Minor League Arenas

[royals119]

Was on one of 16 Flint fan busses in 1984 that went to the Toledo Sports Arena to see the Flint Generals win it's first ever championship 4-0 to win the IHL's Turner Cup.

Wow, that must have been something. 800 visiting fans in Toledo would create some kind of atmosphere. I loved the old Sports Arena - even had a friend in Toledo pick up some seats for me when they tore it down.

 

[JMCx4]

Some very intriguing lists from the members here. My list seems small by comparison to some. Guess I need to up my game(s).

Family Arena, Saint Charles, MO
Pensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL
Independence Events Center / Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Independence, MO
i wireless Center, Moline, IL
U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington, IL
INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, IL
Peoria Civic Center - Carver Arena, Peoria, IL
Ford Center, Evansville, IN
U.S. Bank Arena , Cincinnati, OH
BMO Harris Bank Center, Rockford, IL
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN
Cow Palace, Daly City, CA
Stockton Arena, Stockton, CA
David S. Palmer Arena, Danville, IL
Knoxville Civic Coliseum, Knoxville, TN
Landers Center, Southaven, MS
Amway Center, Orlando, FL
Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA
DCU Center, Worcester, MA
Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA
Huntington Center, Toledo, OH
Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
Arena at Gwinnett Center, Gwinnett, GA
BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, IN
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL
Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
Rabobank Arena , Bakersfield, CA
Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, CA
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
H-E-B Center, Austin, TX
Allen Event Center, Allen, TX
Panther Arena, Milwaukee, WI

During the coming season, my wife & I will be adding Germain Arena (Estero, FL) and Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (Jacksonville, FL).

@JackalsKnuckles: I’m a member of “Roaming The Rinks Nation.” My full list of arenas visited – U.S. & Canadian junior, college, minor league & NHL – is hosted on Andy Ritter’s website, along with many other hockey fans with very diverse lists. There are no “conversations” on the site; it’s primarily populated with Andy’s reviews of the many hockey arenas he has visited in the past & continues to visit annually, plus hockey venue-related topics. It’s definitely worth bookmarking & checking periodically for hockey road trippers planning future travels.

 

[GindyDraws]

Wow, another user that went to the Coliseum.

 

[JMCx4]

Wow, another user that went to the Coliseum.

Too close to St. Louis to ignore. My wife & I attended a Royals v. Fuel game there in early Jan 2015, as part of an Evansville-Indy loop weekend. Farmers has good sightlines & very visitor-friendly staff and fans. I had hoped we'd get up to this year's All-Star Game, but our monthly road trip schedule got shuffled to accommodate some more distant trips. Maybe the following season.

 

[210]

Too close to St. Louis to ignore. My wife & I attended a Royals v. Fuel game there in early Jan 2015, as part of an Evansville-Indy loop weekend. Farmers has good sightlines & very visitor-friendly staff and fans. I had hoped we'd get up to this year's All-Star Game, but our monthly road trip schedule got shuffled to accommodate some more distant trips. Maybe the following season.

On your list one building sticks out like a sore thumb...the DCU Center. With no other building you've visited close to it how did you happen to see a game there?

 

[Bonk]

No juniors or NCAA, right?

Cincinnati Gardens-x, Cincinnati OH
U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati OH
Gund Arena, Cleveland OH
Allstate Arena, Rosemont IL
Bradley Center, Milwaukee WI
Rupp Arena, Lexington KY
Freedom Hall, Louisville KY
Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence RI
Huntington Center, Toledo OH
Talking Stick Arena, Phoenix AZ
Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates IL
x-deposed

The Dunk and Huntington were for college games though.

 

[JMCx4]

On your list one building sticks out like a sore thumb...the DCU Center. With no other building you've visited close to it how did you happen to see a game there?

You might-could say the same thing about the Knoxville Civic Coliseum, but my wife & I have logged a LOT of miles on hockey road trips over the last 6+ seasons.

She & I spent a week with family for vacation in Midcoast Maine back in late 2013, then we stuck around Boston as a couple for 4 nights to see the sights. We also attended a BU home game on a Saturday night (our first college hockey - no college nor junior nor NHL visits included in my "Minor League Arenas" list), then drove out to Worcester for a Sunday afternoon game. I didn't really appreciate the distance until we made the round-trip drive, and that W-Sharks game might've been the most sparsely populated hockey game we've ever attended. At least until we went to a dozen or so St. Charles Chill games in their one-n-done season in the CHL. I hope the Railers have found the secret to drawing hockey crowds in Worcester.

 

[HRAds]

Road trips were much easier when the OG Ads were in the ECHL and I was in college. Here is my list:

Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, VA (Hampton Roads Admirals-ECHL, Norfolk Admirals-AHL)
ARC Ice, Chesapeake, VA (Hampton Roads Admirals-ECHL)
Dorton Arena, Raleigh, NC (Raleigh IceCaps-ECHL)
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Generals-ECHL)
Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, VA (Roanoke Express-ECHL)
Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, VA (Richmond Renegades-ECHL, Norfolk Admirals-AHL)
Showplace Arena, Upper Marlboro, MD (Chesapeake Icebreakers-ECHL)
Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, NJ (Trenton Titans-ECHL)
Cambria County War Memorial Arena, Johnstown, PA (Johnstown Chiefs-ECHL)
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Brass-ECHL)
Cajundome, Lafayette, LA (Louisiana IceGators-ECHL)
Hersheypark Arena, Hershey, PA (Hershey Bears-AHL)
Giant Center, Hershey, PA (Hershey Bears-AHL)
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX (San Antonio Rampage-AHL)

 

[StingDrone]

