Aud seats donated to Hockey Hall of Fame

BUFFALO, N.Y. Press release - Today Mayor Byron Brown, on behalf of the City of Buffalo and people of western New York, donated a pair of Memorial Auditorium (Aud) orange seats and other building mementos to the Hockey Hall of Fame during a brief ceremony held at the Aud grounds.

This ceremony and donation were held in conjunction with the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation
(ECHDC), Demco Inc., C&S Engineers and LiRo Engineers Inc.

“I’m very pleased to present these orange seats from the City of Buffalo’s historic Memorial Auditorium to the Hockey Hall of Fame,” said Mayor Byron Brown. “It’s fitting that these seats join the hockey memorabilia on display in Toronto at the Hockey Hall of Fame. While the Aud will soon be removed from the city’s landscape, it will live on in the memories of tens of thousands of sports and entertainment fans on both sides of our border and I thank the Hockey Hall of Fame for contributing to the honoring of the Aud’s legacy by accepting these seats and other memorabilia for their excellent collection.”

“What better way to ensure that the spirit of our dear Old Friend lives on than to include it in an
exhibit recognizing the world’s all-time greatest hockey venues,” said ECHDC President Thomas Dee. “We’re pleased to share a little piece of this grand building with the Hockey Hall of Fame and truly appreciate their willingness and enthusiasm to carve out space for us within the museum.”

On behalf of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Vice President and Curator Phil Pritchard accepted the donations, which will be displayed in a future tribute to historic rinks and arenas at the museum’s Toronto, Canada facility.

“The Hockey Hall of Fame is thrilled to preserve part of Buffalo Memorial Auditorium,” said Hockey Hall of Fame Vice President and Curator Phil Pritchard. “We pride ourselves on having the greatest hockey collection in the world and it can only be accomplished through the assistance of people and groups like the City of Buffalo and Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation.”

Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum and place of entertainment offering stateof-
the-art multimedia presentations and exhibits from its premises at Brookfield Place, Toronto, Canada. Its mandate is to recognize and honor the achievements of individuals who bring special distinction to the game of hockey and to collect and preserve objects, images and resource materials connected with the game as it is played in Canada and throughout the world.

Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is a subsidiary agency of Empire State Development Corporation (ESD).