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Home > Leadership > Mayor > Archive Press Releases > 2007 Archives > December 2007 > Mayor Brown Announces Pending Transfer Of Aud

Mayor Brown Announces Pending Transfer Of Aud

Source/Contact
Office of the Mayor
Peter K. Cutler
Director of Communications
716-851-4841

Transfer to Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation includes future auction of salvageable furnishings and erection of historical monument

Mayor Byron W. Brown today announced that the City of Buffalo is poised to transfer Memorial Auditorium to the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC), which, according to a legally binding agreement between the city and the ECHDC, will demolish the vacant sports arena and develop the site as part of the ongoing Canal side redevelopment project.

“For fifty-six years, from the day it opened on October 14, 1940 to the final Sabres home game played on April 14, 1996, Memorial Auditorium, known with great affection by thousands of Western New Yorkers as the “Aud,” hosted countless sports and entertainment events that have been etched in our collective memory,” said Mayor Brown.  “As I stand here today, with two former great Buffalo Sabres – Rene Robert and Larry Playfair – I share with all Buffalonians a great sense of pride and gratitude for all great athletes – professional and amateur – and entertainers who passed through the Aud, leaving their imprint on one of America’s great auditoriums.”

Earlier this week the Common Council Finance Committee moved Mayor Brown’s recommendation to transfer the Aud to the ECHDC and the full Council is expected to vote on the measure next Tuesday. The purpose of the transfer is to permit the ECHDC to demolish the Auditorium and make land available for development of the Canal side mixed retail commercial district planned for this site. 

“From the Bisons, Stallions, Stampede, Bandits, Blizzard through the great Buffalo Braves and Buffalo Sabres teams – and let’s not forget the remarkable era of NCAA basketball that was played here, especially the duels between Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure – the Aud was a true sports Mecca, including some of the great boxing contests of years gone by,” said Mayor Brown.

The Agreement with ECHDC requires: that ECHDC remove all hazardous material from the structure, abate all asbestos, demolish the building, as well as to redevelop the site as mixed retail, commercial, residential and public access purposes in accordance with Canal side plan, and consistent with the adjoining Cobblestone District.  The ECHDC will also set aside public space to include an appropriate monument to be erected on the site, subject to approval of the Buffalo Arts Commission.

The cost of the demolition of the Aud would cost the city approximately $10 million.  By transferring the Aud to the ECHDC the city will be relieved of this expense. For this reason the property will be conveyed for one dollar to the ECHDC.  The City retains a revisionary interest in the property that can be exercised by the City should the Corporation fail to develop the property. 

“The proposed demolition and redevelopment of this site is a major step forward in the revitalization of the City's waterfront as a commercial and tourist destination, and will serve to reinvigorate this signature area in downtown Buffalo,” stated the Mayor. “And to celebrate its extraordinary history, the Agreement between the City and the ECHDC includes the removal of various furnishings – at ECHDC’s expense – including the Blue Level Auditorium Seats and Hockey Arena Boards, which will be later auctioned to the public.”

Details of the auction of these items are still being formulated, but the net proceeds of the auction will go toward the erection of the public monument commemorating the Aud’s history.

In terms of timing, it is anticipated that the demolition of the Aud will commence in approximately 16 months.  It is expected that the auction of the old seats and boards will take place during the summer, but a final determination on the timing of the auction has not yet been set.

Working collaboratively with the ECHDC on this important project, the city will keep the public updated on when to expect the auction to take place and the details of the auction sale of the salvageable property.

The Agreement also includes the removal and preservation of certain “iconic” fixtures – including two stone Art Deco-style American eagles that flank the former front entrance on Lower Terrace; the carved stone Art Deco-style State of New York seal, also on the front façade of the building; and approximately 18 Art Deco-style flag standards and their bases.  These fixtures will remain the property of the city.