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What NHL rinks have you been to a game at?

waitin425

waitin425

Registered User
Jan 10, 2009
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Let's hear it. I want to go to as many as possible in my life. Lots still left!

No particular order:

Bell Centre - Montreal
Maple Leaf Gardens - Toronto
Scotiabank Arena - Toronto
Keybank Centre - Buffalo
Amalie Arena - Tampa
Joe Louis Arena - Detroit
Little Ceasars Arena - Detroit
Rogers Place - Edmonton
Canadian Tire Centre - Ottawa
United Centre - Chicago
 
Joe Louis - Detroit -college finals (but never a Wings game there)
MCI Center - DC business trip - Caps-Wings back when the Wings were scary
Xcel Center - after moving to Minnesota - a few Wild games, 2 vs Wings.
 
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Specifically for NHL games:

KBC and the Aud - Buffalo
Maple Leaf Garden and Scotiabank Arena - Toronto
Amelie Arena - Tampa
Greensboro Coliseum and Lenovo Center - Carolina
The Igloo - Pittsburgh

I have seen NHL games back in the "neutral site game" era at a few places as well:

Copps Coliseum - Hamilton
 
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waitin425 said:
Let's hear it. I want to go to as many as possible in my life. Lots still left!

No particular order:

Bell Centre - Montreal
Maple Leaf Gardens - Toronto
Scotiabank Arena - Toronto
Keybank Centre - Buffalo
Amalie Arena - Tampa
Joe Louis Arena - Detroit
Little Ceasars Arena - Detroit
Rogers Place - Edmonton
Canadian Tire Centre - Ottawa
United Centre - Chicago
Click to expand...
My list starts out exactly as yours does. No United Center though.

Bell Centre - Montreal
Maple Leaf Gardens - Toronto
Scotiabank Arena - Toronto
Keybank Centre - Buffalo
Amalie Arena - Tampa
Joe Louis Arena - Detroit *Pistons game
Little Ceasars Arena - Detroit
Rogers Place - Edmonton
Canadian Tire Centre - Ottawa

Wild's rink in St.Paul
Saddledome - Calgary
Prudential Center - Jersey
Pepsi Center - Denver *Frozen 4 final BC vs ND
Amarant - FLA
Sharks rink in SJ
Pens rink in PIT

Oddly enough, I've seen NSH in 4 different cities, Nashville wasn't one of them and I'm not a fan of their team.

Edit:: @jetsforever liked my post and reminded me that I saw a WPG game in their barn as well.

2nd edit: TD Gardens - Boston for a playoff game vs MTL!!! Best experience I've ever had at a rink, so not sure how I forgot it.

Other rivalries I've seen:
-Leafs vs Habs several times in both TOR and MTL
-Red Sox at Yankee Stadium
-Bears in Minnesota on a Monday night
-Vasco di Gama vs Flamenco in Rio de Jeneiro. Definitely the most intense fan experience.
 
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I won't do an exhaustive list. But here's some of my experiences:

United Center in Chicago. Just an amazing atmosphere for a hockey game. This was my favourite place ever to watch hockey. The fans were full of energy and they knew their stuff.

Key Bank Center in Buffalo. As a Leafs fan, I was concerned about being in "enemy territory" for a game. But the fans in Buffalo were the best! They had friendly banter and barbs, without being rude or aggressive. I felt safe and welcome, and had a blast talking non-stop hockey to the smartest group of fans you'll ever find.
 
