The Buffalo Sabres are about to begin their 27th season at KeyBank Center, its waterfront home. Though the arena has had more names than Ron Artest over the years, that’s about the only thing that’s changed. Once regarded as one of the sleekest state-of-the-art venues in the NHL, the arena and its charm have both gone stale over the years, and the Sabres’ mystique has suffered because of it.
The addition of the impressive LECOM Harborcenter complex has taken some of the attention away from it, the KeyBank Center hasn’t had any major renovations since it opened in 1996 and needs a major facelift. The installation of a new 27 x 43 ft jumbotron this summer was a great start, but there’s much more to be done. Here are three things the Sabres franchise, its primary operators, can do to make their home feel fresh again.
Sabres Must Play Better
The appeal of any sporting venue will be diminished if the games aren’t exciting, and it’s been a long, long time since the Sabres have been consistently good. The Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (“the Aud”) was closer to a broom closet than the Taj Mahal. It was cramped and rundown, but none of that mattered. The building was the setting of some of the most legendary moments in Sabres history, and fans embraced it because it was an environment unlike any other. The Aud’s claustrophobic and homey vibe had a way of making every person in the venue feel connected, and fans look back on its quirks with affection rather than contempt.
While KeyBank Center can’t measure up to the electricity of the Aud, when the Sabres are playing well and fans are invested, it, too, is one of the most charged arenas in hockey. In the Sabres’ glory days of the mid-2000s, the noise in the arena was deafening on a nightly basis, so much so that the walls would shake. WGR 550 radio personality Jeremy White once likened it to the Roman Coliseum.
It’s no coincidence that there were no real complaints about the arena during these days because the team was so good that the play on the ice was all that mattered. The Sabres were good more often than not when they played at the Aud, and if they hadn’t been, it would be nowhere near as revered. Winning cures everything, and when it finds its way back to KeyBank Center, there’s no question that it will be raucous again.
Keep KeyBank Center Cleaner & Repaint It
The biggest complaint about KeyBank Center is that it’s ‘dated.’ When the Sabres moved in after 26 years at the Aud, it was the start of a new era. The facility was a gleaming new monument and made the Sabres a key attraction when many teams were still using arenas built 50-60 years before. But as impressive as it was, it’s been a long while since the arena had any real attention paid to it.
For starters, it looks dirty and run down on the inside. Regardless of what floor you’re on, the walkways of the concourses are bestrewed with stains and smudges from an obvious lack of janitorial care. The concrete flooring has cracks throughout, and while that can sometimes be charming, in this case, it just looks dingy.
Wear and tear was expected, given the amount of foot traffic that comes through. In addition to the Sabres, KeyBank Center also houses the Buffalo Bandits, along with year-round events from concerts to professional wrestling. But the Sabres have allowed its condition to get worse and worse. Giving the arena a thorough cleaning and covering up the cracks in the floors would be an easy and logical place to start.
Accurately described by The Athletic‘s John Vogl as a “hodgepodge of colors randomly tossed around” (from “Sabres’ arena in pictures: Trouble spots, areas of opportunity and how to improve the fan experience in Buffalo,” The Athletic, 5/5/21), the building has no style and resembles an explosion at a paint factory. The arena bowl itself, at least, follows the Sabres’ blue and gold scheme, but the rest of the building can’t say the same. Ditching the rainbow gauntlet and incorporating a more coherent design that’s easier on the eyes would make the entire arena more palatable.
Change KeyBank Center Seats
As it is, the KeyBank Center lacks personality. It’s not a bad arena by any stretch – despite the issues – but it’s never had any real character. The random color schemes and lack of overall design are a common target, but it doesn’t stop there. The seats of the bowl have been singled out as well. They are old and in dire need of replacement, and every seat is the same: blue cushions, blue armrests, and blue backing.
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Yes, they complement the gold trim of the lower bowl, but the problem is that it’s just bland – not gaudy or unattractive, just bland – a microcosm of the entire building. Though it would probably be costly, the Sabres should fix it. Fans fondly remember the seat colors at the Aud that delineated the sections. There was no 100, 200, or 300-level system, like at KeyBank Center. Instead, they used “the golds” (lowest), “the reds and blues” (mid-level), and “the oranges” (highest). It was part of the arena’s charm and helped give every section its own identity and experience.
Since the current seats need to go anyway, why not pay tribute to the franchise’s origins and redo the color scheme in the same way? Technically, the Sabres have done it already, and the results were incredible.
During their 50th Anniversary 2019-20 season, the Sabres planned many celebrations. The best one was unquestionably “Aud Night” in honor of the legendary venue. The organization draped color-coded t-shirts over every seat in the bowl to make it resemble the old arena. It was spectacular and genuinely captured the old spirit, even if it was only temporary.
The current seats need to go. There’s no two ways about it. When the time finally comes, why not recreate the old color scheme permanently? We’ve seen how good it looks, and it would also make the arena more comfortable and give it more pizzazz. Nostalgia can be an incredibly effective tool, and there’s no reason to believe it couldn’t be used here to bring new life to KeyBank Center.
In what other ways would you revamp KeyBank Center? Should the Sabres prioritize rejuvenating their arena or are there more important things to worry about as they begin a pivotal new season?
