Stadium tour 2019

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apr 29, 2015
6,106
2,980
Continuation of Hockey trip - Need some ideas

So we just completed another stadium tour the past week. We saw Dallas Vs. Florida (more on that in a minute), Dallas Vs. TB and Dallas Vs. Canes. Pricing for the tickets was odd to me as the Canes were the most expensive game and almost by double.

We arrived at the BB&T arena and the arena is a beautiful place to play however how the cost of running that team based off the attendance is insane to me. The crowd (And not just for Dallas games i was told) has been down a lot. During the game against Dallas the "full attendance" was in the neighborhood of 3k people total. There were an insane amount of empty seats that we could walk to any section and staff did not care that we sat in the lower bowl whatsoever. There was no outside events, bars or anything to get the fans coming to the game any sense of fun really. I am hoping we caught them on an off night and the attendance this season is actually good but by the sounds of it (by Florida fans) they were wondering how they have a team in Sunrise.
Ticket price - $31


The game in TB in the Amalie Arena was a completely different experience. There were more obnoxious drunk assholes than most other arena's we have been (or noticed) to but overall the experience was fantastic. Most fans were pretty cool and loved to talk hockey during the intermission and in game. The crowd was INSANE and very into the team and the arena itself was not bad but the outside was noticeably more updated than the inside which means squat but just thought i would throw that nugget out there. The outside experience from the bar a stones throw from the arena while 95% Lightning fans (as it should be) was a welcoming place. Price for my drink of choice of Double Whiskey w/ Diet coke was only $8 which is far cheaper that other arena's we have been to.
Ticket Price - $38

The game in N. Carolina at the PNC arena was fun, again zero outside fun for the fans with the exception of a few tailgaters. The arena is very nice and never heard a bad word from anyone when we sported our Stars jerseys. I was expecting the arena to be in a more downtown location like most others we have traveled to but it is not. It is tucked away in the trees a couple blocks from Backyard bistro which seemed to be the only place near the arena to hangout before/after the game. Overall the stadium and feel of the area was just blah to me which could of been the cold night or location of the arena.
Ticket price $58

A question i have as a takeaway from the trip in regards to ticket prices is why in the heck is ticket to the Canes $20 more than the Lightning?


Next year is going to be STL, NSH, CLB
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Continuation of Hockey trip - Need some ideas

So we just completed another stadium tour the past week. We saw Dallas Vs. Florida (more on that in a minute), Dallas Vs. TB and Dallas Vs. Canes. Pricing for the tickets was odd to me as the Canes were the most expensive game and almost by double.

We arrived at the BB&T arena and the arena is a beautiful place to play however how the cost of running that team based off the attendance is insane to me. The crowd (And not just for Dallas games i was told) has been down a lot. During the game against Dallas the "full attendance" was in the neighborhood of 3k people total. There were an insane amount of empty seats that we could walk to any section and staff did not care that we sat in the lower bowl whatsoever. There was no outside events, bars or anything to get the fans coming to the game any sense of fun really. I am hoping we caught them on an off night and the attendance this season is actually good but by the sounds of it (by Florida fans) they were wondering how they have a team in Sunrise.
Ticket price - $31


The game in TB in the Amalie Arena was a completely different experience. There were more obnoxious drunk *******s than most other arena's we have been (or noticed) to but overall the experience was fantastic. Most fans were pretty cool and loved to talk hockey during the intermission and in game. The crowd was INSANE and very into the team and the arena itself was not bad but the outside was noticeably more updated than the inside which means squat but just thought i would throw that nugget out there. The outside experience from the bar a stones throw from the arena while 95% Lightning fans (as it should be) was a welcoming place. Price for my drink of choice of Double Whiskey w/ Diet coke was only $8 which is far cheaper that other arena's we have been to.
Ticket Price - $38

The game in N. Carolina at the PNC arena was fun, again zero outside fun for the fans with the exception of a few tailgaters. The arena is very nice and never heard a bad word from anyone when we sported our Stars jerseys. I was expecting the arena to be in a more downtown location like most others we have traveled to but it is not. It is tucked away in the trees a couple blocks from Backyard bistro which seemed to be the only place near the arena to hangout before/after the game. Overall the stadium and feel of the area was just blah to me which could of been the cold night or location of the arena.
Ticket price $58

A question i have as a takeaway from the trip in regards to ticket prices is why in the heck is ticket to the Canes $20 more than the Lightning?



Next year is going to be STL, NSH, CLB

Where were your seats in both arenas and where did you purchase your tickets (direct through the teams? Secondary market?)

As for your observations about the arena you're fairly spot on. There's a couple places other than Backyard Bistro (offhand there's a couple sports bars in a few shopping centers a short drive from PNC but in walking distance, Backyard Bistro's about it), but the fact that it's not downtown and the dearth of options in walking distance is one of the reasons why we developed our tailgate culture.
 
Last edited:

Brodeur

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
25,862
15,272
San Diego
Not sure if you're a fan of junior/college hockey, but a couple of my favorite hockey trips were to Michigan.

In 2012, I saw a Michigan State@Michigan game. Definitely a fun and memorable atmosphere; I wish I had looked up what the crowd chants were ahead of time. The next day I saw London@Plymouth which featured Bo Horvat, Max Domi, Nikita Zadorov, and Tom Wilson in their draft years plus Rickard Rakell. Unfortunately Plymouth has since relocated to Flint. Unbeknownst to me, there was a U18 tournament going on in Ann Arbor that week as well. Guys like William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, and Thatcher Demko were in action. There's also an open skate on most days at Yost, which is kinda fun to say you skated on the same ice as the Michigan alumni.

In 2014, I saw a Blackhawks@Red Wings preseason game. Then the next day I crossed the border into Windsor to watch Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome play (I wish I could adequately describe the border patrol's bewildered look when I explained that I was coming to watch a game). The day after that I saw the US U18 play Youngstown in Ann Arbor. That was a stacked US club which had Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy, Colin White, Jack Roslovic and Youngstown had Kyle Connor. There were probably 100 people in attendance and probably 50 of them were NHL scouts.

But when the schedules come out in June/July, I usually take a peek and see if anything lines up where I can see a Red Wings / Wolverines / USNTDP game over a 3-4 day span.
------------

California swing should be pretty easy if you need to get Staples Center off your list. Not unusual for a visiting team to play the Kings-Sharks-Ducks over four days. You could maybe squeeze in Vegas and Arizona over the full week as well. Vegas was a fun experience for sure.

I've done a few of these sort of trips at the end of September so I could also see the baseball stadiums (currently up to 22/30 of those). Preseason ticket prices are usually dirt cheap which is nice if you don't have a rooting interest in the game, albeit the atmosphere won't be great.
 
Sep 19, 2008
372,083
23,942
yeah CISSP nice

I want to go on a stadium trip one day. I heard other people behind me at a Caps game go on one in the past, they was going all over the NE to college games and stuff. Kind of cool.

The only NHL stadium I have been to is Capital One Arena and that is it. :laugh:
 

Dr Pepper

Registered User
Dec 9, 2005
70,349
15,497
Sunny Etobicoke
Sorry you had to sit through two clunkers in the opposing team's barn....that must've been rough, even if you got the chance to check out the arena. :laugh:
 

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