Arena updates on time and under budget

ALBANY (Aug. 23, 2017) — If you’ve ever attended a concert or event at Albany County’s Times Union Center, you likely entered through its open entrance on North Pearl Street, or waited to enter in a rear-outdoor courtyard that connects the parking garage with the arena.
Well, those areas are now being enclosed and turned into warm and modern interior spaces as part of a $20 million renovation project that Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy and Legislators toured on Wednesday. Trailed by construction workers and reporters, McCoy also showed off a walkway along Beaver Street that is newly enclosed with glass windows, new bathrooms and a yet-to-be-completed expanded media space that’s expected to help draw more NCAA games to downtown Albany.

The plans for the Times Union Center included completely redesigning the front facade and remodeling the entrance with digital screens and a centerpiece fountain; replacing the rear courtyard with a sky-lit inside space with plant life and concessions; expanding the mezzanine level and media room; and reconfiguring/reconstructing the arena’s stairs, sidewalks, escalators, elevators and some bathrooms. The new spaces will be carpeted — and free of pigeons.

The project should be completed by Nov. 1 — on time — and under budget, McCoy reported Wednesday. Joining the County Executive in the walk through were Democratic Majority Leader Frank Commisso, Legislator and Civic Center Committee Chairwoman Norma Chapman, and Legislators Paul Miller, Lynne Lekakis, Christopher Higgins and Paul Bergdorf.
“It was time to modernize the facility to attract the best clients and benefit taxpayers,” Majority Leader Commisso said Wednesday. “The new entrances will provide better ambience, while the expanded media room was important to attract big-name events.”
Albany County anticipates paying for the project through arena profits and hotel occupancy taxes, said Legislator Chapman of Albany, who helped move the project out of committee toward approval.
The Times Union Center hosted 136 events in 2016 and ended the year with a profit of $915,634, the 24th consecutive year it ended in the black. The entertainment venue is managed by SMG.
Check out a video of the event on the Legislature’s Democratic Majority’s Facebook page here.

