Downtown Earns A High Score At The End Of March With Support Of The Capital Complex

April 8, 2019

The final weekend in March attracted more than 20,000 people downtown for the lineup of events taking place. Esport teams from 18 colleges headed to the Albany Capital Center for HV Gamer Con on March 30-31, gaming on popular titles and competing for college scholarships. More than 2,500 competitors and Con attendees enjoyed downtown and the NCAA women’s regional on March 29 and 31 drew more than 17,500 fans to the Times Union Center and Albany Capital Center.

It was an impactful weekend that demonstrated the extent of the complex’s capabilities as NCAA related programming used both facilities featuring a Fan Fest event at the Albany Capital Center in addition to the available practice courts and the arena’s tournament games. Since opening in March 2017 the Capital Center has proven to be a facility that’s integral to the landscape of downtown’s event space options. To date it has been host to more than 340 events and has generated more than 161,000 visitors — and those visitors have generated more than $18.5 million in new visitor spending and more than $2.3 million in new county and state sales taxes.

In 2018 the Times Union Center completed nearly $20 million in renovations, and since completion of the Albany Capital Center the new space flexibility has enhanced Albany’s effectiveness as host to an NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. With direct connections between the Times Union Center and the Albany Capital Center, Empire State Plaza Convention Center, and The Egg Performing Arts Center via an enclosed walkway, together these spaces create the Capital Complex — the largest meeting space in Upstate New York at more than 159,000 sq. ft. Now the next NCAA event secured for downtown will be the first-and second-round games of the 2020 men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament on March 19 and 21.