Talk:NBT Bank Arena

Requested move 11 September 2026

NBT Bank Arena → Utica Memorial AuditoriumUtica Memorial Auditorium – Per WP:COMMONNAME. This venue is more widely known as simply the "Utica Memorial Auditorium". It was called for more than 50 years, compared to the ten years that Adirondack Bank held the naming rights, or the ten years that NBT Bank will. If the sponsor names were common, they wouldn't need to call it the "Foo Bank Place at the Utica Memorial Auditorium". Apocheir (talk) 01:30, 11 September 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. BilledMammal (talk) 02:32, 18 September 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose When it comes to stadiums and arenas, North American media essentially always use the sponsored name rather that the "colloquial" original name. I don't expect this building to be any different. Feel free to resubmit in a few months if present-day reliable sources predominantly use "Utica Memorial Auditorium". 162 etc. (talk) 04:51, 11 September 2026 (UTC)

• Support: What @162 etc. says is true, but in certain cases where you have old venues that were known by one name for so many years, we typically ignore any of these naming rights deals (e.g. Dodger Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium, Beaver Stadium). This policy was appropriately applied when the name stayed as "Utica Memorial Auditorium" despite it officially being the "Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium". I would argue the move to NBT Bank Arena should be reverted without even needing a discussion, as it was an undiscussed controversial move.

Red0ctober22 (talk) 19:30, 19 September 2026 (UTC)

Adirondack Bank Center was the stable title prior to the move. 162 etc. (talk) 08:12, 20 September 2026 (UTC)

I really badly misread that then. In that case, I would look back to the original move from 2017 and argue that move should never have happened without discussion given the longevity of the name "Utica Memorial Auditorium". What should also be considered is the context of this arena. As a minor league hockey arena, it isn't a place that is featured or exposed to a wide audience on national television or anything, so, the measure for a common name probably has to come down to what Utica locals and fans of the teams that play there regularly call the arena, and it is likely very difficult for a new corporate name to "outrank" a name that community members have known for 57 years.

Also would note that the official name from 2017 to 2026 was "Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium", so it is clear that arena management understood the historic nature of the original name. In fact, the current name is, officially, "NBT Bank Arena at the Utica Memorial Auditorium", so perhaps that could be a compromise to this. Red0ctober22 (talk) 02:56, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

It's worth noting that the move to "Adirondack Bank Center" and the move to "NBT Bank Arena" were both done within a day of the sponsorship announcement. Did the name became commonly used that soon after it was announced? Apocheir (talk) 03:00, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

That is something that very commonly happens among sporting venues, and it does make sense in instances where an arena changes from a corporate name to another corporate name. So, I don't blame the editor who changed it from Adirondack Bank to NBT Bank, because once that name change is officially made, "Adirondack Bank Center" is simply a factually wrong and outdated name. But certainly, when changing from a name like "Utica Memorial Auditorium" that was history and used for so many years, more consideration should have been made of its common name.

If Fenway Park suddenly decided to get a naming rights deal tomorrow, it would most certainly take months, likely years, to get that page moved, if ever at all. Red0ctober22 (talk) 03:07, 22 September 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Sports and WikiProject Ice Hockey have been notified of this discussion. BilledMammal (talk) 02:32, 18 September 2026 (UTC)

• Oppose per , , . The official name is much longer and I would not oppose a move to NDT Bank Aerna at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Conyo14 (talk) 17:31, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

  Those are all just local media reprinting a press release. Apocheir (talk) 17:45, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

  I would not consider the third one to be a press release at all. Conyo14 (talk) 17:58, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

  Notice though how all of those sources continue to mention "Utica Memorial Auditorium" in varying parts of the articles, and in fact describe "NBT Bank Arena" as a "new name for the Utica Memorial Auditorium". It is clear that "Utica Memorial Auditorium" is still the primary WP:NATURAL and recognizable name to most people for this arena. Red0ctober22 (talk) 18:59, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

WP:NATURAL is used when an article title is ambiguous; NBT Bank Arena is not. 162 etc. (talk) 19:08, 23 September 2026 (UTC)

I meant to link to "Naturalness" in WP:CRITERIA Red0ctober22 (talk) 19:09, 23 September 2026 (UTC)