Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial ( originally Rochester Community War Memorial and commonly Blue Cross Arena ) is a multi - purpose indoor arena , located in Rochester , New York . Its maximum seating capacity is 13 , 000 . For hockey and lacrosse , its seating capacity is 11 , 200 . The arena opened on October 18 , 1955 , as the Rochester Community War Memorial , it was renovated in the mid - 1990s and reopened as The Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial , on September 18 , 1998 . It is home to the Rochester Americans of the AHL , the Rochester Razorsharks of the PBL , the Rochester Knighthawks of the NLL , and the Rochester Lancers of the MISL . History . The arena was built on a downtown site , bounded by Exchange Boulevard on the west , East 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 paid for by pennies collected by school children in the area . Originally named the Rochester Community War Memorial , opened on October 18 , 1955 . The building included a full stage on the south end and an exhibition hall located on the basement level . One of the members of the construction team was Gorilla Monsoon . On March 13 , 1996 , renovations to expand the arena took place , eliminating the permanent stage at the south end of the building . On July 24 , 1998 , Blue Cross Blue Shield and City officials announced that the name of the renovated arena would be Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial . On September 18 , 1998 , the arena re - opened to the public during a formal ribbon cutting / rededication ceremony . Rossetti Architects designed the $ 41 million face - lift . Notable events . The first event at the facility 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 1956 NBA All - Star Game , the two - month finals of the American Bowling Congress tournament in both 1956 and 1966 and the fourteenth WWE pay - per - view event in 1997 . On July 28 , 2007 , the CIFL Championship Game was held in the arena . It was the first arena football game played in the venue since the Rochester Brigade folded in 2003 . Local high school basketball games are played here , most notably the New York State Public High School Section V ( five ) Championships at the end of each season . Additionally , the arena is the home of high school cheerleading championships each year . The arena also hosts college basketball , and Section V hockey . In addition to sporting events , the arena hosts a wide variety of entertainment events , including live concerts , ice shows and the circus . The arena played host to The Led Zeppelin on November 9 , 1971 , and The Rolling Thunder Revue Tour on November 11 , 1975 , headed by Bob Dylan . The Grateful Dead ' s performance , on November 5 , 1977 , was recorded and later released as a live album , entitled " Dick ' s Picks Volume 34 " . Footage from Phish ' s documentary " Bittersweet Motel " , was filmed here on December 11 , 1997 . The December 29 , 2010 episode of WWE NXT took place in the Blue Cross Arena . Ice hockey . Aside from the Rochester Americans , who play their home games in the arena , the Blue Cross Arena has played host to several notable ice hockey events and games . On November 12 , 2003 , the Buffalo Sabres and the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils played the first National Hockey League regular season game in the venue . The game was made possible by Sabres owner Tom Golisano , who hails from Rochester , and featured two Rochester natives : Brian Gionta of the Devils and Rory Fitzpatrick of the Sabres . It ended in a 2 – 2 tie . A second regular season game was held at the arena on October 26 , 2005 , with the Sabres falling to the Washington Capitals , 3 – 2 . 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 . Additionally , 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 Rochester Institute of Technology men ' s hockey team has played periodic regular - season games at Blue Cross Arena instead of at their smaller on - campus rink , due to the large capacity . Every year , the Blue Cross Arena hosts regular season Section V high school hockey games and the Section V Basketball championship . The arena has also hosted many NHL exhibition games during its history . External links .