The War Memorial at Oncenter, originally the Onondaga War Memorial, is a 6,159-seat multi-purpose arena

Arena

An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...

 in Downtown

Downtown Syracuse

Downtown Syracuse is the economic center of Syracuse, New York, and Central New York, employing over 30,000 people, and housing over 2,000. It is also one of the 26 officially recognized neighborhoods of Syracuse.- History :...

 Syracuse

Syracuse, New York

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. It is part of the Oncenter Complex

Oncenter

The Oncenter is a three-building convention and entertainment complex in Downtown Syracuse, New York, USA. It is composed of a convention center, sporting arena, and theaters.-Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter:...

.

Designed by Edgarton and Edgarton and built from 1949 through 1951, the structure is significant as an example of a World War I, World War II and Aroostook War commemorative and as "an early and sophisticated example of single-span thin-shell [concrete roof] construction" . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1988.

The War Memorial is home to the Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial at Oncenter...

 Ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team

Team

A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team...

. For the 2011-12 Major Indoor Soccer League season War Memorial will be the home for the Syracuse Silver Knights.

Previous teams to call the War Memorial home included the NBA's Syracuse Nationals

Syracuse Nationals

The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...

 and several now-defunct American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 teams. The Nationals defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons in a deciding seventh game at home to win the 1954-1955 NBA Championship. The War Memorial also hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1961 and the NCAA Frozen Four in 1967 and 1971.

The 1977 film Slap Shot included the War Memorial among the various arenas used as shooting locations for in-game action.

Professional wrestling has also experienced its share of history at the War Memorial. Shortly after completion of filming of the World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling

World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

-produced film Ready to Rumble

Ready to Rumble

Ready to Rumble is a 2000 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Steven Brill, which is based on Turner Broadcasting's now defunct professional wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling...

, actor David Arquette

David Arquette

David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...

 won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship title on April 26, 2000 in a taping of the company's weekly Thunder

Thunder

Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...

 broadcast, which is often cited as being the first legitimate sign of the demise of WCW. It also hosted the first WWF In Your House

In Your House

In Your House was a pay-per-view series created by the World Wrestling Federation . The original concept was that, in months when the WWF was not holding one of its major PPV events , they would offer a two-hour PPV, priced at $14.95...

 pay-per-view in 1995. In April 1998 the Oncenter hosted WWF Monday Night Raw

WWE RAW

WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

. The Oncenter is occasionally host to WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 house show

House show

A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...

s.

It is also a prominent concert venue in the region, which includes various KISS

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

, Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

, and Aerosmith

Aerosmith

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...

shows among numerous others over the years.

On top of the arena's stage are the words, "In memory of our service veterans."