TBN: KeyBank Center upgrades

[BB79]

Pretty sure I almost died on those steps in the Oranges at least half a dozen times.

God do I miss them.

Go to 25:38. You're welcome

 

[Tsujimoto]

Yuck, abandoned. Let's remember her in happier times:
View attachment 860117
If they ever did fully replace KBC, please built a new one with a steep rake of the seats like the Aud. Those sightlines are to die for.

Except for the Upper Blues where you couldn't even see the scoreboard from some of the rows.

 

[Tsujimoto]

It's a pre-Conehead Conehead!

 

[Jim Bob]

I'm onboard with the idea of redoing them to match the old Aud seats. Granted, all that gold in the lower bowl will be very easy to spot on light attendance nights.

https://theathletic.com/1921837/2020/07/10/fans-and-a-longtime-sabres-beat-writer-suggest-how-to-upgrade-keybank-center/

Looking for the picture for when they used giveaway t-shirts to mimic The Aud seat color look happened onto this article by Vogl from 7/10/2020.

The ideas are endless. We welcome yours in the comments. In the meantime, we’ll let one survey taker finish what we started.

“Clean it. At least once. Please.”

 

[Tsujimoto]

“Clean it. At least once. Please.”

Wait. Do you want it to be more like The Aud or not?

 

[Dex]

https://theathletic.com/1921837/2020/07/10/fans-and-a-longtime-sabres-beat-writer-suggest-how-to-upgrade-keybank-center/

Looking for the picture for when they used giveaway t-shirts to mimic The Aud seat color look happened onto this article by Vogl from 7/10/2020.

Hey - that looks like my avatar!

I'd love for them to go with that theme when they get new seats.

 

[BloFan4Life]

https://theathletic.com/1921837/2020/07/10/fans-and-a-longtime-sabres-beat-writer-suggest-how-to-upgrade-keybank-center/

Looking for the picture for when they used giveaway t-shirts to mimic The Aud seat color look happened onto this article by Vogl from 7/10/2020.

That looks horrible. It reminds me of looking at a house on zillow where the owners just painted every wall a different color of the rainbow. The less colors, the better. Easier on the eyes, and looks better overall not just talking about hockey games at the arena. This would look great for Disney on Ice, or a Reading Rainbow performance. Could you imagine this weak team playing in a rainbow arean?

 

[Jim Bob]

That looks horrible. It reminds me of looking at a house on zillow where the owners just painted every wall a different color of the rainbow. The less colors, the better. Easier on the eyes, and looks better overall not just talking about hockey games at the arena. This would look great for Disney on Ice, or a Reading Rainbow performance. Could you imagine this weak team playing in a rainbow arean?

I like the variation of the colors.

One tweak I might like them go with would be having Blue & Gold in the lower bowl and Red & Black in the upper bowl.

 

[Dex]

That looks horrible. It reminds me of looking at a house on zillow where the owners just painted every wall a different color of the rainbow. The less colors, the better. Easier on the eyes, and looks better overall not just talking about hockey games at the arena...

Guess you never saw a game in the Aud, huh.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

They gotta ship of Theseus that shit. Forever rebuild, come on, make it match the state of the team. Currently it’s an old wreck, make it a young wreck, plz.

 

[sabremike]

REBUILD THE AUD AND MAKE THE LEAFS PAY FOR IT!!!

 

[TehDoak]

Just play all the games at the new bill stadium. It's like a winter classic 41 nights a year. It's not like we have to worry about spring hockey!

 

[Tijuana Donkey Show]

I'm onboard with the idea of redoing them to match the old Aud seats. Granted, all that gold in the lower bowl will be very easy to spot on light attendance nights.

I would love that look.

But I think the seats are "fine". The issue is the seating layout. Any major seat replacement should come with changing the layout entirely. If they could engineer a way to stack them and get everybody closer to the ice without losing 2-3k seats that would be huge.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

It's a pre-Conehead Conehead!

Man, that guy used to be around the amerks games too. What fun times.

 

[Jim Bob]

I would love that look.

But I think the seats are "fine". The issue is the seating layout. Any major seat replacement should come with changing the layout entirely. If they could engineer a way to stack them and get everybody closer to the ice without losing 2-3k seats that would be huge.

I hope you mean the seat color is fine and not the seats themselves.