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  • Brendan Byrne/Continental Airlines Arena (a very unremarkable arena in an inconvenient location- only accessible by driving when it was active. It's still standing but I think it's only used as a sound stage for big concert events that play at the nearby MetLife Stadium)
  • Prudential Center (lots of personality with plenty of homages to New Jersey, the Devils, and previous acts that have played there. There's also a section with high school hockey jerseys from across the state. Good food, used to have a MUCH better beer selection, and extremely accessible both by driving and by public transit. I go there regularly from NYC via the PATH Train)
  • Wells Fargo Center (I don't remember many particulars other than I thought it was very good)
  • Madison Square Garden (kind of unimpressive, but this was prior to that big renovation a few years ago)
 
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JLA - Detroit (Their Standing Room Only was great. Cheap ticket and you were between bowls)

LCA - Detroit (Really no bad sightlines. It's steep as f***)

United Center - Chicago (Their Standing Room is ass. You're standing behind the nosebleeds, and the nosebleeds are on a 3 foot riser. You can't see shit)

Capital One Arena - Washington (Nothing really memorable. It was cool that the arena was set in the middle of the city and "Blended in")

Wells Fargo - Philadelphia (I feel like in playoffs it'd be fun. It's way off by itself so the parking is spread out rather than a garage. Could probably tailgate)

Nationwide Arena - Columbus (Nothing special. Bought tickets behind the cannon without realizing it's the one spot where you can't really see the cannon)

PPG Paints - Pittsburgh (I actually really liked the the concourses blend right into the arena. So you can pretty much get food, sit at a bartop, and still see the ice)

Scotiabank - Toronto (Probably the worst arena I've been to. They were doing construction in the concourse, but even when completed I can't imagine it'll fix the problem. The concourses are painfully narrow for 20,000 people)

KeyBank Center - Buffalo (Decent arena. Dirt cheap ticket because they suck. Probably the best team store of any arena I've been to. It's big and open so you're not cramped in with everybody)
 
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Canada Life Centre
Ball Arena
Xcel Energy Center
Honda Center
Rogers Arena
Crypto.com Arena
Amalie Arena
TD Garden

Xcel by far my favourite rink. Maybe my only criticism is 200 level concourse feels a bit “steerage class” compared to 100. Otherwise a beautiful facility, not a bad seat, amazingly friendly staff and fans.

Amalie Arena is gorgeous, beautiful entrance plaza, beautiful concourse, great concessions.

Crypto.com is cool but the vibe is… a bit sterile? Has a bit of a warehouse feel to it, don’t know how else to describe. Ripoff concessions. Great sightlines in the lower bowl, though.

Rogers Arena, Ball Arena, Honda Center all unremarkable. Wasn’t a bad experience at any of those rinks, but nothing that wowed me. TD Garden I went to in 1996 (FleetCenter!) and it was state of the art back then, not sure how it has held up over the years.

Canada Life Centre is my “home” arena, been to hundreds of NHL games there. Lots wrong with it - location, cramped, bit of a poverty feel compared to arenas like Amalie or Xcel - but to me the sightlines and the feeling of being on top of the action are second to none. Concessions are cheap relative to any other NHL rink I’ve been to.
 
Boston Garden - BOS
Bell Centre - MTL
Civic Arena/The Igloo - PIT
Capital One - WSH
Bridgestone Arena - NSH
Philips Arena - ATL
Hartford Civic Center - HFD
Greensboro Coliseum - CAR
Lenovo Center - CAR
Amalie Arena - TB
Carter-Finley Stadium - CAR (stadium series)

Also I've been to MSG for the Big East tourney, but haven't caught a Rangers game there.
 
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Scotiabank Arena
Canadian Tire Centre
Rogers Arena
Rogers Place
Rexall Place
Scotiabank Saddledome
Crypto.com Arena
Honda Center
Gila River Arena
T-Mobile Arena
Climate Pledge Arena

Best: Rogers Place, T-Mobile Arena
Worst: Saddledome (purely age-related)
Overrated: Crypto.com Arena, Scotiabank Arena
Underrated: Canadian Tire Centre, Gila River Arena (both suffer most from geography)
 
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Great arenas I'd love to visit everyone! I have a buddy up in Winnipeg, so may need to make a trip for some ice fishing and check out their barn. I feel like Vegas is doable as well as it is such a tourist destination and I can probably convince my wife to go.

