Buffalo Memorial Auditorium / The Aud opened on October 14, 1940 with a luncheon attended by 3,000 people, including the mayors of more than 60 local communities. The building was dedicated as a war memorial to those who had perished in World War I.
It cost $2.685,000 to build.

The American Hockey League's Buffalo Bisons played 30 seasons at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, beginning with the 1940–41 season. The Bisons won five Calder Cup championships, first in 1943 with the last coming in 1970 during the franchise's final game. The team folded in 1970 after the National Hockey League awarded Buffalo an expansion team.

The Buffalo Sabres made their Memorial Auditorium debut on October 15, 1970 in a game attended by NHL President Clarence Campbell that began with a ceremonial faceoff between Sabres captain Floyd Smith and Montreal Canadiens captain Jean Beliveau. The Sabres' Roger Crozier made 53 saves in a 3-0 loss.

The Sabres occupied the Auditorium through the 1995–96 season, when they moved to the nearby Marine Midland Arena. Michael Peca scored the last in-game goal at the Aud while Pat LaFontaine put in a ceremonial goal after the 4–1 win over the Hartford Whalers. It was the last arena where the ice sheet fell short of the league-mandated 200 feet by 85 feet size (though Maple Leaf Gardens had irregularly shaped corners).

The Aud hosted games 3, 4, and 6 of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Sabres faced the Philadelphia Flyers. Eventually, the Flyers would win their 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup championship in game 6 at the arena. This was the only Stanley Cup Finals appearance made at the Auditorium.

Memorial Auditorium hosted the 1978 NHL All-Star Game on January 24, 1978. Two members of the Sabres' "French Connection" line—Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin—played for the Wales Conference. Both had a significant impact: Martin scored a goal with 1:39 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2–2 and force overtime, and Perreault scored the game-winning goal 3:55 into overtime to defeat the Campbell Conference 3–2.

The Edmonton Oilers' Wayne Gretzky made NHL history at The Aud on February 24, 1982, when he scored a natural hat trick during the game's final seven minutes to help defeat the Sabres 6–3. Gretzky broke Phil Esposito's record for goals in a season (76) with the hat trick's first goal, his 77th of the season.

College Hockey made its modern debut at Memorial Auditorium on January 23, 1972, when the University at Buffalo Bulls met the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Ohio State University. Ohio State won the game 5-2.

On January 4, 1976, the Sabres played Krylia Sovietov as part of a "Super Series" between the Soviet Union's two best club teams—CSKA Moscow and Krylia Sovietov (named "Red Army" and "Soviet Wings" respectively, during the series) and eight of the NHL's top teams. The Sabres’ 12-6 victory over the 1974 Soviet league and European Cup champions was the worst defeat ever for a professional Soviet Hockey club.

On May 15, 1973, the Cincinnati Swords, then the Sabres' AHL affiliate, played the final game of the 1973 Calder Cup Finals at The Aud. The Swords won the Calder Cup with a 5–1 win over the Nova Scotia Voyageurs in front of 15,019 fans—the largest playoff crowd in AHL history at the time. The Rochester Americans also played several games at The Aud after they became the Sabres' affiliate, including several during their 1987 Calder Cup championship season.

The Aud hosted the 1991 NHL entry draft, notable for Eric Lindros being selected 1st overall by the Quebec Nordiques and refusing to sign with the team.

Roller Hockey International's Buffalo Stampede called The Aud home during the 1994 - 95 season, winning the league championship.

The Buffalo Bandits of Major Indoor Lacrosse League played in the Aud from the 1992 season until the arena's closure. Winners of the MILL title in 1992, 1993, and 1996.