Arena #2.5, #3.4 - Southern California

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…

November 21, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA

As winter settles into Calgary, it’s always nice to make a little road trip to Southern California to see the Flames play a couple of games in warmer climates, so this past weekend, we made what has become our annual pilgrimage to Los Angeles. The Flames were playing in the Staples Center on Saturday afternoon and the Honda Center on Monday night.

I’ve never liked afternoon games as it just doesn’t seem right to be watching hockey while it is still daylight out, and sunlight is beaming through the tunnels and into the seating bowl. Nonetheless, we arrived at the Staples Center about an hour before puck drop, which on this sunny afternoon was at 1:00PM. We were walking from our hotel and passed through LA Live, which is being dubbed the “Times Square of the West.” Of course it is nothing like Times Square, and far too contrived to ever be like Times Square, but it is filled with bars and restaurants and adds more to the vibrancy of the city than what was previously there, a two level parking garage. LA Live also features the Nokia Theatre, which hosts various awards ceremonies and movie premiers. On this particular Saturday, it was being set up to host the American Music Awards the following night.

As this was not our first trip to the Staples Center, we were less inclined to do the usual circle of the concourse. Instead, it is a quick line to the concessions for an afternoon beer, before heading to out seats in section 207 behind the Flames’ attack end. Noticeable at this game, was the poor attendance. Of all the games I’ve been to at the Staples Center, there are usually pretty good crowds, nearing capacity. I don’t know if it was because it was an afternoon game or not, but by the time the puck dropped, the arena was only half full.

Things started off with a bang as most fans hadn’t even sat down yet, when Iginla came in and scored 13 seconds into the game. The Kings were able to take the lead in the 2nd period with two goals in 38 seconds, but the Flames settled down and scored four unanswered goals, taking the game 5 – 2. The afternoon was highlighted by Jarome Iginla scoring his 9th career hat trick in the win. It was great to see the hats being thrown onto the ice at an away game, and I’ve been asked many times if I threw mine. I’d like to set the record straight: I did not throw my hat, as we were sitting behind the net in the 200 level. I wouldn’t be able to reach the ice on my own, and as we were surrounded by Kings fans, I don’t think they would have passed my hat along to ice level. If I could have thrown my hat, I would have. Really. For serious.

We headed to ESPN Zone across the street after the game for some beer and nachos, and then spent most of the night at one of the greatest bars in the world at the Figeuroa Hotel, two blocks from the Staples Center. If you’re ever in LA, head to the Figueroa for a drink, you won’t be disappointed!

Staples Center Fast Facts

Seats: Section 207; $40; StubHub
Score: Flames 5, Kings 2
Souvenir Stick: none
Public Transit: Train stop across the street
Unique Arena Trait: Three levels of luxury suites
Swag: Anze Kopitar 8x10 photo

November 23, 2009 – Anaheim, CA

The second leg of our Southern California trip was the Flames-Ducks game at the Honda Center in Anaheim. For the past four years, a trip to SoCal meant a game against the Kings who haven’t made the playoffs in almost a decade, and a game against the Ducks, we were perennial Stanley Cup contenders. This year however, the roles have been reversed, as going into the weekend, the Kings and Flames were tied in the standings at fourth place in the Western Conference, and the Ducks found themselves in the cellar. This was my fourth game at the Honda Center, I thought this would be the best opportunity to see the Flames do something I’d never see before; win in Anaheim.

We arrived at the arena only ten minutes before the game, as there isn’t really anything to do in the Honda Center beforehand. It may be the most vanilla arena in the league, and it is exactly what I fear when there is talk of a new arena for the Flames; I fear we end up with something like the Honda Center. It lacks any unique characteristics, or any atmosphere. It kind of feels like the Saddledome during the Superskills competition, as the crowds are sparse, few people really care about the result, and after the game everybody will leave as soon as possible to get home earlier.

Our tickets for the game were purchased on Ticketmaster and were part of a “Miller Lite Beer Pack” promotion, which for $60 each, we received a ticket in the lower bowl, a hot dog and a beer. Ahhh, the benefits of watching hockey in California! Interestingly enough however, when we redeemed our hot dog and beer vouchers, we received Coors Light, despite the promotion being sponsored by Miller Lite.

Like the game in LA two days earlier, the stands were pretty empty, with an announced crowd of 15,000 and change, but a crowd I’d guess to be closer to around 12,000. With the Ducks in last place, the fans have obviously stopped coming. Our seats were in section 227, which is in the lower bowl and behind the net in the Flames attack zone. As usual at a Flames-Ducks game, we were surrounded by enough Flames fans that it didn’t feel like watching a game 2000 miles from the Dome.

