With Bass Pro now considering alternate sites at the foot of Main Street, Mayor Brown has other plans for Memorial Auditorium. Cue the wrecking ball! The City is seeking State approval to apply funds previously earmarked to prepare the building for reuse towards demolition. If funding is approved, the site could be cleared by early next year.
War Memorial Auditorium, a Work Project Administration endeavor, opened in 1940 and was expanded in 1971. The last Sabres game in the Aud was on April 14, 1996. Several previous reuse plans have faltered including proposals for a film production center, intermodal station, and Great Lakes museum and aquarium.
According to today’s Buffalo News, demolition and remedial work at the site could cost $19 million. That’s roughly half the cost of work needed to prepare the property for a new use.
Photo credit: Jay Smith