Restaino: Talk of costly KeyBank Center upgrades not a concern for Falls arena plan

Yahoo

17-05-2025

Mayor Robert Restaino does not believe recent conversations about the possible need to pump tens of millions of dollars into renovation work at KeyBank Center in Buffalo will have any impact on ongoing efforts to secure state funding to develop an arena that could accommodate a minor league hockey franchise in Niagara Falls.
During an interview with local media members earlier this week, Restaino said he's not at all concerned that the state might consider putting money into fixing up the long-time home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres before it gives the Falls funds to build Centennial Park, a proposed arena and events campus that is expected to cost at least $150 million.
'The City of Niagara Falls exists independent of the City of Buffalo and the City of Niagara Falls is a regional destination and, at some point, I think it's just obvious to everyone, that investment in this community returns itself with a great return on investment,' Restaino said.
Multiple Western New York media outlets, including the Buffalo News, have reported in recent weeks that Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz intends to walk away from the KeyBank Center lease when it expires on Oct. 1, 2026.
The arena, which opened as Marine Midland Arena in 1996, has been home to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres for nearly three decades.
The Buffalo News reported last month that the facility is facing a 'host of pressing renovation needs,' which the newspaper said could 'supersede its original construction cost of $127.5 million. Accounting for inflation, the News reported that the cost would be equivalent to $247 million today.
WGRZ Channel 2 in Buffalo reported it is believed the facility needs between $75 million and $200 million in renovations.
Restaino's administration, in documents filed in 2022 with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, estimated $122 million in state funding would be needed to build Centennial Park. The paperwork listed the total project cost at $165 million.
Restaino noted that Sabres owner Terry Pegula has already benefited from substantial public support through the development of a new football stadium in Orchard Park for his other team, the Buffalo Bills. The $2.1 billion football stadium included $600 million from the state and $250 million from Erie County.
'The Sabres have a wonderful ownership,' Restaino said. 'He has already seen $600 million of state investment in the football stadium, so I'm not at all concerned about it.'
Restaino revealed in response to questions earlier this week that he has a draft version of a feasibility study for the Centennial Park project, but said it is not yet finalized. The study, which was financed with support from New York State's lead economic development agency, Empire State Development Corp., and National Grid, was conducted by the Florida-based firm, Sports Facilities Advisory LLC. It was done to flesh out the concept and to assess whether the project makes sense in the city.
Restaino has said that he envisions the facility, which would include a 6,000- to 7,000-seat arena, as a future site for an Ontario Hockey League team. The minor league OHL is considering expansion by up to three teams and Restaino met with the league's commissioner, whom he said told him would consider placing a team in Niagara Falls, New York, if the city had an arena in place.