Visions Veterans Memorial Arena facts for kids
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The Arena - Greater Binghamton's
Premier Events Destination |
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| Former names | Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena (1973–2014) Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena (2014–2021) |
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| Location | One Stuart Street Binghamton, New York 13901 |
| Coordinates | 42°5′44″N 75°54′47″W / 42.09556°N 75.91306°W |
| Owner | Broome County |
| Operator | Broome County |
| Capacity | 7,200 (concerts) 4,710 (ice hockey) |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 1971 |
| Opened | August 29, 1973 |
| Construction cost | $7.5 million ($49.4 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Architect | Elbasani, Logan & Severin |
| Structural engineer | T. Y. Lin & Associates |
| General contractor | E. L. Nezelek |
| Tenants | |
| Broome Dusters (NAHL) (1973–1977) Binghamton Dusters/Whalers/Rangers (AHL) (1977–1997) B.C. Icemen (UHL) (1997–2002) Binghamton Senators (AHL) (2002–2017) Binghamton Devils (AHL) (2017–2020) Binghamton Black Bears (FPHL) (2021–present) |
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The Visions Veterans Memorial Arena is a large building in Binghamton, New York. It can hold up to 7,200 people for concerts and 4,710 for ice hockey games. This arena opened in 1973 and has been a popular spot for entertainment and sports ever since. It has also been known by other names, like the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena and the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.
Today, it is the home of the Binghamton Black Bears, a hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League. The arena also has eight special rooms called luxury suites, where groups of fans can watch events.
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History of the Arena
In the 1960s, leaders in Binghamton wanted to make the downtown area better. They planned several projects, including building a new cultural center. This center was meant to have two main parts: a large arena for different events and a place for performing arts.
A competition was held to design the new center. A group of architects called Elbasani, Logan & Severin (ELS) won in 1967. Their design put the arena between State Street and Washington Street. The performing arts center was planned to be by the river. An elevated walkway would connect the two buildings.
The first part of the project, which was the arena and a small part of the walkway, was built between 1971 and 1973. It cost about $7.5 million at that time. The arena has a huge floor space for events and another large area on the concourse.
The very first event at the arena was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in May 1973, even before it was fully finished. The first concert was played by the band Chicago on June 13, 1973, with Bruce Springsteen opening the show! The official opening event on ice was the Ice Capades.
The second part of the plan, which included the rest of the walkway and the performing arts center, was never built because there wasn't enough money. Instead, an older theater nearby, the Capri Theatre, was updated and became the Broome County Forum.
In 2021, the arena got its current name, Visions Veterans Memorial Arena. This happened because Visions Federal Credit Union took over the naming rights.
Sports at the Arena
The Visions Veterans Memorial Arena has a long history with hockey. The Broome Dusters were the first main hockey team to play there, starting in 1973. At first, not many people came to their games. But soon, the team became very popular, and the arena often sold out. Because of this, a sports newspaper even called Binghamton "Hockey Town USA"!
The Dusters team changed its name a few times, becoming the Binghamton Dusters, then the Binghamton Whalers, and later the Binghamton Rangers. In 1997, this team moved away.
Another team, the BC Icemen, played at the arena for five seasons. Then, in 2002, a new team called the Binghamton Senators arrived. They were connected to the Ottawa Senators, a big team in the National Hockey League. In 2008, the arena and the Senators hosted the AHL All-Star Classic, which was a big event shown live on TV.
In 2017, the Senators were replaced by the Binghamton Devils. This team was linked to the New Jersey Devils. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team temporarily moved. Later, the Devils' team moved permanently to another city.
After that, the arena made a deal with the Federal Prospects Hockey League. This brought a new team, the Binghamton Black Bears, to the arena in 2021.
Besides hockey, the arena has also hosted special games for professional basketball and hockey teams. Teams like the New Jersey Nets (basketball) and the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, and Ottawa Senators (hockey) have played exhibition games here.
Every December, the arena hosts a high school basketball tournament called the Stop-DWI Holiday Classic. It used to be one of the top high school tournaments in the country. In 2016, the arena also hosted the New York State boys' basketball championship.
Notable Events and Shows
The Visions Veterans Memorial Arena has welcomed many famous performers and exciting events over the years. Some of the well-known music artists who have played here include AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, Aerosmith, Metallica, Elton John, Cher, Dolly Parton, Grateful Dead, Phish, Green Day, and Carrie Underwood.
Other popular events that visit yearly include trade shows, the Binghamton Philharmonic orchestra, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, and the Circus.
A very special moment was when Elvis Presley performed two sold-out concerts on May 26 and 27, 1977, just before he passed away.
The band Grateful Dead played at the arena several times. One of their concerts from 1977 was even released as a special album called Dave's Picks Volume 25.
Another famous concert, Phish's performance on December 14, 1995, was released as Live Phish Volume 1 in 2001.
The arena has also been a popular spot for professional wrestling. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) brought their RAW show to the arena multiple times. A famous wrestler, Beth Phoenix, who grew up nearby, actually attended her first wrestling event at the arena in 1995. She won tickets by winning a coloring contest! She later became a WWE Hall of Famer. Other wrestling shows like ECW on TNN and WCW Thunder have also been taped here.
In 2012, during a high school basketball championship game, the arena had a power outage! Fans were stuck inside and outside while crews worked to fix it. After a two-hour delay, the power came back on, and the games were played.
Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame
Inside the arena, you can find the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame. It has plaques displayed on the main concourse honoring people who have made a big impact on hockey in Binghamton.
1998: Ken Holland, Randy MacGregor, Jim Matthews 1999: Rod Bloomfield, Jacques Caron, Paul Stewart 2000: Paul Crowley, Paul Fenton, Larry Pleau 2001: Craig Duncanson, Pierre Laganiere, Brad Shaw 2002: Chris Cichocki, Peter Sidorkiewicz, Ross Yates 2003: Roger Neel, Peter Fiorentino 2004: Peter Laviolette, Jon Smith, Bob Sullivan 2005: Don Biggs, Dallas Gaume, Brad Jones 2006: Ken Gernander, Dave Staffen 2007: Gary Jaquith, Brian McReynolds 2008: AHL All Star Game - No Inductions 2009: Mike Dunham, Glenn Merkosky 2010: Daniel Lacroix, Tom Mitchell 2011: Chris Grenville, Corey Hirsch, John Paddock 2012: Mike Busniuk, Chris Ferraro, Peter Ferraro 2013: Bob Carr, Al Hill 2014: Denis Hamel 2015: Rob Zamuner, Bob Moppert, Scott Allegrino 2016: Richard Grenier, Jean-Yves Roy, Justin Plamondon 2017: Ray Emery, Steve Stirling, Patrick Snyder 2018: Brian McGrattan, Larry Kish
