The MVP Arena (originally Knickerbocker Arena, and then the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center) is an

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 spectator ...

located in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum

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 th ...

of 15,500 for sporting events. The building, designed by Crozier Associates and engineered by Clough Harbour & Associates, was built by Beltrone/MLB at a cost of $69.4 million. MVP Arena Logo

History

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

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

of the arena were sold to

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

in 1997 and it was known as Pepsi Arena from 1997 to 2006. In May 2006, the naming rights were sold to the '' Times Union'', a regional newspaper, and the name of the arena became the Times Union Center on January 1, 2007. In October 2021, the Times Union relinquished naming rights. On November 15, 2021, it was announced that health care provider MVP Health Services had successfully acquired the naming rights. The Times Union, which is the largest newspaper for the Albany area, had declined to renew its naming rights, leading to the MVP Arena's renaming. The new name took effect on January 1, 2022. The building is managed by ASM Global. The New York State

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Convention nominated then- First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

as its U.S. Senate candidate at their statewide convention at Times Union Center on May 16, 2000. Her husband, President of the United States

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

, attended the event. When the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

' AHL franchise relocated to this arena in the summer of 2010, the arena received a new scoreboard, LED ribbons above the luxury suites and new outside lighting, as well as an upgraded home team locker room. The arena will be home to the Albany FireWolves 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. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

beginning in late 2021.

Sports

The Siena College's men's basketball team has been a major tenant of the arena. Previous tenants have included the

Albany Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

(formerly Albany Conquest) of af2, the original

of the AFL, the Albany Empire of the AFL, the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

of the CBA, the Albany Choppers of the IHL, the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with an ...

of the AHL, the Albany Attack of the NLL and the New York Kick of the

NPSL II NPSL may refer to: *National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely ama ...

. The MVP Arena also regularly hosts

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

s of major sports leagues. The NBA, WNBA and

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 ...

have all played games at the arena.

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

played

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

just three days after Agassi won the US Open in 1994. The arena also hosts

Monster Jam Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additio ...

and Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live.

Ice hockey

MVP Arena was home to 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

from 1993, when the

became the building's primary tenant until 2017. The River Rats won the

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 cur ...

championship in 1994–95. On April 24, 2008, one of the longest games in the history of the American Hockey League took place at the arena. Ryan Potulny scored the winning goal for the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...

at 2:58 of the fifth overtime period after 142 minutes and 58 seconds of hockey, played over 5 hours and 38 minutes. In the process, River Rats goaltender Michael Leighton set a modern-day record by making 98 saves. Following the River Rats' relocation to Charlotte, N.C., in 2010, the Albany Devils began play in the AHL. It was announced on January 31, 2017, that the Devils would relocate to Binghamton following the completion of the 2016–17 season ending 24 years of AHL hockey in the arena. At the time of the relocation, the Devils were drawing the lowest average attendance in the league.

WWE

The MVP Arena has hosted many live events and televised shows for the WWE. Notable events include the 1992

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle r ...

, where

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 ...

won the 30-man over the top rope match to become the new WWF Champion. The 2000 No Mercy was also held here and is the third No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the WWF. This event was notable for the return on Stone Cold Steve Austin after a neck injury sidelined him for the better part of a year. In 2006, at WWE New Year's Revolution, Edge cashed in the first ever Money in the Bank contract to defeat

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

for the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDo ...

. On May 20, 2019, the WWE 24/7 Championship was introduced by

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for ...

to the WWE Universe on the Monday Night Raw with Titus O'Neil becoming the Inaugural champion. It was also here on March 22, 1999, that Steve Austin drove to the ring in a beer truck and gave a "beer bath" to

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

, Shane McMahon and The Rock.

College sports

The MVP Arena hosted the

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This re ...

championships each March from 2003 until 2010, when the league announced the tournament was moved to

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atla ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

; and is often home to the annual

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

tournament (1990–96, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008–10, and 2015–19). Times Union Center Atrium

In 2003, the MVP Arena hosted the

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 and ...

basketball East Regional, which was won by

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 ...

on their way to their first national championship. The arena also hosted the first and second rounds of the

1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the champio ...

as the Knickerbocker Arena. In 2008, the MVP Arena hosted the NCAA

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

East Regional tournament. The arena hosted ice-hockey regionals in even-numbered years from 2004 through 2010, which was the eighth time the East Regional has been held at the site. In 2000, the MVP Arena hosted a regional quarterfinal between St. Lawrence University and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

, which went into quadruple overtime. The game was the longest game in the history of the tournament and, at the time, the second longest game in Division I men's college hockey history. The MVP Arena also hosted the Frozen Four on two occasions, in 1992 (as Knickerbocker Arena) when

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

defeated

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

for the national championship, and again in 2001 as the Pepsi Arena when

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

defeated

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...

. The venue hosted the NCAA women's basketball tournament from March 28 to 31, 2015 and NCAA hockey East Regional for the ninth time from March 25 to 27, 2016.

High school sports

53rd NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships at Albany Times Union Center

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

Arena Football

In 2019 MVP arena hosted

ArenaBowl XXXII ArenaBowl XXXII was 32nd and final ArenaBowl and the championship game of the 2019 Arena Football League season. The game took place on August 11, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. It featured the winners of the two semifinals, the N ...

which was the final game ever played in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

Music

The first-ever event at the arena was a Frank Sinatra concert on January 30, 1990. In 1990, the

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, ...

recorded their 1996 release, ''

Dozin' at the Knick ''Dozin' at the Knick'' is a recording of the Grateful Dead performing live in concert at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. It was recorded March 24–26, 1990, and was released in 1996. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on ...

'', at the arena.

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

played at the arena during their Slip of the Tongue world tour in 1990. The concert took place February 15, and there were many empty seats due to a

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 ...

keeping many fans from getting to the arena.

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has bee ...

played at the arena on August 30, 1991, during her 1991-1992 “Into The Light World Tour.”

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, instru ...

played at the MVP Arena, then known as the Knickerbocker Arena, on February 28, 1992, during their Wherever We May Roam Tour. The band again played at the Arena, then known as the Pepsi Arena, on October 9, 2004, during their Madly in Anger with the World tour. Metallica played at the arena on November 12, 2009, during their World Magnetic Tour. U2 played at the arena in 1992 and again in 2001.

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended Jam session#Rock, jams, blending of Music genre, genres, and a dedicated Fandom, fan base. The band consists of guitari ...

has played the arena 13 times, most recently during the fall tour of 2018.

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...

played at the arena on September 7, 2014, as part of their

Demi World Tour The Demi World Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour and second worldwide tour by American singer Demi Lovato. It was her second tour in support of her fourth studio album '' Demi'' (2013), following The Neon Lights Tour. During most of th ...

. On March 18, 2019,

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

opened her very popular Sweetener World Tour at the arena.

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

returned to the arena after 21 years on December 7, 2019, as part of her Courage World Tour. Dion's first performance at the arena took place on December 1, 1998, as part of her Let's Talk About Love World Tour.

Notable sellouts

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 ...

– September 17, 2005 *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

, Out There Tour – July 5, 2014; sold out in 28 minutes on April 14, 2014. *

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

at Albany Empire on April 14, 2018. First home game for the Empire.

Gallery

File:Times Union Center 2011.jpg, Full exterior File:Times Union Center.jpg, Main entrance File:Times Union Center Atrium.jpg, Atrium File:TimesUnionCenterPano.jpg, alt=Panorama of Times Union Center, Interior panorama

References

External links