McMahon touts War Memorial investments as Syracuse arena talks continue
Onondaga County has already put more than $22.5 million into the War Memorial since 2017 as Syracuse weighs a separate arena.
Onondaga County announced a $4 million renovation to the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial in October 2025, adding another round of spending to the aging downtown venue even as Syracuse arena talks continue. County Executive Ryan McMahon has pointed to those upgrades while calling the 74-year-old building one of the best American Hockey League venues.
The arena, which opened in 1941, was renamed in December 2019 under an 11-year naming-rights deal with Upstate Medical University worth $2.7 million. The name change kept the building tied to the county-owned War Memorial while adding corporate support to a facility that remains home to the Syracuse Crunch.
The county has been spending on the building for years. In August 2017, officials laid out an $8.5 million renovation plan for the War Memorial, and county lawmakers approved the final funding sources two months later. Earlier reporting said New York State and Onondaga County had already committed more than $10 million to upgrades in the years before that, including new marquees, a new scoreboard, a VIP lounge, rink-lengthening work and lighting improvements.
Taken together, the county has now put more than $22.5 million into the venue since the 2017 renovation push was first outlined, not counting the private sponsorship tied to the 2019 naming rights. That spending underscores why any new arena discussion in Syracuse carries a direct taxpayer question: whether to keep investing in the War Memorial or shift public money toward a separate facility.
The answer matters downtown as well as inside the boardroom. The War Memorial still anchors Syracuse Crunch hockey and other event use in Downtown Syracuse, so any future arena decision would affect where the team plays, how often the building is used, and whether county dollars keep flowing into the old arena or into a new project competing with other Onondaga County priorities. McMahon’s focus on continued upgrades shows the county is still betting on the War Memorial even as the broader arena debate moves forward.
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