The
Siena College's men's basketball team has been a major tenant of the arena. Previous tenants have included the
Albany Firebirds (formerly Albany Conquest) of
af2, the original
Albany Firebirds of the
AFL, the
Albany Empire of the AFL, the
Albany Patroons of the
CBA, the
Albany Choppers of the
IHL, the
Albany River Rats of the AHL, the
Albany Attack of the
NLL and the
New York Kick of the
NPSL II. MVP Arena also regularly hosts
exhibition games of major sports leagues. The
NBA,
WNBA and
NHL have all played games at the arena.
Andre Agassi played
John McEnroe just three days after Agassi won the
US Open in 1994. The arena also hosts
Monster Jam and Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live. In addition, the arena has hosted the
Professional Bull Riders premier tour in 2008 and again in 2022, with another in 2023 in conjunction with the 2024 PBR season.
Ice hockey In 1990, the
Fort Wayne Komets of the
International Hockey League relocated to Albany and became the
Albany Choppers, playing their games in the new arena—but struggled with ticket sales due the presence of two other nearby
American Hockey League (AHL) franchises, including the
Capital District Islanders that also began play in the same season at the
Houston Field House in Troy. The Choppers folded in February 1991. MVP Arena became the home to an AHL franchise in 1993, when the Capital District Islanders relocated and became the
Albany River Rats and the building's primary tenant until 2017. The River Rats won the
Calder Cup championship in 1994–95. On April 24, 2008, one of the longest games in the history of the AHL took place at the arena.
Ryan Potulny scored the winning goal for the
Philadelphia Phantoms at 2:58 of the fifth overtime period after 142 minutes and 58 seconds of hockey, played over 5 hours and 38 minutes. In the process, River Rats goaltender
Michael Leighton set a modern-day record by making 98 saves. Following the River Rats' relocation to Charlotte, N.C., in 2010, the
Albany Devils began play in the AHL. It was announced on January 31, 2017, that the Devils would relocate to
Binghamton following the completion of the 2016–17 season ending 24 years of AHL hockey in the arena. At the time of the relocation, the Devils were drawing the lowest average attendance in the league.
WWE MVP Arena has hosted many live events and televised shows for the
WWE professional wrestling promotion. Notable events include the
1992 Royal Rumble, where
Ric Flair won the 30-man over-the-top-rope match to become the new
WWF Champion. The
2000 No Mercy was also held there and is the third No Mercy professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the WWF. This event was notable for the return of
Stone Cold Steve Austin after a neck injury sidelined him for the better part of a year and for
Kurt Angle winning the WWF Championship for the first time in his career. In 2006, at
WWE New Year's Revolution,
Edge cashed in the first ever
Money in the Bank contract to defeat
John Cena for the WWE Championship after Cena retained his title in an
Elimination Chamber match. On May 20, 2019, the
WWE 24/7 Championship was introduced by
Mick Foley to the
WWE Universe on
Monday Night Raw with
Titus O'Neil becoming the inaugural champion. It was also at the arena that, on the March 22, 1999 of
Raw, Steve Austin drove to the ring in a beer truck and gave a "beer bath" to
Vince McMahon,
Shane McMahon and
The Rock, a notable moment during the
Attitude Era. MVP Arena is also home to the
International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, a wrestling
hall of fame and
museum.
College sports MVP Arena hosted the
ECAC Hockey championships each March from 2003 until 2010, when the league announced the tournament was moved to
Boardwalk Hall in
Atlantic City, New Jersey; and is often home to the annual
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament (1990–96, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008–10, and 2015–19). In 2003, MVP Arena hosted the
NCAA basketball East Regional, which was won by
Syracuse University on their way to their first national championship. The arena also hosted the first and second rounds of the
1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the Knickerbocker Arena. In 2008, MVP Arena hosted the NCAA
ice hockey East Regional tournament. The arena hosted ice-hockey regionals in even-numbered years from 2004 through 2010, which was the eighth time the East Regional has been held at the site. In 2000, MVP Arena hosted a regional quarterfinal between
St. Lawrence University and
Boston University, which went into quadruple overtime. The game was the longest in the history of the tournament and, at the time, the second longest game in Division I men's college hockey history. MVP Arena also hosted the men's 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 as the Pepsi Arena when
Boston College defeated
North Dakota. The venue hosted the NCAA women's basketball tournament from March 28 to 31, 2015, and six games of the NCAA Women's Albany 1 and Albany 2 Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite 8) from March 29 to April 1, 2024. The NCAA hockey East Regional for the ninth time was hosted from March 25 to 27, 2016. MVP Arena once again hosted the 1st and 2nd Rounds Of the 2023 Men's Basketball Tournament on March 17 and March 19, 2023.
High school sports MVP Arena has been a regular host of the
NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships since 2005 and has won a bid to host the annual event each year through 2018. According to the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the wrestling state tournament annually contributes more than $1.5 million into the Capital Region economy, and in 2011 it was the second-largest sporting event in Albany County.
Arena Football Albany has had a long history of Arena Football. The
Albany Firebirds were the first Arena Football team in Albany in 1990. They were successful, as they won
ArenaBowl XIII in 1999. Then, after the team moved in 2000 they got an
AF2 team called the
Albany Conquest in 2002. They were not as successful as their predecessors, making the playoffs three of the seven years they existed. In 2009, they rebranded back to the Albany Firebirds and made the playoffs, but lost in the first round. After 8 years, it was announced that the
Albany Empire would be entering the Arena Football League in 2018 and they made the #1 seed in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. In 2019, MVP Arena hosted
ArenaBowl XXXII which Albany beat the
Philadelphia Soul 45-27 and it was the final game ever played in the
Arena Football League's second iteration. In 2020, it was announced that the
National Arena League would be bringing a new team to Albany, and it brought back the
Albany Empire name. The new Empire would win back-to-back NAL championships in 2021 and 2022. The arena also hosted AFL/AF1's
Albany Firebirds and also hosted the 2025 Arena Crown where the Firebirds defeated the Nashville Kats 60-57 to finish with a perfect record that season. ==Music==