KeyBank Center

KeyBank Center sits on Buffalo's waterfront downtown and is the home of the Sabres, one of hockey's most loyal and long-suffering fan bases. The arena's location next to Lake Erie gives it a distinctive backdrop, and the blue-and-gold crowd is known for showing up in force even through rebuilding seasons. It's a multipurpose venue that also hosts concerts, the Frozen Four, and other major events drawn to a city hungry for big nights out. Game days carry a blue-collar, community energy that fits Buffalo's identity as a hockey town first and foremost.

The arena opened in September 1996, initially as Marine Midland Arena, and has carried several naming-rights identities since, including HSBC Arena, First Niagara Center, KeyBank Center. It hosted games of the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, when the Sabres fell to the Dallas Stars in the infamous Brett Hull "no goal" overtime finish. The building has also hosted the NHL Draft multiple times, including 1998, 2016, and 2026, plus the 2003 Frozen Four and the 2010-11 IIHF World Junior Championship. Despite decades without a Stanley Cup, the Sabres' sellout-driven atmosphere here remains one of the league's most passionate.