Blue Cross Arena — Attraction in City of Rochester

Blue Cross Arena is a nice arena in the heart of Rochester. The arena has excellent sightlines and there are few if any bad seats in the house. The video board is very good and displays excellent graphics. Unlike most hockey arenas the video board is not directly over the center circle, rather over the blue line. The entrance lobby to the arena is also notable for its large glass windows where military flags are displayed. The fan atmosphere at the hockey games is great. Fans are respectful and knowledgeable about the team and game. The Americans are the second oldest team in the AHL after the Hershey Bears. Rochester knows its hockey very well. In its early years this arena was also home to the Rochester Royals NBA team which won a championship in the early 1950’s. There is a long history of great sports being played in this arena. Food prices at the arena are a little higher than most other AHL arenas. If you go to a Sabers game in Buffalo, the food prices are similar. Food offerings include Caraglio’s pizza, burgers, dogs, chicken fingers, and fries. Beer offerings are numerous and Genny beer is proudly offered at the arena. The ushers and staff at the arena were nice and helpful. The Amerks store in the entrance is spacious and offers much more team merchandise than other AHL arenas. The arena gets so many things right, but parking is not one of them. Parking for games is difficult. The line getting into the parking garage goes on for a long, long time. They have to figure out something here to cut down on the wait time for parking. Even with the parking issue, the Blue Cross Arena is a great place to...

Went here for an Americans game on a promotional day celebrating the Buffalo Bills...it was like going to a hockey game with a bunch of Bills fans! Staff was very helpful to direct me where to go, and the facility is clean and well maintained except the women's restroom I used is showing some wear. Arena is now cashless payments so be prepared for using your card or digital wallet. Security was also very good and I felt safe being at the facility.

Seats are cramped as heck. If you're plus sized, or have knee/joint issues, you will ache when you leave. My friends who I was with also felt like they were folded into their chairs.

The announcement system calling games or penalties was muffled - could not understand what they were saying. I'm hard of hearing, wear hearing aids, and could not understand a word on the announcements. My friends who hear normally said they couldn't understand either.

Last complaint - concessions are wildly expensive. 5.50 for a bottle of soda or water, 6.00 for candy you can get for $1 at Target, $25 for a chicken strips and fries basket. If you're a frugal person - eat before you go to the game.

I will return in the future because I really...

Love going here with the lady for Amerks games, that said, the prices are not the best. The finances are run by the Buffalo Sabres, I am told, and I think they believe that they are selling tickets and merch as if it were the NHL. The Amerks are great but the players and fans alike have a much better time when the stands are filled, if they lowered the price of admission I am sure the turnout would get better. It is not like they don't make enough off the beer sales alone! Lastly, the fighting, fights are part of the sport! I am not encouraging violence but when two guys have a dispute on the ice, they should be able to have that dispute and the refs need to step in when one/both hit the floor, or a player cannot defend himself (treat it like boxing). I have been going to most home games the past 3 years and only have gotten to see two matches. The refs shut it down faster than you can blink. They may be doing this to open the game to a more "family" oriented crowd. I don't know the reason but it is not protecting anyone. Have you seen the type of stuff kids are watching and playing on the internet? Get them off Fortnite and bring...