho ...

and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

captain

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the ...

. The Sabres'

Roger Crozier Roger Allan Crozier (March 16, 1942 – January 11, 1996) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. During ...

made 53 saves in a 3–0 loss.Kelley, Jim. "All-time Aud Games Stir Lasting Memories". ''The Buffalo News'' (Buffalo), page 5D, March 31, 1996. The arena hosted games three, four, and six of the

1975 Stanley Cup Finals The 1975 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1974–75 season, and the culmination of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Buffalo Sabres and the defending champion Philade ...

, where the Sabres faced the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

. Eventually, the Flyers would win their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship in game six at the arena. This was the only Stanley Cup Finals appearance made at the Auditorium. On January 4, 1976, the Sabres played Krylya Sovetov as part of the "

Super Series The Super Series were exhibition games between Soviet teams and NHL teams that took place on the NHL opponents' home ice in North America from 1976 to 1991. The Soviet teams were usually club teams from the Soviet hockey league. The exception ...

" of exhibitions between the Soviet Union's two best club teams—

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

and Krylia Sovietov (named "Red Army" and "Soviet Wings" respectively, during the series) and eight of the NHL's top teams. The Sabres' 12–6 victory over the 1974 Soviet league and European Cup champions was the worst defeat ever for a professional Soviet hockey club. Memorial Auditorium hosted the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

on January 24, 1978. Two members of the Sabres' "

French Connection The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada, sometimes through Cuba. The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and ...

" line—

Gilbert Perreault Gilbert Perreault (born November 13, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. Known for his ability ...

and

Rick Martin Richard Lionel Martin (; ; July 26, 1951March 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He was most famous for playing on the ...

—played for the

Wales Conference Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 20 ...

. Both had a significant impact: Martin scored a goal with 1:39 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2–2 and force overtime, and Perreault scored the game-winning goal 3:55 into overtime to defeat the

Campbell Conference Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

3–2. The

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

made NHL history at the Aud on February 24, 1982, when he scored a

natural hat trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

during the game's final seven minutes to help defeat the Sabres 6–3. Gretzky broke

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...

's record for goals in a season (76) with the hat trick's first goal, his 77th of the season. In March 2009, Gretzky visited Buffalo as the Phoenix Coyotes' head coach and recounted his memories of Memorial Auditorium in an interview with ''

'' hockey reporter Mike Harrington: The venue hosted the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, notable for

Eric Lindros Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals p ...

being selected first overall by the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

and refusing to sign with the team. The Sabres occupied the Auditorium through the 1995–96 season, when they moved to nearby Marine Midland Arena, now known as

Michael Peca Michael Anthony Peca (born March 26, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, ...

scored the last in-game goal at the Aud while

Pat LaFontaine Patrick Michael LaFontaine (born February 22, 1965) is an American former ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and spent his entire playing career with the league's New York State-based teams. LaFontaine played for th ...

put in a ceremonial goal after the 4–1 win over the

. It was the last arena where the ice sheet fell short of the league-mandated by size (though

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

had irregularly shaped corners).

College

College hockey made its modern debut at Memorial Auditorium on January 23, 1972, when the University at Buffalo Bulls met the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. Ohio State won the game 5–2.

Roller Hockey International

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in the ...

called the Aud home from 1994–1995, winning the league championship in their first season.

Lacrosse

Major Indoor Lacrosse League

The

Major Indoor Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

played in the Aud from the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

until the arena's closure. Winners of the MILL title in 1992, 1993, and 1996, the Bandits are now a member of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

and play at

Soccer

Major Soccer League

Major Soccer League's

attracted 11,028 to their home debut at the Aud against the Philadelphia Fever on December 7, 1979. The team played in the venue until 1984. Soccer legend

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

notably finished his career playing for the Stallions in their inaugural season.

National Professional Soccer League

The Aud was home to the

of the National Professional Soccer League from 1992 to 1996.

Tennis

World Team Tennis

In 1974, the

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

called the Aud home for one season.

Figure skating

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean - Dancing on Ice 2011

Ice Capades

The Aud was one of the original venues that hosted

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Cap ...

in 1940.

Ice Follies

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

made its debut at the venue in 1941, and continued making regular stops after becoming Disney on Ice in 1981.

SABAH

The annual pageant to benefit the

Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped The Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH), also known as Skating Athletes Bold at Heart, is an American non-profit educational corporation which helps children, youth, and adults with all types of disabilities. Founded in 197 ...

(SABAH) was staged at the venue from 1979 to 1996.

