iconoclast22
Registered User
- Mar 25, 2015
- 61
- 3
Just the Indiana Farmers Coliseum for one CHL Ice game and two ECHL Fuel games.
Would try the other two in the state if the Thunderbolts go to ECHL.
I don't remember all the arena corporate names, so going with the home team.
Reading Royals
Hershey Bears
WBS Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
NY Rangers
Philadelphia Phantoms
Wheeling Nailers
Johnstown Chiefs
Elmira Jackals
Albany River Rats
Manchester Monarchs (AHL)
Roanoke Express
Richmond Renegades
Charlotte Checkers
Greensboro Generals
Pee Dee Pride
Augusta Lynx
Pensacola IcePilots
Florida Everblades
South Carolina Stingrays
Columbia Inferno
Trenton Titans and Devils
AC Boardwalk Bullies
Las Vegas Wranglers
Texas Wildcatters
Mississippi SeaWolves
Dayton Bombers
Stockton Thunder
Toledo Storm
Toledo Walleye (different buildings)
Long Beach Ice Dogs
Greenville Grrrowl
Peoria Rivermen (ECHL)
Louisiana Ice Gators (ECHL)
Lexington Men O War
Gwinnett Gladiators
Cincinnati Cyclones
Idaho Steelheads
Utah Grizzlies
Kalamazoo Wings
Binghamton Senators
Saw two games in the LNAH about 10 years ago, one I think was in St Hyacinthe, can't remember the other town.
Also saw a few pre-season games at various rec-rinks.
At one point I was only a few cities away from having seen a game at every ECHL rink, but that was before the CHL teams came in. With several teams leaving a new teams being added I have 16 new cities to hit. Maybe someday when I retire I'll try again.
There were a few years when my wife and I attended almost every Royals game, home or away. We missed out on some of the earlier southern teams though. New Orleans Brass, Baton Rouge Kingfish, Columbus Cottonmouths, Mobile Mystics and Macon Whoopee were all in the league in the early days of the Royals, but the Royals didn't face them prior to their folding. Those were the glory days of minor league southern hockey when the ECHL had a southeast and southwest division, and I think Roanoke and Richmond were in the northeast division to make things more even. In 2001 there were 21 teams in the league located south of the Mason-Dixon line.Holy **** that's a lot. Really reminds you how much this league has geographically changed though. The Southern teams had cool names, usually.
Who are the Thunderbolts?
Evansville Thunderbolts.
They replaced the IceMen last year.
There were a few years when my wife and I attended almost every Royals game, home or away. We missed out on some of the earlier southern teams though. New Orleans Brass, Baton Rouge Kingfish, Columbus Cottonmouths, Mobile Mystics and Macon Whoopee were all in the league in the early days of the Royals, but the Royals didn't face them prior to their folding. Those were the glory days of minor league southern hockey when the ECHL had a southeast and southwest division, and I think Roanoke and Richmond were in the northeast division to make things more even. In 2001 there were 21 teams in the league located south of the Mason-Dixon line.
For what league is that? I'm guessing not SPHL its kind of out of the footprint.
Ummm...they aren't even the most northern team in the SPHL.
Its not even the north, its the Midwest. More northern areas would make more sense than the Midwest region for a league like this.
*Some of these I've only been too for events other than Hockey.
Spectrum Center (Charlotte Checkers ECHL and AHL, also home to NBAs Hornets)
Bojangles Coliseum (See above)
Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro Generals and also temporary home for the Canes in the 90's)
*LJVMC Annex in Winston-Salem, NC (Twin City Cyclones I think was their name)
Asheville Civic Center (Smoke and Aces)
Carolina Coliseum (Columbia Inferno)
*North Charleston Coliseum (SC Stingrays)
Dorton Arena (Raleigh Icecaps)
I've seen the Fayetteville Crown Coliseum before but I'm not sure I've ever actually stepped foot in the building.
The Winston-Salem Annex is/was not a winner. Right next door is the 14k seat LJVM Coliseum which hosts Wake Forest Demon Deacons Basketball, a much nicer and more modern facility but wasn't built with Hockey in mind.
The Carolina Coliseum was an odd building for Hockey. Every seat was right above the action so those who sat in the lower seats got to sit right above the benches. This facility was once home to USC Mens and women's Basketball but they moved into the more modern Colonial Life Center in 2002. Interestingly the CLC was built to be the home of the Inferno as well but IIRC the AD at USC didn't want them playing there. They tried building a new arena in the suburbs but nothing ever got off the ground.
I am not a fan of Bojangles Coliseum, the current home of the Checkers. It's an outdated arena in a bad part of town with nothing around it. Much prefer they move back to Spectrum Center.
Dorton Arena is/was strange. Google it and you will see why.
Greensboro Coliseum is absolutely massive. It's actually bigger than the now-demolished Charlotte Coliseum.
Nothing notable about Asheville Civic Center or North Charleston Coliseum. The exterior of NCC is kind of ugly IMO. I was told it was supposed to be a nod to SC peaches.
There were a few years when my wife and I attended almost every Royals game, home or away. We missed out on some of the earlier southern teams though. New Orleans Brass, Baton Rouge Kingfish, Columbus Cottonmouths, Mobile Mystics and Macon Whoopee were all in the league in the early days of the Royals, but the Royals didn't face them prior to their folding. Those were the glory days of minor league southern hockey when the ECHL had a southeast and southwest division, and I think Roanoke and Richmond were in the northeast division to make things more even. In 2001 there were 21 teams in the league located south of the Mason-Dixon line.
On these points - first I think the new arena's name is currently the Colonial Life Arena and they changed it to that from just Colonial Center. From what I understand the reason why the Inferno didn't move there was two-fold. First, the University stated that the bonds they used to finance the arena would become taxable if any professional team were to play there (despite having originally marketed the arena as offering the ability for Columbia to try to get an arena football team as well as a better home for the Inferno). From what I understand though, the team wasn't that interested either because the seating arrangement would have been awful - like near Barclay's level of awful.
I saw many a game in the Carolina Coliseum. Other "fun" features of it were that there was no netting anywhere in the arena (as well as no seating behind the goals), no "Jumbotron" style score clock (just a simple scoreboard above each goal) and you needed an oxygen tank and a sherpa to get up to the press box. Oh and the ice wasn't regulation. IIRC it was around the dimensions of the old Boston Garden.
Forgot to add one: Bi-Lo Center in Greenville SC. Has a different name now. Good building, decent seats, nice location (Downtown Greenville is execllent for a city of its size).
Ooh yeah, forgot about that. The visiting players never really seemed to adjust well to it.