BUFFALO —
If you keep saying the Buffalo Sabres play in HSBC Arena, you probably won’t be alone. The downtown arena had the same name for more than 12 years. It’s only natural to slip. But for at least the next 15 years, the home of the Sabres will be known as First Niagara Center, the team announced Thursday.
The Buffalo-based bank recently bought up 200 HSBC Bank branches, including all area ones, so a name change seemed likely.
“This is the most significant sponsorship agreement in the history of Western New York Sports, both financially and the fact it joins two of the hottest brands in our region,” Sabres president Ted Black said Thursday inside First Niagara Center.
John Koelmel, CEO of First Niagara, said financial terms would be revealed later.
“It would naïve for me to say the money wasn’t important because it is,” Black said. “We didn’t have this rolled into our budget, quite frankly, for this year.”
Still, the Sabres spent more than $70 million on new players last month.
“It would not have changed our business had we not done it,” Black said about the naming rights.
Black said the team hopes to switch all signage by Oct. 14, opening night. Workers planned to start the changes Thursday afternoon.
“This is going to be a challenge, especially that massive sign that’s above us,” Black said about the large sign in the atrium. “That’ll probably be the most difficult one.”
This is the third name in the building’s history. It opened in 1996 as Marine Midland Arena.
First Niagara also has its name on a concert pavilion in Pittsburgh and sponsors a tennis tournament in Connecticut.
“We’re very focused on investing in our community,” Koelmel said.
Pro Sports
August 25, 2011
Sabres home gets new name
- Pro Sports
-
- Home is where the Bills find you
- NHL cancels 82 games
- Sabres exploring options as lockout drags on
- Sabres' Vanek heading to Austria
- Bills-Patriots rivalry remains lopsided
- Sabres stuck in Rochester trying to embrace unique opportunity
- Sabres' Vanek thinking about taking game home to Austria
- Locked-out Sabres pursuing new jobs
- Fair-weather fans must stick out the season
- Fair-weather fans must stick out the season
- More Pro Sports Headlines
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Military Plans to Put Women in Combat Jobs
Solar Power Chargers in NYC Parks
Civil Rights Groups Sue NYPD Over Muslim Spying
Raw: First Lady, Daughters Enjoy Irish Sights
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Boeing, Airbus Battle for Sales Supremacy
