- Frank Sinatra was the first artist to perform at MVP Arena, formerly Times Union Center, when he christened the building on January 30, 1990.
- The first sporting event at MVP Arena was an Albany Patroons game on February 4, 1990.
- The Knickerbocker Arena was officially renamed the Pepsi Arena on January 8, 1997. Two days later, the Albany River Rats played the Worcester Ice Cats for the first event in the newly named arena.
- On April 24th, 2008 the longest hockey game in the 72 year history of AHL Hockey took place at MVP Arena. The marathon lasted 5 hours, 38 minutes & 36 seconds as the Philadelphia Phantoms outlasted the Albany River Rats 3 - 2. In the process, River Rats goaltender Michael Leighton set a modern day record by making an astounding 98 saves!
- There are 78 different doors leading into and out of MVP Arena.
- 2,500 tons of structural steel and 30,000 cubic yards of pre-cast concrete were used to build the arena.
- It takes 8,000 gallons of water to create a 3/4-inch-thick layer of ice used for the hockey playing surface.
- The Arena hung scoreboard weighs 8-1/2 tons, which is equal to the size of three adult circus elephants.
- Our unique curtaining system, installed in 1993, allows The Arena capacity to change in minutes from 17,000 to 6,000.
- There are 25 luxury suites inside MVP Arena, each having 16 seats, cable T.V., private bathroom, and private refrigerator.
- ASM Global, the company that manages the facility, oversees the operations of more than 350 buildings, including well-known NFL stadiums around the world, such as U.S. Bank Stadium, Soldier Field, and the Caesars Superdome. ASM Global also manages the Albany Capital Center.
- The Trans-Siberian Orchestra have performed at the arena more than any other act. They've appeared over twenty times.
- The Grateful Dead performed at the arena thirteen times between 1990 and 1995. In 2015, Dead & Company debuted at MVP Arena, then known as Times Union Center.
- It took former local sportscaster Dan Murphy 26 hours to sit in every permanent seat in The Arena.
- The New York State Democratic Convention nominated First Lady Hillary Clinton as the U.S. Senate candidate at their statewide convention at MVP Arena on May 16, 2000. Her husband, former President of the United States Bill Clinton, attended the event.
- The fastest gross income from an event was received when country singer Garth Brooks sold 51,000 tickets in less than three hours for his 1997 three-day appearance. That's over 283 tickets sold a minute!
- The Arena has averaged 155 events a year since it first opened in 1990.
- 1999 was a record breaking year for MVP Arena, when three major records were broken: number of total events (178); gross ticket sales for the entire year; and single event gross revenue, for a performance by Pavarotti.
- In The Arena's history, two performers have performed twice in the same year on two different tours. In 1992, Michael Bolton performed on January 21 and December 28. In 1998, Aerosmith performed on January 13 and December 29.
- The longest basketball game played at The Arena was a triple overtime battle between Old Dominion University and Villanova University in the 1st round of 1995 NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional.
- On February 28, 1998, the MAAC Basketball Tournament began at 9:45AM and ended 15 hours and 56 minutes later at 12:41AM - for the longest event day in MVP Arena's history.
- In the Arena's only tennis event, Andre Agassi played John McEnroe just three days after Agassi won the U.S. Open in 1994.
- The Arena was the first site in the nation to sell out when it hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 1995 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional.
- The Albany River Rats won the Calder Cup in 1995.
- The Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League played at the Arena from 1990 to 2000. They won Arena Bowl XXIII in 1999 in front of a sold-out crowd.
- In the 1990s, the Arena was host to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament every year except for 1997 and 1999.
- The Siena Saints have a 7-2 all-time record at the Arena for the NIT post-season basketball tournament.
- The Arena was host to WWF Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 19, 1992. The attendance was 16,307.
- The next WWF PPV event, another sell-out, was "No Mercy," on October 22, 2000.
- From 1990 to 2021, nearly 500,000 crazed WWE fans have walked through MVP Arena doors.
- The Albany Attack was awarded a National Lacrosse League franchise on May 21, 1999. Their first home game, on January 14, 2000, was a victory over the Pittsburgh Crossfire.
- MVP Arena was host to NCAA Championship events an impressive four consecutive years, and seven events in the new millennium: 2000 (NCAA Men's Hockey East Regional); 2001 (NCAA Men's Hockey National Championship); 2002 (NCAA Wrestling National Championship); and 2003 (NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional), to be followed by the 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2021 & 2022 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship Regionals and NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regionals in 2015, 2018 & 2019.
- Nine of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players have played or coached at the Arena: Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers, 1990; Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics; Larry Bird, Boston Celtics; Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks; Robert Parish, Boston Celtics; David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs; Wes Unseld, Washington Bullets; Lenny Wilkins, Cleveland Cavaliers; and John Stockton, Utah Jazz.
- MVP Arena was named a Prime Site Award Winner by Facilities Magazine 13 times. (1999, 2002, 2004-2009, 2012 - 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019)
- In October of 2018, Phish set the record for all time highest ticket sales here at MVP Arena! They accomplished this feat over the course of their 13 shows here at the arena.