Best/Worst Stadium Experiences

Always remember my visit to Quebec City and Le Colisee with the Kings. When the cabbie figured out we didn't speak French, he did a power slide down a hill ... sideways. Then he dropped us on the wrong side of the arena from the media entrance. We had to walk halfway round in the snow. After the game, after getting quotes in the Kings locker room, we wanted to go into the Nordiques locker room. They were on opposite sides of the arena, both near the red line. I asked the usher where the Nordiques locker room was, he pointed to the other side of the ice. How do we get there? He pointed to the door onto the ice. We walked right across the ice about a half hour after the game and I didn't fall down.

 

Almost forgot to mention my north of the border experiences. BC Stadium or whatever its called lacks personality, but I loved a day game at Nat Bailey Stadium. Classic old school minor league park - also loved the Civic stadium former home of the Eugene Emeralds with the old wooden grandstand.

 

Loved the old Civic. Spent a lot of pretty wonderful summer nights there, either working or as a fan.

Don't think it's been mentioned yet but the old Kingdome was a complete dump. Hated that place.

I think the NFL experience in person is pretty terrible to begin with, but Cardinals games in Sun Devil Stadium were their own circle of hell.

 

The best thing about Sun Devil stadium is the walk up to from downtown - not too far and plenty of opportunities for refills along the route.

 

Surely the Checkerdome and its catwalk press box belongs on the shit list.

 

For pure scenic beauty, plus visiting a unique and vital school and part of American history, Michie Stadium at West Point in October as the leaves turn is tough to beat.

 

Where was Scott Mellanby when you needed him?

 

Not so good if you got sent out there as "overflow press" for September/October games during some of the pennant races in the 1980s and found out how long those old Radio Shack TRS-80 batteries would function in 38-degree weather. (Not too long.)

I just imagine covering old NFL playoff games in the 1950s in late December up in those open boxes.

 

The coldest I have ever been covering an event was Harvard-Yale at the Yale Bowl. Press box there is open air front and back because Yale figures you writers should've had a raccoon coat and a flask like Granny Rice did. A windy day in late November New England. Whee!

 

I don’t have a lot to compare it too but absolutely loved the field house in Indy when I did a basketball road trip in 2001. Great crowd and sight lines.

 

When I was in college I covered a March baseball game at the old Alex Box Stadium at LSU. It was one of those nasty southern nights when a front has just moved through, the temperature is about 40 degrees, and the wind is howling. In this case the wind was coming straight out of center field at about 20 mph and press row was just a long wood counter in the top row of the metal grandstand.
The game took about four hours to play. I had to go walk back across campus to the paper's office, and it took about 20 minutes just to get my fingers warm enough to type.