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The Pepsi Arena is an Indoor Arena located in Albany, New York , with a maximum seating capacity of 17,500 for sporting events. Current tenants include Siena College 's men's Basketball team, the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League , and the Albany Conquest of Af2 . The arena was opened in 1990 as the Knickerbocker Arena. Frank Sinatra was the first artist to perform there. The Naming Rights of the building were sold to Pepsi in 1997 . Previous tenants have included the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League , the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association , the Albany Choppers of the International Hockey League , the Albany Attack of the National Lacrosse League , and the New York Kick of the National Professional Soccer League . The University At Albany has used the facility for past games against Syracuse University and has been approached to use the facility for some dates in the future in the wake of their participation in the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament . COLLEGE SPORTS Pepsi Arena is often home to the annual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament (1990-96, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006), and hosts the ECAC Hockey League championships every March . In 2003 , the Pepsi Arena hosted the NCAA Basketball East Regional, which was won by Syracuse University on their way to their first national championship. In 2006 , the Pepsi Arena hosted the NCAA Ice Hockey East Regional tournament, which Maine won to advance to the Frozen Four . The arena has hosted ice hockey regionals several times in the past, most recently in 2004 . In 2000 , the Pepsi Arena hosted a regional quarterfinal between St. Lawrence University and Boston University , which went into quadruple overtime; becoming the longest game in the history of the tournament and the second longest game in division I men's college hockey history (it is currently the third longest game). The Pepsi Arena also hosted the Frozen Four on two occasions, in 1992 (as Knickerbocker Arena) when Lake Superior State University defeated Wisconsin for the national championship, and again in 2001 when Boston College defeated North Dakota . MUSIC In 1996 , the Jamband The Grateful Dead released a concert album from their March , 1990 Knickerbocker Arena performances titled Dozin' At The Knick . {Link without Title} In 2003 , rock band Phish reunited with band co-founder Jeff Holdsworth for the first time in nearly 18 years. On March 15, 2006 Fall Out Boy started off their Black Clouds & Underdogs tour at the Pepsi Arena along with All American Rejects, From First to Last, Hawthorne Heights and The Hush Sound. WRESTLING In 1992, Pepsi Arena, then known as the Knickerbocker Arena played host to the World Wrestling Federation's Royal Rumble . The event is considered one of the most notable events in WWF History as Ric Flair went over an hour to win the rumble, and claim the World Heavyweight Championship. In 2000, The Pepsi Arena hosted the World Wrestling Federation's No Mercy . This event was notable for the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin to active competition after being injured (in storyline) at the hands of Rikishi . This show also featured Kurt Angle winning the WWF Championship for the first time, defeating The Rock . In 2006, The Pepsi Arena hosted and defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. EXTERNAL LINK |
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