The Flames came out gunning, keen to make a sweep of the SoCal teams and outshot the Ducks 43-34. Despite this advantage however, the Ducks were up 2-1 on the Flames heading into the final minute of play. With much of the sparse crowd heading for the doors, hoping to beat traffic, the Flames pulled Kiprusoff for an extra attacker. On a pass from Jokinen, Iginla was able to score with only 18 seconds left in the game to tie it up. Unfortunately, the Flames were not able to score in overtime or a shootout, while Teemu Selanne was, as he beat Kiprusoff on the Ducks’ third shot, to give them the victory. Despite not winning, it was still the best Flames performance I’ve seen in Anaheim.

After the game, we headed to a nearby pub to have a beer with 'Phil in Anaheim,' whom we had met two seasons earlier at a Flames-Ducks game. Phil's a die-hard hockey fan, and we had another great discussion of everything hockey related.


Honda Center Fast Facts

Seats: Section 227; $60; Ticketmaster
Score: Flames 2, Ducks 3 in a shootout
Souvenir Stick: none
Public Transit: none
Unique Arena Trait: none
Swag: none

Photo from: http://www.life.com/image/84302189

Arena #2.2 - Staples Center

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…

April 15, 2006 –Los Angeles, CA

My second away game saw me returning to the Staples Center for the Flames 2nd last game of the ’05-’06 season. This time I was accompanied by my girlfriend, and our trip also included stops at the Honda Center for the Flames’ final game of the season, a Dodgers-Giants game at Dodger Stadium and a couple of days at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland.

When we arrived at the Staples Center before the game, my girlfriend was a little apprehensive about seeing a game in enemy territory. I had assured her it wouldn’t be bad and that people wouldn’t be yelling at us or anything, but nonetheless she was still worried. Much to her relief, the first hockey fans we saw as we approached the West side of the arena, was a group of over 30 Flames fans! These guys were playing a game of street hockey in the California sun. They had sticks and balls, and were using a couple of pylons for goal posts. Although it wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary in Canada, it wasn’t something we had expected to see in Los Angeles. After talking with a couple of them, we learned they were a group of Saddledome employees who head to a Flames away game each year. This year’s group had over 30 people, and they were attending the same sporting events we were; both hockey games and a baseball game.

Although there wasn’t anything on the line for either team; the Flames were already guaranteed 3rd place in the Western Conference and the Kings had already missed the playoffs, the game was destined to be a special one, as long-time King, Luc Robitaille was playing in his final game at the Staples Center, and the 2nd last game of his career. With over 600 goals and 1300 points, the Montreal born left-winger was calling it a career after 19 seasons. As we entered the arena, we were each given a t-shirt commemorating Robitaille’s last game with the words ‘King of Kings’ on the front and a silhouette of the future hall-of-famer raising his hands in celebration of a goal.

Walking the concourse before the game, we found another unique food at a concession booth called Camacho’s, burritos. I had never seen Mexican food at a hockey game before, but when in Rome…! We ordered a couple of burritos and headed to our seats. Entering the seating bowl, we were greeted with a sea of yellow and white placards that were on every seat in honour of Mr. Robitaille. The cardboard signs read “Thank You Luuuc” on one side and had the number 20 on the other. The same signs were also on the boards between several ads.

With the North West Division already clinched, it was obvious the Flames were sort of mailing it in for this game. There wasn’t a lot of hitting, and there didn’t seem to be much hustle from the away team. Fortunately, the Kings lacked a few key components to hockey success. Most notably, speed, strength, goal tending, defence, offence and overall talent. As a result, the game ended up tied 1-1 after regulation and overtime, and continued on to a shootout. Pavol Demitra was able to score on Kiprusoff while Jason LaBarbera was able to stop all three Flames shooters, handing the Flames a 2-1 loss.

A brief retirement ceremony followed the game, with the Kings faithful letting out a string of “Luuuuuucs,” and Robitaille doing a celebratory lap of the rink.

Next up is the Flames-Ducks game at the Arrowhead Pond against the Mighty Ducks.


-TheRev

Staples Center Fast Facts

Seats: Section 314; $28.00USD; Ticketmaster
Score: Flames 1, Kings 2 in a shootout
Arena Rating: 8/10
Unique Concession: burritos
Souvenir Stick: none
Public Transit: Train stop across the street
Unique Arena Trait: 3 levels of luxury suites
Swag: Luc Robitaille t-shirt, Luuuuc!/#20 Placard

Photos

Arena #2 - Staples Center

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: