News Article: 2015 outdoor game: Sharks "expected" to host game in 14-15 (news update in post #90)

[LadyStanley]

is there a reason why Brodie is claiming that the game will be at Levi's? Does the Feb 21 date pose a schedulign conflict for AT&T?

Nope.

Sharks have road game 2/19, so would have to forego "traditional" day-after-return day off for skating and media.

3/7 vs Canucks looks interesting (and they return from road three days before -- against Canucks).

 

[vatali]

Hotel was still reasonable at the Hilton across from the stadium for that weekend, so I booked it this morning. Waiting for the official announcement before I book air. Now only if I knew a community where I could get a single ticket for the game....

I can't imagine it will be very hard to get one, and its worth it to fly in for it.

 

[ChompChomp]

Nope.

Sharks have road game 2/19, so would have to forego "traditional" day-after-return day off for skating and media.

3/7 vs Canucks looks interesting (and they return from road three days before -- against Canucks).

As I said in the main board, 2/26 against Detroit still works, and before you say it won't happen because it is a weekday, last season they had two outdoor games (the NYR games) on weekdays. I wouldn't put it past the NHL ("Your Consolation Classic game won't even be on a Saturday, bwahahaha"). Not saying it's gonna happen, but it certainly can. There's also a long layoff before that game to let media do their thing (Sharks last game before DET 2/26 game is on Sat 2/21, Wings play on 2/24 in LA).

And if we are talking about weekend home dates in Jan/Feb/March, you can't dismiss 1/31 (Sat, day before SB) vs. Hawks. That's the end of a long home stand for Sharks, so they'll home. Only downside is that the Hawks are on tail end of a back to back.

 

[Buddy The Elf]

Cool now we get to watch our soon to be butchered team get clowned on national TV, outdoors in the bay area.

Hey, it happened to the Kings this year and it worked out ok. The Kings couldn't even score a dang goal.

Levi's Stadium is my hope. (1) Having attended two outdoor games, football stadiums provide much better hockey sightlines than baseball-only parks. (2) It will be easier and likely cheaper to get tickets at a larger venue. (3) It will generate more revenue for the NHL.

I agree. I went to the first Winter Classic in Buffalo and then last year's Stadium Series at Dodger Stadium. I like the location and the actual venue of the baseball stadium better in this case. I haven't been to the football field up there (probably because I don't think it is even open yet.. haha) but the baseball stadium is cool and in a great location.

Anyway, I hope it is Kings and Sharks but I'll probably go regardless.

 

[Leidi J]

Looks like it'll be the game we've all expected (Feb21 v. LA) at Levi's stadium. I would have liked to have seen what a rink at AT&T would have looked like... but Levi's is gorgeous and brand new and I'm cool with that too.

Did Ticketmaster spoil details for Sharks, Kings NHL Stadium Series game?
...
But it would appear the details are more concrete than that. On Saturday, for all of three hours, you could purchase tickets at Ticketmaster to the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, a Saturday, February 21 game between the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks at Levi's Stadium.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...game-160855472.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

 

[Hertl]

Levi's is more suited for a hockey game (seating wise), though I would've loved the ocean view.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Looks like it'll be the game we've all expected (Feb21 v. LA) at Levi's stadium. I would have liked to have seen what a rink at AT&T would have looked like... but Levi's is gorgeous and brand new and I'm cool with that too.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...game-160855472.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

Interesting... AT&T Park would have been better because of the McCovey Cove in my opinion, but money, money, money...

 

[Hertl]

I just realized that we'll get like 2 minutes of behind the scenes footage. YES! We'll never get Winter Classic HBO coverage but this will do.

 

[Iron Chef]

I used to be on Team AT&T Park for this event, but after attending the inaugural event at Levi's last night, I now think that holding it at Levi's is the right decision. The sight lines are fantastic. As much as I love the idea of having hockey played with an ocean back drop, the reality is that most people in the park don't actually see the ocean.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

I used to be on Team AT&T Park for this event, but after attending the inaugural event at Levi's last night, I now think that holding it at Levi's is the right decision. The sight lines are fantastic. As much as I love the idea of having hockey played with an ocean back drop, the reality is that most people in the park don't actually see the ocean.

It sounded like it was hell to get in and out of the stadium. Was it really that bad?

 

[Mafoofoo]

I just realized that we'll get like 2 minutes of behind the scenes footage. YES! We'll never get Winter Classic HBO coverage but this will do.

It's gonna be everyone ignoring one another in a silent lockerroom.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Interesting... AT&T Park would have been better because of the McCovey Cove in my opinion, but money, money, money...

27,000 more seats. Can't blame them.

 

[Coily]

It's gonna be everyone ignoring one another in a silent lockerroom.

 

[SJGoalie32]

It sounded like it was hell to get in and out of the stadium. Was it really that bad?

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and just say it wasn't great.

Some people had better/far worse experiences than others, so it wasn't a universal nightmare. There will be some things that will be surely be fixed as people learn how to get in/out. I remember having some difficulty with parking at Pac Bell Park at first. Now 14 years in, I know how to park for free and be on the freeway within 20 mins.

There are definitely some things that can and need to be improved upon, especially long delays on public transportation leaving the stadium (looking at you VTA) and running out of many kinds of food at concession stands (seriously, you're a sports stadium.....how do you run out of sausages before even halftime?). I don't think some of those problems are going to be there long-term, but then again, a lot of this stuff should have been easily forseen long ago and wasn't addressed (especially inadequate public transit).