Torvill and Dean

Torvill and Dean Torvill and Dean (Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean) are English ice dancers and former British, European, Olympic, and World champions. At the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics the pair won gold and became the highest-scoring figure skaters of a ...

, famed Olympic

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

s, brought their touring show to the Aud on November 8, 1986.

Skate America

The venue was host to the

1990 Skate America The 1990 Skate America was held at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a di ...

competition.

Stars on Ice

Stars on Ice began making regular stops at the venue beginning in 1991.

Combat sports

Professional wrestling

The first sporting event at the venue was a Great Lakes Athletic Club

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

card on October 18, 1940 that was headlined by

Ed Don George Edward Nye "Ed Don" George Jr. (June 3, 1905 – September 18, 1985) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, and wrestling promoter. A former Olympic freestyle wrestler, George competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and turned pro ...

defeating

Joe Savoldi Joseph Anthony Savoldi Jr., (born Giuseppe Antonio Savoldi; March 5, 1908 – January 25, 1974) more commonly known by his nickname "Jumping Joe" Savoldi, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, football player, and Special Ops agent fo ...

. Great Lakes Athletic Club owner Jack Herman continued booking shows at the venue before selling the promotion in 1947 to Ed Don George, who changed the promotion's name to Upstate Athletic Club. WBEN-TV would regularly broadcast Upstate Athletic Club's cards from the venue in 1948. Don George would later sell the promotion to his matchmaker, Ignacio "Pedro" Martinez, in 1955. Ilio DiPaolo, the son-in-law of Martinez, was the promotion's biggest star. WGR-TV broadcast Upstate Athletic Club's cards from the venue in 1956 as ''Wrestling from War Memorial Auditorium''. Martinez would continue booking shows at The Aud until 1968, when he ran into financial trouble and was forced to promote outside the area. He returned in 1970 with his

National Wrestling Federation The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970 to 1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin. The revive ...

, but the promotion folded in 1974.

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

debuted at the venue on July 19, 1980 with a show headlined by

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and Sweet Ebony Diamond defeating

Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championship ...

and

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ...

The Honky Tonk Man Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

defeated

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

to win the

WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...

during a ''

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...

'' taping at the venue on June 2, 1987. The inaugural

Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show The Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show was an annual professional wrestling event held between 1996 and 1999 as a tribute to wrestler Ilio DiPaolo and featured talent from World Championship Wrestling as well as appearances from older wrestling stars of t ...

was held at the venue on June 7, 1996 and was headlined by The Giant defeating Sting to retain the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

. DiPaolo had died the previous year after being struck by a car. It was the final sporting event at the venue, and set the venue's all-time record for professional wrestling attendance with 14,852.

Boxing

The auditorium hosted many boxing matches, most notably: *

Ezzard Charles Ezzard Mack Charles (July 7, 1921 – May 28, 1975), known as the Cincinnati Cobra, was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion. Known for his slick defense and precision, he is often considered the greatest light heavywei ...

defeating Freddie Beshore to retain the NBA Heavyweight Title on August 15, 1950. *

Gene Hatcher Ronald Hatcher Jr. (born June 28, 1959 in Fort Worth, Texas), better known as Gene Hatcher, is a former boxer who was world light welterweight champion. His nickname was "Mad Dog." Amateur career Hatcher was a United States Amateur Champion. In ...

defeating

Johnny Bumphus Johnny 'Bump City' Bumphus (August 17, 1960 – January 31, 2020) was an American professional boxer who held the WBA super lightweight title in 1984 and challenged once for the WBC and IBF welterweight titles in 1987. Amateur career Bumphus ...

to win the WBA Junior Welterweight Title on June 1, 1984. ( ''The Ring'' magazine Upset of the Year) *

Livingstone Bramble Ras-I Alujah Bramble (born Livingstone Bramble on September 3, 1960) is the former WBA Lightweight boxing Champion of the World. Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nev ...

defeating

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...

to win the WBA Lightweight Title on June 1, 1984. *

Héctor Camacho Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...

defeating Roque Montoya to win the vacant NABF Lightweight Title on April 29, 1985. *

Tony Tubbs Tony Tubbs (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2006, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1985 to 1986. Amateur career As an amateur, Tony Tubbs competed in 253 bouts, compiling a reco ...

defeating Greg Page to win the WBA Heavyweight Title on April 29, 1985.

