Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena located in Binghamton, New York. The arena was completed in 1973, providing an entertainment venue for residents of the Greater Binghamton area. The arena contains eight luxury suites, each holding 25 fans. A longtime home to minor league hockey, the arena is currently home to the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League.
History
In the 1960s, the city of Binghamton started planning a number of urban renewal projects to revitalize the urban core, collectively known as Project 1. Based on the recommendations of a citizen committee, city and county leaders included a proposal as part of Project 1 to construct a downtown cultural complex. The proposed complex would consist of two buildings: a multipurpose veterans memorial auditorium and a performing arts center. A nationwide design competition for the complex was held, with Elbasani, Logan & Severin being selected as the winners in November 1967. ELS was formed specifically to enter in the competition, and has since gone on to become a nationally-recognized architectural firm. The winning design placed the arena between State Street and Washington Street, and the performing arts center along the river on Washington Street, with an elevated walkway over Washington Street connecting the two buildings. The arena plans made use of an innovative space frame based design to avoid view-obstructing columns.The first phase of construction, consisting of the arena and a short portion of the elevated walkway, lasted from 1971 to 1973, with the total cost coming to $7.5 million at the time. The arena was built with 17,000 square feet of space on the arena floor, with an additional 12,000 square feet on the concourse. The first act, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, took place in an unfinished arena in May 1973. Chicago played the first concert at the arena on June 13, 1973. The ribbon cutting and first event on ice was with the Ice Capades. The proposed second phase of the complex, consisting of the remaining elevated walkway and the riverside performing arts center, was never built due to budgetary issues; the portion of the walkway built during the first phase remains as an extension of the arena. In place of the new performing arts center, the county refurbished and expanded the Capri Theatre, which became the Broome County Forum.
The Broome Dusters of the North American Hockey League were the building's first full-time tenant. After a tepid first year of support, the Dusters grew greatly in popularity, and were able to draw many sellouts, and the community passion for the team led the Hockey News to declare Binghamton as Hockey Town USA. The Broome Dusters became the Binghamton Dusters in 1977 and moved into the American Hockey League. That AHL franchise would go through a number of name changes, becoming the Whalers and Rangers before relocating to Hartford, Connecticut in 1997. The Rangers were replaced by the BC Icemen, of the United Hockey League, for five seasons. The AHL returned in 2002 with the Binghamton Senators, who were affiliated with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. In 2017, the Senators were replaced with the New Jersey Devils' affiliate, the Binghamton Devils, who are the current tenants.
The arena has hosted some notable names in entertainment, including AC/DC, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Bon Jovi, The Eagles, Kenny Rogers, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, Van Halen, Elton John, Keith Sweat, Cher, Dolly Parton, Grateful Dead, Phish, Green Day, Twisted Sister, Stone Temple Pilots and Carrie Underwood. Trade shows, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Circus all make yearly visits. Every December, the arena plays host to the Stop-DWI Holiday Classic, a high school basketball tournament. From 1992 to 2014, the Classic included a national bracket, and was considered to be one of the premiere high school basketball tournaments in the United States. In 2016, the arena hosted the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys' basketball championship.
Notable events
performed back-to-back sold out concerts at the Arena, May 26 & 27, just prior to his death in the summer of 1977.The New Jersey Nets of the NBA, Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, and Ottawa Senators of the NHL have all hosted exhibition games at the Arena.
The Grateful Dead performed at the Arena on November 6, 1977, May 9, 1979, and April 12, 1983. The 1977 concert will be featured on the upcoming album Dave's Picks Volume 25.
Phish's December 14, 1995 performance at the Arena was released as Live Phish Volume 1 in 2001.
On April 21, 1997, July 20, 1998, and June 13, 2005 World Wrestling Entertainment brought RAW to the Arena. The April 21, 1997 episode was the RAW after '. The July 20, 1998 episode was the RAW before '. The June 13, 2005 episode was the RAW after the inaugural ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view.
On November 13, 1999 Extreme Championship Wrestling taped an episode of ECW on TNN at the Arena. It aired on November 19, 1999.
On February 1, 2000 World Championship Wrestling taped an episode of WCW Thunder that was aired the following evening.
The Arena played host to the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic, with the skills contest and game broadcast on consecutive nights on live TV across the US and Canada.
Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame
The Arena is home to the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame, with a display of plaques on the main concourse. Current inductees are: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