Times Union Center

Times Union Center is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York, with a maximum seating capacity of 17,500 for sporting events. Current tenants include Siena College’s men’s basketball team, the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League, and the Albany Conquest of af2.The arena, designed and built by Clough Harbour & Associates, was opened in 1990 as the Knickerbocker Arena. Frank Sinatra was the first artist to perform there. The naming rights of the building were sold to Pepsi in 1997. In May 2006 the naming rights were sold to local newspaper The Times Union, which will change the name to Times Union Center on January 1, 2007.

Previous tenants have included the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League, the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, the Albany Choppers of the International Hockey League, the Albany Attack of the National Lacrosse League, and the New York Kick of the National Professional Soccer League. The University at Albany has used the facility for past games against Syracuse University and has been approached to use the facility for some dates in the future in the wake of their participation in the 2006 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.

College sports

Times Union Center is often home to the annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament (1990-96, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006), and hosts the ECAC Hockey League championships every March. It will host the MAAC basketball tournament again in 2008 and 2010.

In 2003, the Pepsi Arena hosted the NCAA basketball East Regional, which was won by Syracuse University on their way to their first national championship. The arena also hosted the first and second rounds of the 1995 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament as the Knickerbocker Arena.In 2006, the Pepsi Arena hosted the NCAA ice hockey East Regional tournament. The Michigan State Spartans of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), Harvard of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), Maine of Hockey East, and New Hampshire, also of Hockey East, all participated in the East Region. Maine ended up advancing to the Frozen Four. The arena has hosted ice hockey regionals several times in the past, most recently in 2004.

In 2000, the Pepsi Arena hosted a regional quarterfinal between St. Lawrence University and Boston University, which went into quadruple overtime; becoming the longest game in the history of the tournament and the second longest game in division I men’s college hockey history (it is currently the third longest game).

The Pepsi Arena also hosted the Frozen Four on two occasions, in 1992 (as Knickerbocker Arena) when Lake Superior State University defeated Wisconsin for the national championship, and again in 2001 when Boston College defeated North Dakota.

Music

Since its opening, Pepsi Arena has become a popular concert venue, due to its close proximity to larger cities like New York, Boston and Montreal, where concert tickets tend to sell out faster. It is walking distance from the city’s Greyhound Bus station, as well as being close to hotels, bars and restaurants. The open parking lots near the arena provide fans an excellent tailgating area for fans before the show.In 1996, the jamband The Grateful Dead released a concert album from their March 1990 Knickerbocker Arena performances titled Dozin’ at the Knick. In 2003, rock band Phish reunited with band co-founder Jeff Holdsworth for the first time in nearly 18 years.

On March 15, 2006 Fall Out Boy started off their Black Clouds & Underdogs tour at the Pepsi Arena along with All American Rejects, From First to Last, Hawthorne Heights and The Hush Sound.On September 1st, Mariah Carey will bring her “The Adventures of Mimi” tour to the Arena

Wrestling

In 1992, the Pepsi Arena, then known as the Knickerbocker Arena, played host to the World Wrestling Federation’s Royal Rumble. The event is considered one of the most notable events in WWF History as Ric Flair went over an hour to win the rumble, and claim the World Heavyweight Championship.

In 2000, The Pepsi Arena hosted the World Wrestling Federation’s No Mercy. This event was notable for the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin to active competition after being injured (in storyline) at the hands of Rikishi. This show also featured Kurt Angle winning the WWF Championship for the first time, defeating The Rock.

In 2006, The Pepsi Arena hosted New Year’s Revolution presented by World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) RAW. The event featured the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship: John Cena defeated Carlito, Chris Masters, Shawn Michaels, Kane and Kurt Angle. Following the match, Edge used his Money in the Bank contract that he won at WrestleMania 21 and defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. It also hosted the second ECW On Sci Fi show on June 20th, accompanying a SmackDown! taping. The ECW show was aired live, the first live ECW television show in over 5 years.