Visions Veterans Memorial Arena (formerly known as the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena and Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Binghamton, New York.
- Venue
- Visions Veterans Memorial Arena
- Town
- New York, US
- Capacity
- 4,679
Visions Veterans Memorial Arena (formerly known as the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena and Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Binghamton, New York. The arena was completed in 1973, providing an entertainment venue for residents of the Greater Binghamton area. The arena has eight luxury suites that each hold 25 fans (200 total). A longtime home to minor league hockey, the arena is home to the Binghamton Black Bears of the Federal Prospects Hockey League. In the 1960s, the city of Binghamton started planning a number of urban renewal projects to revitalize the urban core, collectively known as Project 1. Based on the recommendations of a citizen committee, city and county leaders included a proposal as part of Project 1 to construct a downtown cultural complex. The proposed complex would consist of two buildings: a multipurpose veterans memorial auditorium and a performing arts center. A nationwide design competition for the complex (at the time referred to as the Broome County Cultural Center) was held and Elbasani, Logan & Severin (ELS) were selected as the winners in November 1967. ELS was formed specifically to enter the competition, and it has since become a nationally recognized architectural firm. The winning design placed the arena between State Street and Washington Street, and the performing arts center along the river on Washington Street, with an elevated walkway over Washington Street that would connect the two buildings. The arena plans made use of an innovative space frame based design to avoid view-obstructing columns. The first (and ultimately only) phase of construction, consisting of the arena and a short part of the elevated walkway, lasted from 1971 to 1973, with the cost coming to $7.5 million at the time (equivalent to $54.4 million in 2025). The arena was built with 17,000 square feet of space on the arena floor, with another 12,000 square feet on the concourse. The first act, the Ringling Bros