Blue Cross Arena The Blue Cross Arena is a multi - purpose indoor arena located in Rochester , New York , home to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League . The Atlantic Hockey Association has played its conference tournament semifinals and final there since 2007 . The Blue Cross arena also features occasional NCAA regular season hockey games featuring Western New York teams , most recently when the RIT Tigers men ' s team defeated the Cornell Big Red on October 27 , 2007 . Officially the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial , the arena also is home to the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League , the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League , and the Rochester Raiders of the Continental Indoor Football League . The arena was built on a downtown site that is bordered by Broad Street on the north , the Genesee River on the east and Court Street on the south . The property was formerly the home of the Kimball Tobacco Co . and other retail buildings . The arena was opened on October 18 , 1955 , and named the Rochester Community War Memorial . It was constructed in the style that was popular in the 1950s . The building included a full stage on the south end and an exhibition hall located on the basement level . The first event was a public trade show held in the exhibition hall and featured such famous Rochester - based companies as Eastman Kodak , Haloid ( now Xerox ) , Bausch & Lomb , General Railway Signal , and Rochester Products . It hosted the NBA All - Star Game in 1956 , the two - month finals of the American Bowling Congress tournament in 1966 and the 14th WWF " In Your House " pay - per - view in 1997 . From 1996 to 1998 , renovations to expand the arena took place . On September 18 , 1998 , the arena re - opened and was renamed The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial . Rossetti Architects designed this multi - million dollar face - lift . Its maximum seating capacity is 12 , 428 . For hockey and lacrosse , its seating capacity is 11 , 215 . Events . On March 23 , 2006 , Atlantic Hockey , an NCAA Division I Men ' s ice hockey league , announced that its league tournaments in 2007 , 2008 , and 2009 would be held at the Blue Cross Arena . 2007 was the first time the tournament was held at a neutral site . The 2007 NCAA Men ' s Division I Ice Hockey East Regional was held at the Blue Cross Arena . Attendance was low due to high ticket prices and distance from large Division I programs . The arena has hosted many National Hockey League exhibition games in its existence , but on November 12 , 2003 , the Buffalo Sabres and the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils played the first NHL regular season game in the venue , a game which ended in a 2 - 2 tie . The game was made possible by Sabres owner B . Thomas Golisano , who hails from Rochester . The game also featured two Rochester natives , Brian Gionta of the Devils and Rory Fitzpatrick of the Sabres . A second regular season game was held at the arena on October 26 , 2005 with the Sabres falling to the Washington Capitals , 3 - 2 . With the Sabres ' recent success and high demand for tickets at Buffalo ' s HSBC Arena , there are no current plans to bring a regular season game back to Rochester in the near future . In addition to sporting events , the arena hosts a wide variety of entertainment events , including live concerts , ice shows and the circus .