Mixed martial arts

UFC 7: The Brawl in Buffalo was held at the Aud on September 8, 1995. It would be the final UFC event in the state before

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

was banned by New York State in February 1997. UFC would not return to New York State until

UFC 205 ''UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In what was described by UFC president Dana White as t ...

in 2016.

Concerts

In addition to sporting events, the auditorium hosted concerts by many famous artists: *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

– April 1, 1957 *

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

( American Tour 1966) – June 28, 1966 * Elvis Presley - April 5, 1972 *

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

( North American Tour 1972) – June 10, 1972 *

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

(

Dark Side of the Moon Tour The Dark Side of the Moon Tour was a concert tour by British rock band Pink Floyd in 1972 and 1973 in support of their album ''The Dark Side of the Moon'', covering the UK, US, Europe and Japan. There were two separate legs promoting the album ...

) – June 22, 1973 *

( North American Tour 1973) – July 15, 1973 *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

– October 4, 1974 (released as the album '' The Main Event – Live'') *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

(

Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album '' Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with mult ...

) – November 8, 1974 * Yes ( Relayer Tour) – November 21, 1974 *

( Tour of the Americas '75) – June 15, 1975 *

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

(

The Who by Numbers Tour The Who by Numbers Tour was a concert tour by the English rock band the Who, in support of their seventh album, ''The Who by Numbers'' (1975). It began on 3 October 1975, ended on 21 October 1976 and consisted of 79 concerts split between Nort ...

) – December 10, 1975 *

(

Isolar – 1976 Tour The David Bowie Isolar – 1976 Tour was a concert tour in support of the album ''Station to Station''. It opened on 2 February 1976 at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, and continued through North America and Europe, concluding at the Pavillo ...

) – March 19, 1976 * Elvis Presley April 25, 1976 * Aerosmith Rocks Tour) – July 23, 1976 * Lynyrd Skynyrd ( One More from the Road Tour) – October 29, 1976 *

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

(

Rock & Roll Over Tour The Rock and Roll Over Tour was a concert tour by the American heavy metal group Kiss. It began November 24, 1976 (shortly after the release of the ''Rock and Roll Over'' album) and ended April 4, 1977. History On February 18, 1977, the band ...

) – December 15, 1976 *

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

(

Wind & Wuthering Tour The Wind & Wuthering Tour was an English, North American, South American and European concert tour by the English rock band Genesis. Their last tour with guitarist Steve Hackett prior to his departure, and the first with Chester Thompson as thei ...

) – February 28, 1977 *

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

– May 9, 1977 (released as the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated album '' May 1977: Get Shown the Light'') *

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

(Reunion Tour) – June 10, 1977 *

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

(

Rumours Tour The Rumours tour was a concert tour by Fleetwood Mac, after the release of the band's eleventh album Rumours (album), with the same title in February 1977. Due to the album's success Fleetwood Mac embarked on a world tour taking in North America ...

) – July 2, 1977 * Rod Stewart ( Foot Loose & Fancy Free Tour) – October 17, 1977 *

(

Alive II Tour The Alive II Tour was a concert tour by Kiss (band), Kiss, and was the follow-up to the Love Gun Tour which ended in early September. History The Alive II Tour saw Kiss perform 5 sold-out nights at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan, Budokan, breaking the ...

) – January 25, 1978 *

( …And Then There Were Three… Tour) – March 29, 1978 *

(Reunion Tour) – July 16, 1978 *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

( World Tour 1978) – October 9, 1978 *

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

(

Live Bootleg! Tour Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...

) – September 27, 1978 * Yes ( Tormato Tour) – August 29, 1978 * Jethro Tull ( Heavy Horses Tour) – October 16, 1978 *

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

(

Jazz Tour The Jazz Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting the album ''Jazz''. The tour was memorable for the spectacle created by the band. As James Henke of ''Rolling Stone'' said about the band's Hallowee ...

) – November 28, 1978 *

(

Dynasty Tour The Dynasty Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Kiss. Background The Dynasty Tour, also known as "The Return of Kiss", was the first tour to feature the famous flying stunt by Gene Simmons. This was also the first tour to feature Ace Fre ...

) – August 8, 1979 * Bee Gees (

Spirits Having Flown Tour Spirits Having Flown Tour (also known as the Spirits Tour and the North American Tour) is the eighth concert tour by the Bee Gees in support of their fifteenth studio album ''Spirits Having Flown'' (1979). The tour began on 28 June 1979 in Fort ...

