Washington Avenue Armory: New York
Washington Avenue Armory
The Washington Avenue Armory, officially known as the Washington Avenue Armory Sports and Convention Arena, is a multi-purpose arena in Albany, New York. It is the home of the Albany Patroons basketball teams of the Continental Basketball Association (the headquarters of which are located inside the Armory) and the United States Basketball League. The Armory has a capacity of 4,300 for concerts and conventions and 3,600 for sports events.
The Armory sits on the corner of Washington Avenue and Lark Street in downtown Albany, and was originally built in the late 1890s, when it was used as a munitions depot. Since the earliest years of professional and collegiate basketball, several college and minor league basketball teams have played in the Armory, as there was no other suitable facility for hoops in the Albany area for many years. On February 21, 1953, the Armory hosted the longest collegiate basketball game, when Niagara University defeated Siena University 88-81, in a game that took six overtime periods to decide.
Between 1982 and 1990, the Armory became home to the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association. After the Patroons moved to the then-new Knickerbocker Arena, the Armory fell into disuse and was the target of several reuse proposals including becoming the new home of the Albany Library System (whose main branch is next door to the Armory). In 2004, a group headed by former Albany County executive Jim Coyne bought the Armory and the renovated facility opened in September 2005, later that year becoming the home for a reincarnated Patroons. In 2006, the CBA Patroons were joined by the former Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the USBL though their first home game as the USBL Patroons will not take place until 2007.
The Armory has 38,000 feet of floor space, meeting facilities, and two video screens. Its website states that it will soon open an underground mall featuring stores and eateries.
Naming rights for the facility are currently up for bid with the name change taking place later in 2006