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Buffalo’s KeyBank Center, home of the National Hockey League’s Sabres and National Lacrosse League’s Bandits, has become a sports facility hot potato that nobody wants.
The 29-year-old venue is currently owned by Erie County and operated by the Sabres, but county officials are saying they do not intend to retain ownership when the current lease expires next year. That could revert the building’s ownership to the city of Buffalo, which holds the property on which the arena sits, but similarly says it does not have the budget to keep up with maintenance and liability costs.
“I don’t think we should. I don’t think that’s in our purview,” said acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon, of taking on full building ownership. “I think we continue to work with our partners, Erie County, the Sabres, to make sure that the arena is there for years to come and a great experience for residents.”
The arena ownership debate highlights a confluence of issues surrounding the Sabres. KeyBank Center is badly in need of extensive renovations—due to both its age compared to many other NHL venues and the constant wear from Buffalo winters—while the Sabres are concluding their 14th straight non-playoff season, tied with the NFL’s Jets for the longest active postseason drought in U.S. major men’s pro sports.
Team owner Terry Pegula, meanwhile, has a series of other active concerns, including ownership of the NFL’s Bills and the Bandits. The Bills are building a new stadium in suburban Orchard Park, but are soaring over budget in that project, with the facility now costing more than $2 billion and recently requiring Pegula to get a debt limit waiver from the NFL to borrow additional funds.
The Bandits, meanwhile, are the defending NLL champions, are again the top seed in the upcoming playoffs, routinely draw better crowds than the Sabres, and just set a league attendance record.
The Sabres, however, are not a candidate to move to another city vying for an NHL franchise. Not only is Buffalo still a hockey hotbed, regularly hosting a variety of major youth events in addition to the Sabres, but Pegula’s ownership of the Bills and Bandits makes a move elsewhere for the Sabres essentially untenable.
“The current lease provides a number of options that will allow us to find a solution for everyone involved that will ensure the long-term success of the Sabres and KeyBank Center,” said team COO Pete Guelli in a statement.
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