| LECOM Harborcenter | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of the LECOM Harborcenter area | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Stadium, commercial, hotel |
| Architectural style | Postmodern architecture |
| Location | 100 Washington St,Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°52′36″N78°52′36″W / 42.87664°N 78.876686°W /42.87664; -78.876686 |
| Construction started | March 1, 2013 |
| Topped-out | June 25, 2014 |
| Completed | October/November 2014 (Restaurants/rinks/training facility) August 2015 (hotel) |
| Opening | October 31, 2014 / November 6, 2014 |
| Cost | US$ 172.2 million (est) |
| Owner | Terry Pegula |
| Management | Buffalo Sabres |
| Height | |
| Roof | 240 ft (73 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 20[1] |
| Floor area | 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Populous |
| Developer | Harborcenter Development, LLC |
| Main contractor | Mortenson Construction |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | Hotel: 205 rooms |
| Parking | 750 spaces |
| Website | |
| lecomharborcenter | |
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 | |
 Interactive map of The Rinks at Harborcenter | |
| Location | 7th Floor |
|---|---|
| Public transit | Buffalo Metro Rail (Canalside) |
| Owner | Terry Pegula |
| Operator | Buffalo Sabres |
| Capacity | 1,800 (Rink 1) 150 (Rink 2) |
| Surface | 200' x 85' (Rinks 1 and 2) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 1, 2013 |
| Opened | October 31, 2014 |
| Tenants | |
| Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA) 2014–present Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL) 2014–present Buffalo Beauts (NWHL) 2015–2019 Erie Kats (NJCAA) 2014–2018 Buffalo Sabres (practice facility) | |
LECOM Harborcenter is an Americanmixed-use development inBuffalo, New York, developed byPegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected to theKeyBank Center andCanalside.[2] The building is also near the southern terminus of theCanalside station.
The development features retail and restaurant space, a 205-room BuffaloMarriott Harborcenter Hotel, as well as twohockey rinks that are the home of theBuffalo Jr. Sabres of theOntario Junior Hockey League, theCanisius Golden Griffins of theNCAA, and theErie Kats of theNational Junior College Athletic Association. The rinks are also theBuffalo Sabres practice facility.
The beginning concept for the building, specifically the dual ice rinks and parking garage combo came afterBuffalo Sabres chief development officer Cliff Benson led a group of team officials toWashington, D.C. to view theWashington Capitals practice facility, theKettler Capitals Iceplex.[3] The complex, which is built on top of a parking garage, has seating for 1,200, a training center, proshop, and is home to many area teams. This trip helped the group form their ideas. Originally just planned to be two hockey rinks on top of a parking garage, the hotel and restaurant concepts were later added to the plan by Terry Pegula's wife,Kim Pegula.[4]
Construction of the 20-story Harborcenter began in March 2013,[5] the same month the Webster Block was purchased from the City of Buffalo for $2.2 million.[6] The building was built byMortenson Construction with ICON Venue Group serving as the project manager.[7] The building's hockey rink portion topped out on June 25, 2014, as the last structural beam for the hotel was put into place. Building construction was completed on the whole building in August 2015.[8] The rinks and restaurants opened on October 31 and November 6, 2014. The hotel opened on August 27, 2015.[9][10]
Harborcenter was financed byBuffalo Sabres ownerTerry Pegula and is owned by the Pegula's companyPegula Sports and Entertainment.[11] The building contains indoor parking for 750 vehicles, and features two NHL regulation indoor ice rinks on the building's sixth floor, one with an 1,800-seat capacity and the other with a 150-seat capacity. IMPACT Sports Performance owned by the Pegulas operates Harborcenter's 5,000 square foot, high performance off-ice training facility located on the building's 6th floor. The building also contains a classroom and RapidShot Hockey Training System.
The development is one of the most expensive for any privately funded single building in the city of Buffalo history. The project is designed to achieveLEED certification, with a goal of LEED Silver. The building was pledged by Pegula and others involved upon obtaining the property to open at the time by September 2014 making it one of the faster projects in the area.
