HSBC Arena is located in downtown Buffalo, New York, at 1 Seymour H. Knox III Plaza. HSBC Arena is the home of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres and the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits. HSBC Arena holds nearly 19,000 people and has played host to sporting events, ice shows, concerts and conventions. Since opening, more than 11 million people have visited HSBC Arena.
In the late 1930s, Buffalo replaced its only convention center with the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. In 1996, the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium was shut down as plans were put in place to open the new Crossroads Arena.
The Crossroads Arena was built for $127 million and opened Sept. 21, 1996. But before officially opening, the naming rights to the arena were sold to Marine Midland. Marine Midland was part of the banking group HSBC.
In 1999, HSBC made company changes worldwide. One of those was to rename Marine Midland Arena. On March 17, 1999, the name of the arena officially became HSBC Arena.
The first hockey game in HSBC Arena was held on Sept. 21, 1996. The preseason game was between the Buffalo Sabers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. HSBC Arena's first concert was given by the Goo-Goo Dolls on Sept. 28, 1996. The NCAA men's basketball tournament was held for the first time at HSBC Arena in 2000.
Despite the name changes, HSBC Arena has remained under control of the Buffalo Sabres. Despite being controlled by the Sabres, HSBC Arena is on city-owned land and the arena is owned by the city of Buffalo.
