Finally, an Aud auction

Finally, some good news for memorabilia hounds licking their chops over the thought of getting something from Memorial Auditorium before the old lady is torn town.

The city has opened the process to find an auctioneer to help sell pieces of the Aud. The current plan is for some of the blue seats and the boards (and I would hope other stuff would be included as well by the time this is held later this year).

When we discussed this topic last month in this space, many of you had some definite items on your wish list (and posted links to some amazing shots of the inside of the shuttered building). Get ready. Looks like you're going to have your chance.

My reaction: Cool. That only took 12 years!

---Mike Harrington

(Photo: Derek Gee/Buffalo News)

Comments

[P.E. Carr in Calgary]

What about the orange seats? They were definitely not "fabric covered" when I sat in them from 1971 - 1980. Did they replace them after I left? I want Section 23, row B, seats 7 and 8. Not a blue seat, that's not where I sat among the 16,433!

[Bryan (I was there!)]

I was down at the press conference (by the way I was the only person wearing something Sabres related besides the mayor who had on a pin.) They said that the orange seats could not be salvaged because of how they were installed. They were put in with the intention that they would never be removed. Some small details that I got from it were that there will be about 660 double seat sets, maybe (don't quote me) 70 triple sets of seats and only about 8 sets of 4.

[Mike Harrington]

Yeah PE. Bryan is right. I was told after an earlier briefing that the oranges were actually bolted right into the concrete when they raised the roof and built the balcony in 1971. So no way to get 'em out. What a shame.

[Caps]

Thanks to you, Mike, and the News for the public pressure. This is an important thing, and I'm glad to see the City recognize the opportunity.

[Steve in Wheatfield]

They can talk all they want about having a "public" auction for these seats, but it's going to really come down to "who you know" to get some.

You watch. On auction day they will conveniently take half of the seats off the auction block for some unknown reason.

[Joe Jackson]

If you do some poking around on the internet you can find pictures from folks who have been in the building over the last couple of years. In a few of the photos you can see that the "oranges" are bolted to the concrete and would be rather easy to remove with a wrench or ratchet set. The issue is that they are for the most part connected together in sections of 7 or so and difficult to remove as a result. That begs the question of what happens to the "oranges" that are in smaller set in the corners or half rows for example. I know that there are a bunch of them in the Aud that could come out. It is a shame they will be lost.