Buffalo Sabres home arena changing names to KeyBank Center

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The Buffalo Sabres home arena is undergoing yet another name change, and will soon be referred to as KeyBank Center.

Sabres President Russ Brandon announced the pending change on Wednesday after federal regulators approved KeyBank's merger with First Niagara Financial Group.

It's the latest name change for the downtown arena that was first called Marine Midland Arena when it opened in 1996. The name has since been altered to keep up with a series of bank mergers and takeovers.

The arena eventually became the HSBC Arena in 2000, before becoming the First Niagara Center in 2011.