News Article: PS&E to Manage Blue Cross Arena

[Buffaloed]

UPDATE: Mayor Lovely Warren announced at a 1 p.m. news conference that Pegula Sports and Entertainment will take over management of Blue Cross Arena beginning Aug. 1. This is a breaking story, check back for uptates.

Owner of Bills and Amerks will start running Blue Cross Arena next month

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[Jim Bob]

I expected this when the management contract was terminated recently.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Now isn't Terry Pagula about upgrades to Blue Cross Arena?

Any word on what he specifically would like to see change about The Arena?

I have really enjoyed taking in Amerk games there over the years; even though they've not really had a consistently entertaining team since the late 1990's.....

Hopefully between upgrades to the team and to the arena this becomes a destination once again...

 

[sabresfan129103]

paging sabresfan27. Is this a good thing, or bad thing?

I know there have been issues with Blue Cross Arena's management in the past.

 

[Dex]

I think this is very positive news. I'm anticipating that with a stake in the arena's success, Pegula will be more amenable to investing in the fan experience and building infrastructure. I'm guessing that capital improvements would have to be in conjunction with city/county/state funding - but they now have a private sector partner with deep pockets and a history of investing in the community.

 

[Jim Bob]

This may be bad news for the non-Amerks tenants.

 

[Dingo44]

This may be bad news for the non-Amerks tenants.

Why?

 

[sabrefan27]

paging sabresfan27. Is this a good thing, or bad thing?

I know there have been issues with Blue Cross Arena's management in the past.

It’s a good thing. SMG was awful. The Pegulas will definitely facilitate some improvements. I’m curious if they try to buy the old Gannett building across the street eventually and something similar to 716.

 

[ek93]

If this means some improvements are on the way, I'm all for it. I'm a Sabre fan who just recently moved to Rochester, so I would love to take in more games and check out the influx of young talent coming in, but out of the 15 or so AHL arenas I've visited, BCA is near the bottom of the list in terms of overall enjoyment, for myself personally. I'm sure others disagree, so I'm not trying to start any arguments or anything.

Hopefully some more good news is on the way in terms of fan experience at the BCA.

 

[Jim Bob]

Why?

Prior to this change, the non-Amerk tenants got less than ideal dates. They might be concerned that the available dates get even worse with the Amerks owners controlling the venue.

 

[Dingo44]

Prior to this change, the non-Amerk tenants got less than ideal dates. They might be concerned that the available dates get even worse with the Amerks owners controlling the venue.

There are only so many home games a season. That leaves plenty of open dates, especially in the months the Amerks aren't even playing. Plus how many dates does a smaller city like Rochester really need? And the Amerks are already there. I doubt that it's been an issue in the past and I can't see in what way the Pegulas running things could in any way make it worse. It's a complete non-issue.

 

[Jim Bob]

There are only so many home games a season. That leaves plenty of open dates, especially in the months the Amerks aren't even playing. Plus how many dates does a smaller city like Rochester really need? And the Amerks are already there. I doubt that it's been an issue in the past and I can't see in what way the Pegulas running things could in any way make it worse. It's a complete non-issue.

Trust me, I used to work for a former BCA tenant and it is far from a non-issue.

It is only a non-issue if you only care about the Amerks.