Syracuse Crunch
Rink: Upstate Medical University Arena
Capacity: 5,800
Built: 1951
League: AHL
City: Syracuse, New York
Home Of: Syracuse Crunch
Games Attended: 1
Only Game: May 2, 2024 vs Rochester
Unique Arena: #91
AHL Arena: #10
Originally known as the Onondaga County War Memorial or just the War Memorial for short, the now named Upstate Medical University Arena sits in the middle of downtown Syracuse, New York. It is a yellow brick building with a half barrel roof and art deco designs all over it, with a few modern video screen touches. Many arenas across Canada and the US that were built post WWII were given the distinction of being memorials for the past war dead, but nowhere does this distinction ring true more than in Syracuse. Outside and much of the inside has tributes to fallen servicemen and women as well as many displays through the concourses and lobbies. Being the main arena for Syracuse for now over 70 years there is also lots of displays and mentions of the many events that have taken place here over the decades.
Once inside the War Memorial not much has likely changed since the arena’s opening in 1951. Obviously, it has the new touches like an HD video scoreboard and ribbon boards as well as LED lighting and a wider choice of concessions, not to mention I’m sure the comfortable seats are certainly not original post war era. But the feel of the building hasn’t changed much. There is a single U-shaped bowl of seats that has a narrow pathway about halfway up the bowl for people to get around. The top of the U bowl is a permanent stage setup that looks right out of a high school auditorium. Between the stage and ice there is a small amount of temporary seating, which can be expanded several rows up onto the stage and near the stage’s roof when demand warrants. The first 8-10 rows around the bowl are also all temporary collapsible seating, and the arena floor is much wider than the ice surface itself. Olympic ice could easily be installed, or the arena can host events that need a larger space than a 200 x 85-foot ice surface can provide. At each side of the base of the barrel roof is a tight catwalk of press boxes, while the bottom of the U has a balcony of newer suites.
There are two concourses outside of the bowl. There’s one at ice/street level as you enter the building, and another halfway up the single bowl. The team store is actually a temporary setup under the collapsible seating behind the team benches. The roof and walls are all solid concrete, and despite being at a game that only had about 75% capacity the crowd here is insanely loud, no doubt helped along by the acoustics. The concourses are a tad narrow, with low concrete arched ceilings which makes it feel like you’re walking the halls of an underground bunker. The presentation of the game is professional enough without being too over the top, though there is a hype man roaming around with a mic who loves to scream into the mic to get the crowd going, which I found odd because the crowd makes plenty of noise on their own without being told to. The crowd was louder during the game than they were when hype man told them to make some noise.
The War Memorial is far from the most luxurious building I’ve seen a hockey game in, but for a building as old as it is they’ve kept it up immaculately. It feels super old but at the same time doesn’t feel run down whatsoever. A lot of money went into building this place, and I would imagine as far as mid-sized rinks go, this place probably felt like a palace when opened in 1951. It has aged beautifully, and thankfully money keeps going into it to keep up with modern standards. It won’t ever have the social spaces and luxury that buildings built post millennium have, but it’s got a ton of soul and a loud passionate crowd that makes watching a hockey game here a fantastic experience.