Forgot to add to my OP that I saw the Red Wings and Leafs at the Big House for the winter classic, but that doesn't really count!

Curious to see if anyone has been to all 32.
 
Three, for two different teams, and also in this order:

America West Arena (as it was then called, I forgot what it's called now)
Gila River Arena (also as it was then called, I forgot what it's called now)
Amalie Arena

AWA kind of sucked since it wasn't built to accommodate hockey. I also sat in one of the restricted view seats for a playoff game, and while the ticket was dirt cheap ($9.50 if I recall, back in 2002), it wasn't worth it and sucked.

Gila River Arena was nice, just a pain to get to from where I lived at the time.

Amalie Arena is similarly nice. No real comment on accessibility since I don't actually live in the metro area it's in, but I will say it's somewhat convenient to get to from where I live, even though it is a drive of nearly 3 hours (depending on traffic).
 
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Seattle
Vancouver
LA
Anaheim
Minnesota
Detroit (both Joe Louis and Little Caesars)

Been to TD Garden and MSG, but only for basketball. Would eventually like to see more of the Canadian arenas, especially Montreal.
 
On an unrelated note, I'm up to 28/30 of the MLB parks. Unfortunately NHL arenas don't quite have the same charm. Off the top of my head:

Staples Center/Crypto: Been to countless Kings games over the years, but happened to go to the first Kings game when Staples opened in October 1999. Never did make it to the Forum, although comically when I was younger my dad forbade me from going since he claimed gang members would shoot me for cheering for the other team.

Honda Center: closest NHL to me, notably went to Games 4/6 of the 2003 SCF.

SAP Center: couple of Devils@Sharks games and a Ducks@Sharks game
Rogers Arena: 2009 Sharks@Canucks preseason + 2019 Draft
Prudential Center: I try to get to a Devils home game every other year if possible
Madison Square Garden: Oddly I've seen more basketball games (3) than hockey games (1)
Barclays Center: Devils/Islanders preseason before the Isles used it as a home rink
Joe Louis Arena: Blackhawks@Red Wings preseason game
Capital One Arena: Preds@Caps preseason game, oddly I've seen two WWE events in that arena
T-Mobile Arena: couple Devils@Knights games, and then my buddy had an extra ticket for 2023 SCF G1
American Airlines Arena: still mad at JetBlue, had a flight cancelled and my friend was going to surprise me with glass seats for a Devils@Stars game. Went to Devils@Stars the following season but was still bitter.
TD Garden: I've seen two Devils@Bruins games, Devils got shut out both games. Saw 2022 Frozen Four semifinals.
Mullett Arena / whoever sponsored their Glendale arena at the time: I think I saw three Devils@Coyotes games over the years, plus a Kings@Coyotes game before Royal Rumble 2013.
ClimatePledge: Caught Devils/Kraken in 2023

Xcel Energy Center: 2011 Draft, not sure that counts
Enterprise Arena (probably a different sponsor now): 2015 Draft
United Center: 2017 Draft plus a random Bulls game
The Sphere: 2024 Draft

Dodger Stadium: Ducks/Kings outdoor game
Yankee Stadium: took a red eye after the Dodger Stadium game and caught Devils/Rangers the next day

And then caught college games at Yost (Michigan) and Conte (BC). Saw a USHL game in Ann Arbor between Youngstown (Kyle Connor) and the USNTDP (Matthews/M.Tkachuk/McAvoy) among others. The day before that I crossed the border to watch Erie (McDavid/D.Strome/DeBrincat) play in Windsor. Caught an OHL game between now defunct Plymouth (Wilson/Noesen) and London (Domi/Horvat/Zadorov) in 2012. Saw Arizona State host the USNTDP (Keller/Oettinger/Fox) in a meager rink before they got the current barn. Caught WHL games in Seattle/Portland. Took a field trip last month to catch the U18 semifinals in Frisco. And I'll usually catch an AHL game or two with the San Diego Gulls every season.
 
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