The Robert and Concetta Dwyer Arena houses two ice surfaces, (both 200 x 85 ft.) a

starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

, and a pro shop on

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

's campus in

Lewiston, New York Lewiston is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named aft ...

, United States. The main rink can seat up to 1,400 people and is the home to the

Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey The Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I college ice hockey program that represents Niagara University. The Purple Eagles are members of Atlantic Hockey Ameri ...

team, which plays in the

Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...

conference of college hockey. The arena was formerly home to the

women's ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Two opposing teams use ice h ...

team, which played in

College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvani ...

. The building was built in 1996. Prior to the 1999–2000 season, major renovation took place as a result of a gift by Bob and Connie Dwyer, both 1965 graduates, who contributed $3 million for facilities upgrades. Locker and training rooms, players' lounge, and lobby were upgraded, while separate entrances for the main and auxiliary rinks, new pro shop, and new ticket office were arranged. In the summer of 2007 a premium seating section was added in the area formerly occupied by the Party Deck, and as a result, capacity was increased from 1,600 to 2,100. The current seating capacity is 1,400. It hosted the

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

men's conference tournaments and the 2004 and 2008 women's conference tournaments. Dwyer was home of 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 (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

Summer Development Camp in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 which featured young prospects and draft picks in the Sabres organization. The arena co-hosted the

2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships (''2011 WJHC''), was the 35th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship and was hosted by the United States. The games were play ...

External links

* College ice hockey venues in New York (state) Sports venues in New York (state) Niagara Purple Eagles ice hockey Sports venues in Niagara County, New York 1996 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1996 {{NewYork-sports-venue-stub