2 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Aud Blue Seats W/COA #42!

The Aud was the replacement for the aging Broadway Auditorium, Buffalo's only convention hall. The cornerstone was laid on November 30, 1939. Located between Lower Terrace and Lake Streets, the $2,700,000 arena stands at one end of what was once the Erie Canal in the oldest section of Buffalo. Opening ceremonies for the 422' by 262' auditorium with its 12,280-tiered red, blue and gray colored seats and 2,000-3,000 floor-level moveable seats were held on October 14, 1940. A parade and 3,000-person luncheon was held at the Auditorium. The affair was described as one of the largest civic celebrations ever held in Buffalo. The Aud was formally dedicated in memory of those who had died in World War I.

 

The Aud became the new home of the Buffalo Bisons Professional Hockey Club. Louis M. Jacobs, owner of Jacob's Concessions, acquired the Syracuse American Hockey League franchise and moved them to Buffalo. The "Herd" (Bisons) soon became the powerhouse of the circuit, winning the Calder Cup Playoff Championship in 1943, 1944 and 1946.

 

On April 1, 1957, Elvis Presley performed in Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium for the first time on what would be the band's first of only two tours that year. Having played in Detroit the night before, it would be the only tour that included dates in the Northeast. The review in the Buffalo Courier-Express the following day was entitled "Elvis' Grin Enthralls Girl Fans" and said of Elvis, "Singer Real Showman."

 

The Buffalo Bisons ceased operation as American Hockey League Champions in 1970, making way for the National Hockey league (NHL) expansion Buffalo Sabres. In 1970 an $8.7 million renovation raised the 2,200-ton roof of the Memorial Auditorium 24 feet for expansion of seating capacity to 18,000 seats. In its time the Memorial Auditorium would play host to many more rock acts that would include the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead and Van Halen, to name just a few.

 

In 1970, the Sabres made Gilbert Perrault their first ever draft pick. In the Sabres second season, 1971-72, rookie Rick Martin, drafted fifth overall by Buffalo, and Rene Robert, acquired in a late-season trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, joined Perreault and would become one of the league's top forward lines of the 1970s. Martin broke Perreault's record with 44 goals in his rookie season. They were nicknamed "The French Connection" and the legend was born.

 

On May 20, 1975 one of the most famous Aud stories was Jim Lorentz's killing of a bat that was hovering near the ice during a playoff game with Philadelphia. Don Luce was on the bench watching it all. Lorentz knocked down the bat during a break in the action. The bat was on the ice for a little while as no one wanted to go near it. Eventually the Flyers' Rick MacLeish picked it up and threw it off the ice. "He was on a different line. It was a good swing, he picked it right out of the air," Luce said of Lorentz's act.

 

That night the Aud suddenly became a very steamy place. Temperatures at ice level reached 90 degrees. With the humidity, the heat and the presence of over 16,000 screaming fans, it produced the first ever fog game! Right after the bat met his untimely demise at the hands of Lorentz, a fog settled on the ice. It was as if the bat's spirit decided to haunt the game in revenge. The refs had to delay the game several times because the fog had become so dense that the players could not see halfway down the ice. Players skated around in a unsuccessful attempt to clear the fog. Auditorium workers had to come out with white bed sheets to try to clear the low cloud cover. Some of the fog dissipated, so play was resumed, only to be halted again and again because visibility was so poor. The coaches for both teams, Fred Shero of the Flyers, and Floyd Smith of the Sabres instructed their players to shoot the puck anytime they got it because the goalies would have trouble seeing it.

 

By 1996, time had caught up with the Aud and it was locked and boarded up when the state-of-the-art Crossroads Arena - now known as the HSBC Arena, opened its doors for the first time. A new chapter in the City of Buffalo's history was about to be written.