) – September 14, 1979 *

The Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

(

Destiny World Tour The Destiny World Tour was the third concert tour by the Jacksons to promote the group's ''Destiny'' album. The tour began on January 22, 1979, with their opening concert in Bremen, West Germany. They visited 3 continents and 14 countries, playin ...

) – October 22, 1979 *

– November 9, 1979 (released as the album '' Road Trips Volume 1 Number 1'') *

(

The Who Tour 1979 The Who Tour 1979 was The Who's first concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon. The tour supported their 1978 album ''Who Are You'', and consisted of concerts in Europe and the United States and acknowledged the band's retur ...

) – December 4, 1979 (dedicated to the victims of

The Who concert disaster The Who concert disaster was a crowd disaster that occurred on December 3, 1979, when English rock band The Who performed at Riverfront Coliseum (now known as Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and a rush of concert-goers ...

) *

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

( Expect No Quarter Tour) – April 1, 1980 *

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

( Fire It Up Tour) – April 2, 1980 *

(

Tusk Tour The Tusk Tour was a world concert tour by the rock group, Fleetwood Mac. The tour began on October 26, 1979, in Pocatello, Idaho and ended on September 1, 1980, in Hollywood, California. The Live album contained many of the live recordings of ...

) – May 19, 1980 BouncingTownshend

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

( Departure Tour) – August 14, 1980 *

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

– September 3, 1980 (released as the album ''

Intensities in 10 Cities ''Intensities in 10 Cities'' is the second live album by the American guitarist Ted Nugent, released in 1981 and consisting of ten songs recorded during the last ten dates of Nugent's 1980 tour. Nugent played two or three new songs every night ...

'') * Yes ( Drama Tour) – September 17, 1980 *

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

( Heaven & Hell Tour) – October 13, 1980 *

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

– October 25, 1980 (released as the album '' Buffalo'') *

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

(

The River Tour The River Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1980 and 1981, beginning concurrently with the release of Springsteen's album '' The River''. Itinerary The first leg of the tour took plac ...

) – December 4, 1980 * Rush – May 9, 1981 (the cover of the album '' Exit... Stage Left'' was photographed at this show) *

(

El Loco-Motion Tour ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ ...

) – June 27, 1981 *

(

Triumph Tour The Triumph Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons, covering the United States and Canada from July 8 to September 26, 1981. The tour grossed a total of $5.5 million, setting a record breaking four sold out concerts in Inglewood, California, jus ...

) – August 2, 1981 * Electric Light Orchestra ( Time Tour) – October 10, 1981 *

(

Mob Rules Tour The Mob Rules Tour, by the English rock group Black Sabbath, began on 15 November 1981 in Quebec City and ended on 31 August 1982 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Background A cross was used in the stage production. "The album is more rockier th ...

) – December 1, 1981 *

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

(

Diary of a Madman Tour The Diary of a Madman Tour was the second concert tour by English heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. It was undertaken in support of Osbourne's second album '' Diary of a Madman'' and covered Europe, North America, and Asia. This was Rhoads's ...

) – April 9, 1982 *

(

Escape Tour The Escape Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Journey in support of their seventh studio album, ''Escape''. Background The tour included six consecutive sold out dates at the Pine Knob Theatre in Detroit, and four straight sold ...

) – May 1, 1982 *

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

( Blackout Tour) – June 22, 1982 *

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

(

The Beast on the Road ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) – July 3, 1982 *

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

(

Physical Tour The Physical Tour (also known as the Physical Tour of North America and North American Tour '82) was the fifth concert tour by Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John, in support of her 12th studio album, '' Physical'' (1981). The tour p ...

) – September 14, 1982 * Judas Priest ( World Vengeance Tour) – October 15, 1982 * Jefferson Starship (Winds of Change Tour) - November 2, 1982 *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

( The Hello, I Must Be Going Tour) – February 10, 1983 *

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

( 1999 Tour) – February 24, 1983 *

( Frontiers Tour) – May 22, 1983 *

( Eliminator Tour) – July 31, 1983 *

(

World Piece Tour In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

) – August 15, 1983 *

(

Serious Moonlight Tour The Serious Moonlight Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English musician David Bowie, launched in May 1983 in support of his album '' Let's Dance'' (1983). The tour opened at the Vorst Forest Nationaal, Brussels, on 18 May 1983 and ended in ...

) – September 5, 1983 * Stevie Ray Vaughan ( Texas Flood Tour) – October 19, 1983 *

( Born Again Tour) – October 27, 1983 *

(

Mama Tour Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...

