My mission is to see the Flames play in all 30 NHL arenas, a mission that began in October of 2005 while at a local pub watching the Flames take on the Oilers. With the previous season’s work stoppage, and the season before’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Flames tickets had become a very hard item to come by. I was then struck with the idea of combining two of my favourite activities; watching hockey and travelling. You can follow my quest to visit all 30 arenas right here…
October 23, 2005 – Los Angeles, CA
My first stop on a mission to visit at least 29 other cities with the Calgary Flames. I bought my tickets on Ticketmaster’s website on Saturday morning, about 36 hours before puck drop, and would be available at Will Call. I took a WestJet flight, leaving Calgary at 10:00AM, and arrived in sunny California in the early afternoon, well ahead of the game. My plan had been to head back to the airport after the game, where I could read or sleep in the terminal until it was time to check in for my flight in the morning. As I wasn’t going to be staying anywhere, I didn’t have any luggage. It was only me, my jersey and my camera, which would result in my first speed bump of the trip at the US customs desk.
“Where are you going and for how long?” asked the Customs agent.
“LA, one day,” I said, trying to sound as if it was a common occurrence.
“You’re going to LA for one day? Why?”
“For a hockey game.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s easier to get tickets there than here,” I answered, as if it was obvious.
“Where’s your luggage?”
“I don’t have any.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m only going for a day.”
Although not amused, he allowed me to continue, and warned me to have hotel reservation next time.
I arrived at the Staples Center via public transit from the airport after about an hour. With plenty of time before the game, I toured around the arena, taking pictures, and then walked around downtown Los Angeles for a bit. Evidence of hockey was hard to find in downtown LA, but there was a statue of Gretzky with his arms raised outside the North Entrance of the arena, commemorating The Great One’s eight seasons with the Kings.
Entering the arena, I had my eyes peeled to notice everything that was different than the Dome. The concourses of the Staples Center, which opened in 1999, are much wider than those of the Dome. Traffic circulates around the arena without the log jams seen so frequently in the Saddledome. As I walked into the seating bowl, I saw perhaps the biggest single difference from the Saddledome. Because the roof isn’t saddle-shaped, the seating bowl seems to be much larger, and much more cavernous. It was weird to be sitting in the 3rd level and being able to see all the other seats in the third level. You could even see the jumbotron! Having a flat roof makes the arena seem larger and emptier; a very different view than the Dome. The other unique thing about the Staples Center is that there are 3 levels of luxury suites circling the seating bowl. This results in the 300-level being substantially higher up than the lower bowl. As I left the lower bowl following the warm-up, I ran into, literally, Paul Guilfoyle from CSI. I had to look his name up, but I knew I had recognized him from different movies and TV shows; my first run in with a ‘celebrity’ at a hockey game.
As puck drop neared, I began to head up to my seat in section 315. Here I encountered another innovation in this newer arena; the escalator. It has never occurred to me that newer arenas would have escalators! The Dome could use some of those.
The game started poorly for my team, with the Kings scoring twice in the first period. During the intermission, still a little bashful wearing an enemy jersey, I walked around the concourse with a light jacket partially covering my white Flames jersey. Standing in line at the concession, I hear someone yell, “Hey Flames fan, you can’t hide under that jacket!” After getting my beer, I walked over to the Kings fan in question, and struck up a conversation. Kevin was a season ticket holder from Orange County. We talked hockey for the rest of the intermission, and he wished me a good trip. My first interaction with an opposing fan turned out to be a good one.
In the 2nd period, the Flames roared back with two goals of their own, tying the came at 2. During the 2nd intermission, I was able to walk around without my jacket and displaying the flaming C with pride. I saw Kevin again, and we continued to talk about hockey…turned out he was a true hockey fan, and was familiar with not only the Kings but all things hockey. He had even been to Calgary and Edmonton for games. He marvelled at our sports channels in Canada that “actually show hockey highlights!”
The 3rd period contained a perfectly scripted ending (for me), as Chris Simon scored the game-winning goal with only 29 seconds left. Flames win! The victory allowed me to leave the Staples Center with my head held high.
Following the game, after being advised not to take the train south of downtown at that time of night, I hailed a cab and headed back to the airport. After walking around LAX for about an hour, I soon realized that I wasn’t going to be able to stay up all night, nor was I going to be able to sleep in the terminal. I broke down and walked to the Travelodge a few blocks from the terminal and checked into the cheapest room I could find. In the morning it was back to the airport to return to Calgary.
Passing through Canadian customs, I encountered a similar type of exchange as with US Customs the day before. “You only went down for one day?” I had been slightly worried that I might receive some flack for the one souvenir I brought back, a plastic Los Angeles Kings mini-hockey stick, but was allowed past without any trouble.
With the Staples Center and the Saddledome in the books, I only have 28 more arenas to visit!
Seats: Section 315; $30.00USD; Ticketmaster
Score: Flames 3, Kings 2
Arena Rating: 8/10
Unique Concession: 6 pc sushi tray for $8USD
Souvenir Stick: Los Angeles Kings goalie stick; white; plastic
Public Transit: Train stop across the street
Unique Arena Trait: 3 levels of luxury suites
Swag: None
Photos:
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