Gary BUTTERWORTH Online

Well, I finally made it down to the Giant Center Saturday night. I haven’t been to as many arenas as a lot of people here (both in Philly, both in Hershey, Trenton, Atlantic City, Syracuse, and Norfolk. I’ve driven by about 10 more, but I don’t think that counts) so I don’t have too much to compare it too. But I’ve been to about 50 baseball stadiums and I love comparing stadiums, so I’m going to try anyway, as objectively as I can. (And I took notes on the place, so this is probably going to get long).

As much as I loved the Hersheypark Arena, I have to admit, the folks in Hershey did the Giant Center right. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but I was still really skeptical because I had heard a lot of people say that Trenton was one of the best arenas in minor league hockey and it did absolutely nothing for me (the unfinished concrete everywhere…ugh). But Hershey looks to have gone all out for the GC, and I have to hand it to them for that. Particularly, the concourses are nothing short of beautiful (and very roomy!). I also liked the fact that the sections were numbered clearly and logically, which isn’t a given (there are 3 of every section in Syracuse, in the Philly Spectrum the first level is the 200 level and at the baseball stadium in Atlantic City, sections are named after streets on a Monopoly board.) And even though the Bears a just a tenant, everything is in Bears colors and there’s even Bears stuff hanging up, which I thought was a nice touch. And the exterior, imo, must be one of the nicest in hockey. The Bears have also had some of the nicest merchandise of any team I’ve ever seen, and they finally have great places to sell it all. Seamless glass, TVs all over the concourse, cup holders, very high quality video board–all pluses. And while I’ve made just as much fun of the sushi as everyone else, you really can’t knock them for having such a great variety at the concession stands. I also thought it was cool that the luxury boxes weren’t the best seats in the place. It made me feel like the real fans are still worthwhile. I also liked the HOF banner they had up for Frank Mathers. And I thought it was pretty refreshing that the security staff wasn’t made up of a bunch of Nazis, which I’ve come to expect at new buildings. And even though I never leave the building durring a game, I liked the fact that they allowed re-entry.

That being said, I’m still a huge Hersheypark Arena fan, so here comes the required GC bashing: While the video screen is really great, the scoreboard itself is hard to read, I think. Also, there really should be game clocks behind the net. I was sitting about 4 rows from the top of the lower level in a corner, and from my point of view the scoreboard wasn’t in my field of vision and therefore I wasn’t looking at it much. Clocks behind the nets would have been great. And while I’m on the subject of the scoreboards, well, I don’t think there’s anything left to say about the commercials that hasn’t already been said. There is tons of advertising hanging up on the concourses and on the ice. I know some people don’t like that, but it doesn’t bother me because it’s not intrusive. The commercials are. Get rid of them. Also, the Bears never won a trophy that looks like the trophy hanging up on the Calder Cup banners. And why don’t the banners say Bears? I also didn’t like Avs logo at center ice, the fact that they didn’t keep up on out of town scores, or that the Zamboni door was right behind the net. It should be in a corner. Also, I thought they fixed the leg room problem, but my dad told me he expected more. I dunno. And the other real problem with the old place was the bathroom situation, which I expected to be fixed here. I didn’t think it was. Bathrooms seemed to be hard to find and I didn’t like the fact that they only had one entrance. And if they were going all out for this place which it seemed like they were, I’m kinda surprised they didn’t go for cushioned seats.

Ok, so that’s enough with the nit-picking. I did have some major gripes with the place. It’s freakin’ huge! About the only good thing about that is that it makes the safety netting not as noticable. But it’s just too big! The place was a third empty on a Saturday night in December with Philly in town and with Hersheypark open! And not only was it empty, but it was quiet! That was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen at a game in Hershey, and it completely didn’t feel like it. That electric atmosphere that was in the old place just didn’t seem to carry over. Also, the building didn’t really have intimacy of the old building, and I really liked that in the HPA. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about the AHL, being able to be right there with the players. But this is more of an NHL2 rink than an AHL rink. The GC really didn’t have any unique character either (except for the big gray walls. What’s up with them anyway? They’d look really nice with standings on them), but I that takes time to develop, so it wouldn’t really be fair to hold that against the place.

Also, I’ll admit I’m cheap. And I’m spoiled by being able to walk up to the box office in Syracuse on game night and get a seat 5 rows from the ice for 10 bucks. And that I probably have less money to spend on hockey now than most people on this board do and less than I’ll have once I get out of college. But regardless, I don’t think my ticket was worth anything near $20. And I understand that this is NHL2, and NHL2 is more expensive than AHL. But the Tampa Bay Lightning offer a 10 games for $99 ticket plan. Other NHL cities have cheap tickets too. And attendance is down throughout hockey this season. I guess charging $20 for seats like the one I had is one way of making up for it, but I really don’t think it’s the best way. All that stuff they did on the video board was cool, but it costs money, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them cut down on that kind of stuff.

So as much of a fan of the HPA as I was, I have to admit that Giant Center was done right. I’d give it an A-. But at the same time, nothing that I loved most about the old building was carried over to the new place, namely great sight lines, cheap tickets, and intimacy. Which I guess is the price of progress. To me, the tradeoffs wasn’t even close to being worth it. But I only got to a couple of hockey games a year in Hershey. And I don’t go to Hershey for concerts or other shows. When you take that kind of stuff into consideration, it might be worth it. I really hope it is because I love Hershey and I want nothing but the best for the people who live there. The building is their’s, so it’s really not my place to criticise. I’m sure I’ll make it back there at some point, but I’m really not in much of a hurry to.