Disconnected Connection
I'm heading to the Convention Center today to check out the Aud Farewell celebration. I'm not an autograph hound so it doesn't faze me at all but I'm betting a lot of you have the same question I do: Why in the world is the French Connection appearance/signing taking place tonight from 6:30-8:30 -- right during the Sabres game?
Shouldn't Gil, Rico and Rene be there this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon rather than making fans choose? Or was this the only time all weekend they could get there together? Weird.
---Mike Harrington
The Aud Farewell seemed very mismanaged. There was no where near enough content to justify two floors, so the place looked incomplete and empty. I didnt see anything on Sunday in terms of highlights to watch or any other significant reminders of the Aud other than the seats themselves. And while I was lucky enough to buy some seats, the whole process made no sense. They put up 2 lines without labeling which was 2nd chance and which was for bracelets. Then they were going in numerical order anyway, so a line wasnt needed. Then the bracelets had time slots which were unrealistic, so they were ignored. The problems with that setup were obvious enough, so Im sure it had already been an issue on saturday yet it still made no sense on sunday.
Posted by: Mark | November 18, 2008 at 02:16 PM
Just for the historical record, the two-arena plan came up in Nineties. But HSBC Arena never would have gotten the financing to be constructed had the Aud been allowed to stay "in business."
As it was, one local bank said it would only put do the financing if the Sabres sold enough suites ... and the bank never expected the Sabres to do it. So when the team hit the magic number, the bank backed out and another bank had to step forward to finish the project.
Meanwhile, the Aud was really falling apart by the mid-1990's, due to years of neglect. The Sabres refused to put a dime into it while talks for a new building were going on.
Matt and Lloyd's ultimate points are correct, though. When's that new Peace Bridge going to be open? Ugh.
Posted by: Budd Bailey | November 15, 2008 at 11:29 PM
Would've, should've, could've...I don't know whether the two-facility idea or the '96 auction and shutdown would've been better, but what Lloyd and Budd agree on are the salient point to be taken from all this: The Aud after the Sabres' move to Marine Midland Arena (wasn't HSBC until yet another failure/buyout of a WNY business) was entirely mismanaged, just like the whole city. It's something outsiders can sense; even my out-of-state friend who has only seen Buffalo passing through got the Aud thing right: "Typical of Buffalo," she said, when i told her about it.
The amazing thing is, it was an open secret in '96 when it closed that there was no consenus about what to do with it -- and yet no consensus, no leaders to create a consenus, emerged for a DECADE. And just to show that bad planning and bad luck go hand in hand, now we hear that the demolition contractor might delay or cancel their contract because scrap metal prices are in the toilet. At this point, I can't help but wonder if that will lead to the Aud's gutted hulk staying up for another decade.
Posted by: Matt | November 15, 2008 at 06:28 PM
Here would've been the better thing: When HSBC Arena is completed, let the Aud be used for other events during hockey season, especially if the Sabres were playing in post-season. Then, you wouldn't have Dora the Explorer, for example, interrupting the playoff schedule with an ice show.
A plan should've been put together by 1995 to address the use of the Aud concurrently with HSBC Arena. Then we wouldn't be having this question today.
Just goes to show how Buffalo operates, politics or sports... too slow to take positive action that says, "We're ready to face the challenge."
Posted by: Lloyd Marshall, Jr. | November 15, 2008 at 05:35 PM
The bigger question is: Why wasn't this held in 1996, just after the Aud was closed? It's not like any events could have been held there; HSBC Arena had a non-compete clause that meant the Aud couldn't host events. How much money could have been made for the city if they had sold 16,000 seats instead of a few hundred?
Posted by: Budd Bailey | November 15, 2008 at 05:18 PM
They should be having the autograph session right now. Even if a person isn't at the game for this event, who is going to skip watching the game on tv to drive down the the aud?
Posted by: Dave | November 15, 2008 at 03:18 PM