) – December 3, 1983 *

( Bark at the Moon Tour) – January 28, 1984 *

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

( Synchronicity Tour) – February 22, 1984 *

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

( 1984 Tour) – March 22, 1984 *

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

(

An Innocent Man Tour The An Innocent Man Tour was a 1984 concert tour by singer-songwriter Billy Joel. The tour began on January 18 in Providence, Rhode Island (which went on despite a snow storm) and ended on July 5 with the last of seven shows at Madison Square ...

) – March 28, 1984 * Yes ( 9012Live Tour) – May 9, 1984 *

( Love at First Sting World Tour) – June 2, 1984 *

(

Born in the U.S.A. Tour The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's '' Born in the U.S.A.'' album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen; after two years of bodybuil ...

) – September 24, 1984 and September 25, 1984 *

(

Purple Rain Tour The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and The Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain'' and his 1984 film '' Purple Rain''. According to ''Spin'', the tour sold over ...

) – December 17, 1984 and December 18, 1984 *

(

World Slavery Tour The World Slavery Tour was a concert tour by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden in support of their fifth album, ''Powerslave'', beginning in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984 and ending in Irvine, California on 5 July 1985. Background The tour w ...

) – January 7, 1985 * Roger Waters ( The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking Tour)) – March 21, 1985 Zappa-buffalo-ny

* Foreigner-May 10, 1985 * Robert Plant ( The Shaken 'N' Stirred Tour) – July 19, 1985 * Mötley Crüe ( Theatre of Pain Tour) – October 11, 1985 *

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

( World Infestation Tour) – September 29, 1985 * Judas Priest ( Fuel for Life Tour) – July 27, 1986 *

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

( Eat 'Em and Smile Tour) – September 30, 1986 *

Neil Young & Crazy Horse Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fura ...

- October 4, 1986 *

( Raised on Radio Tour) – October 18, 1986 *

(

Dancing Undercover World Tour Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

) – January 3, 1987 *

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

(

Slippery When Wet Tour Slipperiness is when a surface has a low coefficient of friction, allowing objects to glide across the surface. People walking on slippery surfaces are likely to slip or fall. A surface can for example be slippery due to it being wet, or due to ...

) – March 28, 1987 *

(

Somewhere on Tour Somewhere on Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, from 10 September 1986 to 21 May 1987, supporting their album '' Somewhere in Time''. The band performed across the globe, in countries including Poland, Italy, the United S ...

) – April 10, 1987 * Roger Waters ( Radio K.A.O.S. Tour) – August 20, 1987 * U2 (

The Joshua Tree Tour The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album ''The Joshua Tree''. The tour was depicted by the video and live album '' Live from Paris'' and in the 1988 studio/live ...

) – October 7, 1987 *

(

Permanent Vacation Tour The Permanent Vacation Tour, by American hard rock band Aerosmith, lasted from October 1987 to September 1988. It supported the band's commercially successful comeback album '' Permanent Vacation'', released in September 1987. Background The ...

) – October 17, 1987 *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

( Third Stage Tour) – October 31, 1987 * Mötley Crüe ( Girls, Girls, Girls Tour) – August 2, 1987 * Yes ( Big Generator Tour) – December 4, 1987 *

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

(Hysteria Tour) - February 3, 1988 * Judas Priest (

Mercenaries of Metal Tour The ''Mercenaries of Metal Tour'' was a 1988 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, in support of their most recent release, ''Ram It Down''. Unlike their other tours of the 1980s, no official Judas Priest release includes any ...

) – August 11, 1988 *

( No Rest for the Wicked Tour) – November 29, 1988 *

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

(

Damaged Justice Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album '' ...And J ...

Tour) - March 13, 1989 * Rod Stewart (

Out of Order Tour The Out of Order Tour was a 1988–89 worldwide tour held by British singer Rod Stewart to promote his album at that time, '' Out of Order''. The tour visited the Americas. It began on July 1, 1988 on San Juan, Puerto Rico and ended on August ...

) – June 16, 1989 *

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

( Green Tour) – September 12, 1989 * Gloria Estefan (Get On Your Feet Tour) - November 24, 1989 * Mötley Crüe (

Dr. Feelgood World Tour '89–'90 Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

) – December 19, 1989 *

(

Recycler Tour The Recycler Tour was a concert tour by American rock band ZZ Top. Presented by Beaver Productions and sponsored by Miller Lite, the tour took place in North America and Europe. The set list featured material from the band's previous seven studio ...