Counting Juniors and NCAA:
Munn Ice Arena (Michigan St.)
Taffy Abel Arena (Lk. Superior St.)
Sarnia Arena (Sarnia Sting and Sarnia Bees)
IMA/Perani/DFCU Flint MI (Original IHL Generals, Bulldogs, Spirits, UHL Generals, MI Warriors, Firebirds)
Wendler Arena/Dow Center Saginaw MI (Generals, Hawks, Spirit)
Compuware Arena (Plymouth Whalers)
Oak Park Arena (Detroit Whalers)
Joe Louis Arena (Red Wings and Detroit Jr. Red Wings)
Windsor Arena (Spitfires)
Sault Memorial Gardens (Greyhounds)
London Gardens/Ice House (Knights)
Guelph Memorial Gardens (Storm)
Maple Leaf Gardens (St. Michael's Majors)
Hershey Centre (Mississauga Ice Dogs)
McMorran Arena Port Huron MI (Border Cats, Beacons, UHL Flags, IceHawks, Fighting Falcons, Prowlers)
Chatham Memorial Arena (Wheels)
St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Centre (Wildcats)
Wings Stadium Kalamazoo MI (Michigan K-Wings)
The Palace of Auburn Hills (Detroit Vipers)
Fraser Ice Arena (Detroit Falcons and Motor City Mechanics)
SSEC/RBC Centre/Progressive Auto Sales Arena (Sarnia Sting)

 

[PaulieDanger]

The Spectrum - Philadelphia
Sun National Bank Center - Trenton
Santander Bank Arena - Reading
Giant Center - Hershey
Veterans Memorial - Binghamton
First Arena - Elmira (worked a scout camp there while working for a Jr A club)
Dunkin Donuts Center - Providence (made my first visit tonight)

Baker Rink - Princeton

Hoping to knock off DCU, Webster Bank, MassMutual & XL this season (guess where I just moved...)

 

[mk80]

At least until we went to a dozen or so St. Charles Chill games in their one-n-done season in the CHL.

The Chill games were sad, I went to quite a few there was maybe 100 fans. But as a college student at Lindenwood it was great for the budget (despite being overpriced in my opinion). I joked while working the Women's Frozen Four last spring, that event drew more fans in one game than the Chill did all season.

 

[JMCx4]

The Chill games were sad, I went to quite a few there was maybe 100 fans. But as a college student at Lindenwood it was great for the budget (despite being overpriced in my opinion). I joked while working the Women's Frozen Four last spring, that event drew more fans in one game than the Chill did all season.

Officially, the Chill averaged 2,585 per game. Obviously the numbers weren't reflective of the real attendance, but they had far more fans in the seats each night after they scrapped their overpriced ticket plan and crowds got even larger after Bart Hull joined the front office. It was a remarkable & enjoyable experience, though, to be part of the Women's Frozen Four crowds that March 2017 weekend. Too bad juniors or minor pro hockey can't draw that well in the St. Louis area.

 

[mk80]

Officially, the Chill averaged 2,585 per game. Obviously the numbers weren't reflective of the real attendance, but they had far more fans in the seats each night after they scrapped their overpriced ticket plan and crowds got even larger after Bart Hull joined the front office. It was a remarkable & enjoyable experience, though, to be part of the Women's Frozen Four crowds that March 2017 weekend. Too bad juniors or minor pro hockey can't draw that well in the St. Louis area.

I agree those first price points were way over priced. Also the original ownership disappearing after the team was announced and losing all the time until like June didn't help at establishing a season ticket base and promoting the team. It is my wishful thinking that if Lindenwood men's hockey played NCAA D1 they could fill the lower bowl, but I think in reality they'd draw slightly better than the Chill. I do play-by-play for the Women's team and it would be a lot of fun to do it for their Men's program if it was at the NCAA level, sadly they don't have consistent broadcasts of their men's team currently as they are fun to watch!

 

[JMCx4]

... I do play-by-play for the Women's team ...

Oh, so YOU'RE the guy I heard while I was sitting 3 rows below the media table at the Lindenwood rink for those two women's weekend games this season. I thought it was all inside my head.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I went to the newly renovated Pelham Civic Center in Pelham, Alabama last night for the inaugural home game of the newly returned Birmingham Bulls in the SPHL.

The arena wasn't quite ready, some seats had yet to be installed, and game ops still have to perfect their presentation. But the atmosphere was good, the fans were happy to have their team back and if I lived closer I'd definitely be a regular.

 

[JMCx4]

... The arena wasn't quite ready, some seats had yet to be installed, and game ops still have to perfect their presentation. But the atmosphere was good, the fans were happy to have their team back ...

That seems to be the consistent story from opening night attendees posting on-line: Arena not quite there, but hockey's back in Birmingham so all is well. Glad y'all enjoyed the return.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Wow, that must have been something. 800 visiting fans in Toledo would create some kind of atmosphere. I loved the old Sports Arena - even had a friend in Toledo pick up some seats for me when they tore it down.

Without a doubt it was my favorite arena. The fans were so close-there was no divider between the home penalty box and the fans right behind them IIRC. The ceiling was 40 feet high at most, so the sound just reverberated throughout the building.

The Huntington Center is very nice, but I'd take the TSA over it in a heartbeat.

http://scottymoore.net/toledo.html

 

[PCSPounder]

Trip over, just added to my list:

Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary (since the Flames ownership wants rid of it and I saw the Hitmen there anyway, damn right I listed it)
Credit Union iplex, Swift Current
Mosaic Place, Moose Jaw
(Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, for the Jets, so...)
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, Rapid City

I really think Swift Current is a pilgrimage everyone should make, just for the history, the setting, and the fact that everyone in Swift Current (population 15,500) knows everyone else.