Took me 1hr:45mins to get home from Levi's to (basically) Great Mall via light rail. Pathetic compared to what the 49ers & Santa Clara were advertising it would be, but not really any worse than Candlestick. Getting out of Candlestick/49ers parking lots each of last 3 games I attended took between 2.5-3 hours, including the extra drive down 101. This was basically the same (though much prefer being stuck idly in a line at Great America over Hunter's Point). If you bought into the 49ers hype, you were furious. If you're a skeptic like me who assumed Candlestick level gridlock, it was a wash.

 

[Iron Chef]

It sounded like it was hell to get in and out of the stadium. Was it really that bad?

It wasn't a great experience taking light rail after the game, but that's why the Quakes even got the honor of inaugural game, so that they could test these things. They'll get things fixed. The VTA had workers at various stations to assess how packed the trains were going up to Levi's. I know that they are going to have to increase the length of the trains to avoid the sardining of passengers.

Same thing for the way back. They should have trains upon trains parked and ready to load passengers back to back.

 

[LadyStanley]

1st event

2nd know they all need to improve

3rd they'll have a full NFL season to work out some/most of the kinks. (Apparently, they plan to have various parking areas set up for specific "coming from" parts for STH. Now sure how they'll be able to work that for a "one off" event.

4th NHL and the Sharks will be working to ensure things run better as well.

 

[Gilligans Island]

It wasn't a great experience taking light rail after the game, but that's why the Quakes even got the honor of inaugural game, so that they could test these things. They'll get things fixed. The VTA had workers at various stations to assess how packed the trains were going up to Levi's. I know that they are going to have to increase the length of the trains to avoid the sardining of passengers.

Same thing for the way back. They should have trains upon trains parked and ready to load passengers back to back.

Apparently VTA is still building the storage area for extra trains (the area between Old Ironsides and Great America Parkway). That's supposed to be done before the Broncos game on the 17th.

Once that's done, VTA should have more capacity. Also, I heard they ran 2-car trains and should be running 3-car trains (50% more capacity per run).

Why VTA and the City of Santa Clara waited until the end of the project to do this expansion is questionable.

 

[vatali]

The hotel there (the Hilton and Hyatt) are still fairly reasonable. is there any better walking distance between the 2?

I now have to set my reality in place that is it going to be 200-400 for my single ticket and suck that up. This one game trip is going to set me back nicely. thanks NHL!

 

[LadyStanley]

The hotel there (the Hilton and Hyatt) are still fairly reasonable. is there any better walking distance between the 2?

I now have to set my reality in place that is it going to be 200-400 for my single ticket and suck that up. This one game trip is going to set me back nicely. thanks NHL!

There are other hotel options on the VTA line, should you want to "stay" a bit further away and travel to the game. (Like 1st street in SJ)

 

[PredragD]

It sounded like it was hell to get in and out of the stadium. Was it really that bad?

I went to Saturday's MLS game, and the prevailing opinion was they were unadequately prepared in many facets (parking, transportation, concessions, etc.). This might be appalling considering they did not even open up the 300 and 400 sections, but the event was essentially a dress rehearsal for the venue by hosting a "minor" event.

I avoided the parking crunch by basically doing everything they tried to warn folks NOT to do. I went in the opposite direction of suggested parking traffic flow off the freeway and found plentiful street parking in a neighborhood within a mile of the stadium. There were some signs warning against parking in residential areas, but if you drive far enough, the signs (and police presence) disappear.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

I went to Saturday's MLS game, and the prevailing opinion was they were unadequately prepared in many facets (parking, transportation, concessions, etc.). This might be appalling considering they did not even open up the 300 and 400 sections, but the event was essentially a dress rehearsal for the venue by hosting a "minor" event.

I avoided the parking crunch by basically doing everything they tried to warn folks NOT to do. I went in the opposite direction of suggested parking traffic flow off the freeway and found plentiful street parking in a neighborhood within a mile of the stadium. There were some signs warning against parking in residential areas, but if you drive far enough, the signs (and police presence) disappear.

So it was YOU that pisses off all those people in the SJ side on the news?

 

[Berto2k]

I was one of the ones who had to wait over an hour to get on my light rail train to come south to Santa Teresa station. Horrible.

 

[Ninja Hertl]

Apparently VTA is still building the storage area for extra trains (the area between Old Ironsides and Great America Parkway). That's supposed to be done before the Broncos game on the 17th.

Once that's done, VTA should have more capacity. Also, I heard they ran 2-car trains and should be running 3-car trains (50% more capacity per run).

Why VTA and the City of Santa Clara waited until the end of the project to do this expansion is questionable.

The entire history of the VTA is questionable

 

[sharksohnoes!]

I was one of the ones that had a flawless experience at Levi's on Saturday. We parked in Red lot #6. Prepaid for the parking, got there around 4:30 and drove right in. The lot is the golf course there and we were specifically parked in the driving range which was the closest lot within that particular lot to Great America Parkway. We were able to get out and to 237 within 15 minutes after the game. We didn't leave early or anything. I can see how it was a massive cluster F because there was ONE dirt dirt road leading out of the lot. I'm sure it took FOREVER for people parked deeper in to get out.

The in stadium experience was great. Never waited more than 5 minutes for food or beer. Nice wide concourse so you weren't bumping into people. Like others have said, great sight lines. Quakes won to top it off so it was a great experience.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Didn't Caltrain have major issues when AT&T Park first opened? They seem to have gotten better over time. I'm sure Levi's and VTA will too get better. Hopefully before all the big events start like Wrestlemania and The Super Bowl.