) – February 1, 1991 * Yes ( Union Tour) – April 26, 1991 *

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

( Building Empires Tour) – June 8, 1991 *

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

(

I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour was a concert tour by American pop/ R&B singer Whitney Houston, in support of her multi-platinum album ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''. Prior to Houston performing two dates in Japan early-March, the official tour s ...

) – August 1, 1991 * Gloria Estefan (Into The Light Tour) - September 13, 1991 *

(

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour The For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour (often abbreviated as the F.U.C.K. Tour or simply The Fuck Tour) was a concert tour by American rock band Van Halen in support of their studio album ''For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge''. It was one of the band's ...

) – October 20, 1991 *

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

(

Under My Spell Tour Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under Marie Under ( – 25 September 1980) was one o ...

) – November 24, 1991 *

(

Wherever We May Roam Tour Wherever We May Roam (mentioned by band members in interviews as Wherever I May Roam) was a concert tour by the American heavy metal band Metallica in support of their eponymous fifth studio album (commonly known as ''The Black Album''). It beg ...

) – December 3, 1991 *

(

No More Tours Tour The No More Tours Tour was the first farewell tour by British heavy metal music, heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Overview The tour was to be Ozzy Osbourne's last tour to spend time with his family, because he was incorrectly diagnosed with mul ...

) – November 5, 1992 *

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

( Humpin' Around the World Tour) – January 7, 1993 *

( Adrenalize World Tour) – March 19, 1993 *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

( The One Tour) – April 25, 1993 *

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

( World Tour (1993–94)) – March 18, 1994 and March 19, 1994 *

( Antenna World Tour) – May 28, 1994 * Nine Inch Nails (

Self Destruct Tour The Self Destruct Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails' album ''The Downward Spiral'', which took place in early 1994, running until mid-1996, and was broken into eight legs. Overview The tour was filmed fo ...

) – November 29, 1994 * Rod Stewart ( A Spanner in the Works Tour) – February 20, 1996 *

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

(Ballbreaker Tour) - August 3, 1996 * Gloria Estefan (Evolution Tour) - August 31, 1996

Special features

Tributes

The

retired the numbers of all three members of The French Connection –

(11) in 1990,

René Robert René Paul Robert (December 31, 1948 – June 22, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Col ...

(14) in 1995, and

(7) in 1995. The number of

Tim Horton Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburg ...

(2) was retired in 1996. Banners for all four individuals were hung in the rafters of Memorial Auditorium, and later moved to the rafters of

after the venue closed. Championship banners were hung at the venue for the

(1975, 1980 and 1981 Division Champions & 1975 and 1980

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

Champions),

(1992 and 1993 World Champions), and the

(1994 World Champions). Banners were also hung to recognize postseason appearances by the

basketball team, and commemorating the venue hosting the

1993 World University Games The 1993 Summer Universiade, also known as XVII Summer Universiade or World University Games Buffalo '93, took place in Buffalo, New York, United States. Sports * * * * * * * * * * * * Venues *Athletics – University at Buffalo St ...

. Only banners for the Sabres and Bandits were relocated to

after the venue's closure.

Eateries

At the time of its closing in 1996, the Aud's concessions included: * The Aud Club, an upscale bar and restaurant with a private entrance that was also rented out for banquets and social functions. It was designed by Philip Amigone, the architect of the

Chez Ami Supper Club The Chez Ami, known as the Chez Ami Supper Club, was located at 311 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, NY and first opened its door in 1934. It is considered one of the first supper clubs in the nation and had the first rotating bar in the United States ...

. * The Pour Man's Aud Club, an affordable eatery in the venue's lobby. Delaware North handled all concessions for the venue through its Sportservice subsidiary. The company's founder, Louis Jacobs (businessman), Louis Jacobs, was the original operating manager of Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Transportation access

The venue was served by Erie Canal Harbor station, Auditorium station of Buffalo Metro Rail, which still stands and now services both

and

History

Planning and construction

Opening and reception

Alterations

Closing and vacancy

Demolition

Legacy

Notable events

Basketball

College

National Basketball League

National Basketball Association

World University Games

Hockey

American Hockey League

National Hockey League

College

Roller Hockey International

Lacrosse

Major Indoor Lacrosse League

Soccer

Major Soccer League

National Professional Soccer League

Tennis

World Team Tennis

Figure skating

Ice Capades

Ice Follies

SABAH

Torvill and Dean

Skate America

Stars on Ice

Combat sports

Professional wrestling

Boxing

Mixed martial arts

Concerts

Special features

Tributes

Eateries

Transportation access

See also

References

External links