On September 10, 2019, Pegula Sports and Entertainment reached a 10-year naming rights agreement for the building withLake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM).[12]
The building contains a 205-roomMarriott hotel operated by Shaner Hotels, plus retail and restaurant space.[13] A two floor 716 Food and Sport restaurant opened on October 31, 2014. Also, Harborcenter features a flagshipTim Hortons that pays tribute toTim Horton, the Buffalo Sabres, and the formerBuffalo Memorial Auditorium.[14] The restaurant opened on October 30, 2014. A Statue of Tim Horton was dedicated across the street the same day. The building also contains a pro shop.
The building also has storefronts along Main Street known asThe Shops at HarborCanter for smaller street front tenants which are expected to be leased out. The first store that opened in Harborcenter was Red Siren, which is a women's specialty store. It features gifts, jewelry, leather and clothing not currently found in the Buffalo area. Red Siren opened in the Summer of 2015, around the time when the Mariott Harborcenter Hotel opened.[15] Other stores include Modern Nostalgia, Fowler's Chocolates and Clayton's Toys & Gifts.[16] It was announced in July 2016 that Modern Nostalgia would be leaving Harborcenter. They were replaced by Healthy Scratch, a quick-serve restaurant and boutique operated by Kelly andJessica Pegula.[17] Clayton's, Fowler's and Red Siren all announced their departure from Harborcenter in September 2017, with employees citing slow sales and inconsistent traffic for their departure.[18][19]
In May 2015, it was announced that Advanced Care Physical Therapy would lease space inside Impact Sports Performance, located inside the Harborcenter. This provides a complete range of sports medicine services to athletes and employees who use the facility.[20]
The development's two ice rinks, known collectively asThe Rinks, is the home of theCanisius Golden Griffins, anNCAA Division Icollege hockey program in Buffalo, as well as theBuffalo Jr. Sabres[21][22] with the Griffins and Junior Sabres playing in the larger rink 1 known asKeyBank Rink at Harborcenter with separate dedicated dressing rooms. Rink 1 is also home to theErie Community College Kats's of theNJCAA. The smaller rink 2 is known asNew Wave Energy Rink under a separate naming rights deal.
The Rinks are also the home to the Academy of Hockey and the Harborcenter Cup as well as serving as the Buffalo Sabres' practice facility. The rinks were opened on October 31, 2014 with the first of back to back games between Canisius andOhio State which resulted in a 3–3 tie, and games involving the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 16U and 18U teams.[citation needed]
Annually, in November, the Buffalo Sabres Thunder, a special needs hockey team, hosts a tournament known as the Coach Michael Steffan Invitational Tournament (formerly named Buffalo Fall Festival) at The Rinks.[citation needed]
In 2015, theNHL Scouting Combine was moved from Toronto to Harborcenter under a two-year pact. Buffalo also hosted theNHL Entry Draft in 2016. The NHL subsequently announced that it would continue to hold the combine in Buffalo through at least 2019.[23][24] The 2015IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships were held at Harborcenter.[25]
In January 2016, the venue hosted the inauguralNational Women's Hockey Leagueall-star game.[26] In 2016, theCHA conference tournament in women's college hockey began to be hosted at Harborcenter.[27]
From June 22 to July 3, 2017, rink 1 hosted a charity event known as11 Day Power Play, which set a world record for the longest continuous hockey game.[28] It has since become an annual event at Harborcenter.
The2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were co-hosted by the KeyBank Rink and KeyBank Center.[29]
In September 2018, it was announced that theAtlantic Hockey Tournament, anNCAA Division I Men's ice hockey league tournament would be moving to Harborcenter from Rochester'sBlue Cross Arena starting in 2019.
TheNHL Rookie Tournament is also hosted at HarborCenter.
The 2025World Para Ice Hockey Championships are slated to be held at Harborcenter in May 2025.[30]
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Home of the Canisius Golden Grifffins 2014–present | Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by first arena | Host of the Buffalo Beauts 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Home of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 2014–present | Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by | Host of the IIHF World Junior Championship 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Host of theDivision III men's Frozen Four 2020 | Succeeded by |