From Vogl's article:

Seats

Let’s start with the obvious. Fans arrive at their seats and see dirt, grime, chipped paint and broken cup holders. Some stains are older than Rasmus Dahlin.

“The seats are from the Clinton administration,” wrote a survey participant, noting that the 1996 arena has indeed been through four presidents and counting.

A couple of fellow Sabres reporters took a picture of a new phone this season, but the shiny device immediately gave way to the filth surrounding it.



People are paying as much as $145 to sit down. They shouldn’t have to spring for cleaning wipes, too.

“Seating is too cramped,” a respondent wrote.

While it’s cool the Sabres have seating capacity of 19,070 – a nod to their 1970 founding – they shouldn’t re-install every seat when they get around to replacing them. It is too snug in spots, especially when bulky winter coats are involved.

 

[Tijuana Donkey Show]

I hope you mean the seat color is fine and not the seats themselves.

From Vogl's article:

Correct.

I am saying any seat replacement should come with a layout change to bring them closer to the ice.

 

[Jim Bob]

Correct.

I am saying any seat replacement should come with a layout change to bring them closer to the ice.

I do not believe that is possible. The most you could see would be bigger seats in areas or spacing differences. But I don’t know how you change the seating bowl to move seats closer to the ice.

 

[Dingo44]

 

[Beerz]

They should make the entire roof the goathead logo

 

[MOGlLNY]

I do not believe that is possible. The most you could see would be bigger seats in areas or spacing differences. But I don’t know how you change the seating bowl to move seats closer to the ice.

KeyBank with all of its warts also has some of the best sight lines in the entire NHL. It's one of the few arenas that is dedicated to strictly hockey and it shows in how many good seats there is.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

If you ever build a proper product for the fans to come and watch, nobody really sees what color the seats are.

 

[Sabre the Win]

I am with whoever says we need new seats, its beyond cramped that you're literally elbow to elbow with not only the people next to you but also the next seat over.

The Rogers Center where the Jays play just had major renovations. It feels like an actually ball park, its simply amazing. They also redid all the seats and took out quite a few to give more space and add cup holders and it was much more cheaper than building a new park.

I would sacrifice seats to add more space in the Key Bank Center.

 

[Ehran]

I would sacrifice seats to add more space in the Key Bank Center.

Considering how much the NHL relies on ticket sales for revenues as opposed to MLB's TV packages, I'm not sure that losing those seats is appealing to Pegula.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Don't touch the Skyway #SaveTheSkyway

The Historical Society likely agrees with you. Turn it into a national landmark.

"The Erie Canal of the Automobile Era." lol

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

How are people saying the sight lines in there are good? They are AWFUL! The grade of the seats is gradual. There are no overhangs. 80% of the seats in the 100 level have large swaths of the ice that are obstructed. 200s are great. 300 level is in a different zip code, especially as you approach the corners. Not only that, they crammed too many seats in there, so if you are in the corners, the seats are narrow and scrunched together.
Design firms have figured out now to bring seats closer to the field/ice and that seems to be a large part of the new Bills' stadium design.

I have been to several NHL arenas and the sight lines are so much better. Along with everything else.

That bubble roof sucks the life and noise right out of the place, as well as ruining the aesthetics of being in a hockey arena. The giant blue wall and duct work is also terrible-looking. There is zero character to the place, where they have been able to add/design character into most arenas.

Other than that, you have the tomb concourses still that went out of style starting in 1999. Especially in the 300 level.

Its a dump, and not even a cool, edgy, nostalgic, character dump that the Aud was or even Highmark Stadium is. It just sux. I liken it to the awful multi purpose baseball/football stadiums of the 70s like Three Rivers, Riverfront, Jack Murphy, and Veterans Stadium (ending with the Skydome).
It is an eyesore from the outside too


It in my opinion is the worst NHL arena I have been in, and the only one close is Washington, and they are either getting a new one or completely rebuilding the existing. Boston, Philly, Toronto, Montreal, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and Tampa are laps of luxury that are not only nicer and more comfortable, they also have more character and resemble a hockey arena more (flat roof).

A new build needs to be considered by all parties. A vibrant arena could have a positive effect on downtown. Musical acts and things like that have started to bypass Buffalo more and more. Maybe even attach that to the long-wanted convention center dealie.


oh, just saw this released. Directly related to my rantings

BUT!!!!.... It has a world class dressing room .... (for a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 13 years).

Where else in the NHL can you find that?? LOL