The Utica Memorial Auditorium was conceived by then-Utica mayor John T. McKennan, who believed that the city needed a place for entertainment and sporting events.

The arena was constructed using the world's first pre-stressed dual cable roof system, designed by Lev Zetlin (who would later partner with architect Philip Johnson to construct both the New York State Pavilion "Tent of Tomorrow" seen at the 1964 World's Fair[6] and the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, also located in Utica, NY[7]) with "struts" between the cables.

On October 23, 2013, the Comets played at "The Aud", losing 4–1 to the Albany Devils in front of a sold out crowd.

[22] Photos and renderings of the Utica Memorial Auditorium are on permanent display at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

[23][24] On September 27, 2017, the Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority announced a 10-year naming rights deal with locally based Adirondack Bank, amending the official name of "The Aud" to Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

[5] In November 2017, work was completed on the 26,000-square-foot expansion that added a new entrance, a half-dozen executive suites, a new women's bathroom, a building-wide sprinkler system and other amenities to the facility.

[25] A restaurant named "72 Tavern & Grill" was constructed on existing foundation on the West side of the facility that supported underground areas of the Aud.

[26] On June 1, 2018, the Adirondack Bank Center hosted UFC Fight Night: Rivera vs. Moraes.

On June 13, 2018, Mohawk Valley Garden CEO Rob Esche and Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) commissioner Joshua Schaub, along with other officials, announced that Utica will field a professional indoor soccer team — called Utica City Football Club, or UCFC for short — that will play home games at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium beginning with the 2018–19 season.

The Nexus Canter, a new sports facility adjacent to the Aud and connected to it via an indoor walkway, was completed in 2022.

[28] It includes three playing spaces that can used for ice hockey or turf sports such as indoor soccer.