The city of Rochester "plans to proceed with a multistage renovation of the Blue Cross Arena at the Community War Memorial," which counts the AHL Amerks and NLL Knighthawks as anchor tenants, according to a front-page piece by Todd Clausen of the ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE. The building currently is too small to "properly accommodate the teams it houses and concerts it could host." Mayor Lovely Warren on Wednesday said that a new facility to "replace the 61-year-old Blue Cross Arena is something the city cannot afford." Instead, Warren said that the city is "going ahead with a multiphase effort," backed by $10.5M in state funds, to "renovate the facility, with work beginning as early as this summer." Outside of AHL and NLL games, the venue "hosts concerts, collegiate and high school games and tournaments, the circus and a wide range of other events." Annual attendance has "broken 500,000 each of the last nine years." Meanwhile, the Sabres "decided earlier this year not to bring an NHL preseason game to the venue after deeming it inadequate." Rochester Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Norman Jones said that "planned renovations with the state funds would upgrade concession areas, bring restrooms into ADA compliance, improve WiFi and digital capabilities and add club seating" (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 12/29).
