John W. Davis writes:
 
>I've seen a number of games at the St. Paul Civic Center.  Having
>been stuck in the upper deck everytime I've went there, I could only
>speculate the lower seats are much like at the Great Dane.  Plus
>the see-through boards are pretty weird!
 
The plexiglass boards are gone, for better or worse.  More room for
advertising on the new, conventional ones.  Sight lines are worse for seats
close to the ice, no real change for higher seats.
 
>And now on to the best hockey arena in the Nation (I've heard this
>from numerous people).  The Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI.  This
>place was built for hockey and hockey only.  Nevermind that the
>Yucks (oops-Bucks) and Marquette play BBall there.  Man what
>an atmosphere and not a bad seat in the house.  I was at the 1993
>Phinal PHour.  Our seats were in the upper deck about four rows
>from the top in the corner and I still saw the shot that
>went off the post in the final minute of the game (I forget
>which LSSU player fired it).  When WI plays the place is packed
>and covered in RED.  At the 1991 Badger Showdown, WI beat
>then number 1 Maine 3-2 or 4-3 (I forget) and the crowd
>was LOUD!  18,500 maniacs can be quite intimidating!!!!
 
I gotta dissent here a little bit, though I do like the place.  Like other
large, modern arenas with a row of luxury boxes above the lower-level seats,
the upper-level seats are too far away from the playing surface.  We were at
the 1993 championship game, and had a great view of the top of the
scoreboard.  :-)  Otherwise, seats and sightlines are good (if you're not a
mile from the ice), food is good, and the ice quality appears to be
top-notch.  I'm told that there is room for Olympic-size ice, but it hasn't
been done yet.  True?
 
Also, great Thai food withing walking distance (The King and I).  Yum.
 
Bradley Center could be the best LARGE hockey arena, but for total quality
you've got to get a look at Mariucci Arena.  I hate to brag too much about
the home rink, but it's really that good.
 
>Opposing coaches love this place so much that UMD gave up
>a home date to play WI in a regular season game there next
>FEB.  And to top it off, the drinks flow freely (but far from
>free) and the food is awesome, for those attending the Showdown
>in a few weeks check out the stand that sells the mexican
>food.  WOW!  Try the nachos supreme and the jalopena poppers!
 
I think the biggest reason UMD moved a game there is the extra $$ they'll
take in from the increased attendance.  Their home arena, the DECC, only
holds about 5,400.  It's an interesting experiment.  Two seasons ago, St.
Cloud moved one of their home games against the Gophers to Target Center in
downtown Minneapolis.  It wasn't part of the St. Cloud season ticket
package, and they had a hard time filling the place up.
 
I read last week that there were still ~3000 tickets available for the
Badger Showdown.  Are they having trouble selling it out this year?  Too
close to whatever bowl game Bucky is in?
 
-- Erik