Photo TR: Scott's Ongoing Sports Venue Thread

[AllenA07]

I was happy to hear that the Dodgers have moved their triple A team back to Albuquerque (my parents live out there, so I'm in the area on a semi-regular basis) this season. I figure that it isn't the same as watching my beloved Dodgers, but at least I can go check out some of our prospects.

[Jew]

Another awesome TR. I haven't been to a minor league game since the Lancaster Jethawks first moved to Lancaster. This TR reminded me why I need to go to another one!

[mcjaco]

I used to go to the Louisville Riverbats (now just the Bats), when a friend lived down there. It was a given, that when I visited we'd go to a game.

 

At one point their outfield was Dunn, Kearns, and a rehabing Deion Sanders. It was awesome.

[BeemerBoy]

^ That's the other cool thing about the minors. It's great to occasionally see some Major Leaguers rehabbing, and also watch former players work their way up through the system again, this time as managers. We got to know Buck Showalter pretty well when he started out as the Fort Lauderdale Yankees manager in Single A, so it was great to see him reach the level of success he has.

 

Chattanooga's manager is former BoSox infielder, John Valentin. Also, Ryne Sandberg is now the Tennessee Smokies manager. I loved watching the great shortstops of the 80's - Ryno, Ripken, Trammel, Ozzie.

[larrygator]

^You must have been watching Cubs games in the mirror as Ryno played on the other side of the infield. Or did he play SS in the Minors?

 

I also much prefer minor league games to major league games. I go to a couple of Staten Island Yankee games a year. Rookie League and most of the kids will never pan out, but fun to cheer on kids who appreciate the accolades while living on a couple of hundred dollars per week.

[BeemerBoy]

^ LOL. Ooops, yeah, the other side of the bag, but still part of the double play combo. I'll wake up sometime this morning.

[bigstevet07]

Great report Scott. I too love going to minor league games. We have the Omaha Royals here. The best promotion ever is their Thirsty Thursday promotion. Every Thursday game is dollar beers. Beer prices for regular games aren't bad either. I believe they are 5.50 for a 24 ounce beer.

 

That ballpark seems really nice for a minor league club. It looks like they draw very well. The Royals play in Rosenblatt which is also the home of the College World Series. (at least until 2011) The Royals draw around 4,000-5,000 a night, but it looks empty because they play in a 24,000 seat venue. I am looking forward to the Royals moving to a smaller ballpark later which will make it more intmate.

 

Awesome Mallrats reference by the way. Its easily one of my favorite comedies.

[mcjaco]

^You must have been watching Cubs games in the mirror as Ryno played on the other side of the infield. Or did he play SS in the Minors?

 

I want to say he started at 3B, but I could be wrong.

 

Jody Davis is managing the Daytona Cubs now, too.

[AllenA07]

^You must have been watching Cubs games in the mirror as Ryno played on the other side of the infield. Or did he play SS in the Minors?

 

I want to say he started at 3B, but I could be wrong.

 

Jody Davis is managing the Daytona Cubs now, too.

 

I believe you're right, he did start at 3rd base.

[carolinacaniac]

Scott,

 

I had seen a similar contest at a Durham Bulls (Triple A for Tampa Bay) game once. I think they had planned to do it later in the game, but they had an hour rain delay, so they had the contest then, but they used hula-hoops, and I believe the prize was something like a free meal at a resturant if your ball stopped inside one of the hoops.

 

On another note, Minor Leauge teams do have the best promotions. I went to see the Kinston Indians (Single A for Cleveland) once and they had a deal where if the Indians caught an opposing player stealing, you could buy small soft-drinks for a quarter each for the rest of the half of the inning.

 

How far is the Gwinnett team from Turner Field? I don't know if it would hurt that much unless the location is really close. The Mariners have their Short Season A team (Everett Aquasox) and Triple A team (Tacoma Rainers) within half an hour to 45 minutes of Safeco Field.

 

-Gary T.

[Hotlanta]

How far is the Gwinnett team from Turner Field? I don't know if it would hurt that much unless the location is really close. The Mariners have their Short Season A team (Everett Aquasox) and Triple A team (Tacoma Rainers) within half an hour to 45 minutes of Safeco Field.

-Gary T.

 

It's about 35 miles (give or take a few) from downtown Atlanta where Turner Field is. But most of the Braves fans do live in the northern counties where the Gwinnett Braves are now located and traffic is crazy coming into Atlanta from those northern suburbs. You probably experienced that traffic if you ever came into Atlanta from North Carolina.

[carolinacaniac]

I have once, when we were there last August and I went to pick up some Felini's (spelling?) Pizza, traffic was nuts that day. Other times, it may have been crowded, but not necessarily bumper-to-bumper.

 

-Gary T.

[BeemerBoy]

Folks, I'm thinking there should probably be a special guest spot in this thread from time to time. This week's spot definitely has to go to Jason, and his report on Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium & Oriole Park at Camden Yards! Seriously, check it out.

 

 

 

The Miami Arena & the History of Hockey in South Florida 1988 - 1998

 

The Miami Arena was built in downtown Miami as a house for the expansion Miami Heat basketball team in 1988. However, seeing as I was a Celtics fan, I only saw a couple games a year there....when the Celts were in town.

 

And considering I never brought my camera those times, there's no basketball material to show. I do have plenty of hockey memories from the arena though. So, as the title suggests, I'll try to show the highlights of the history of the Florida Panthers at the arena.

 

In the history of sports stadiums and arenas, I suppose the Miami Arena would probably fall somewhere between the cookie cutter concrete donuts of the '60's and '70's and the recent wave of modern sports facilities.

 

You could say it was the perfect transitioning place. Honestly, as I think back on it, there's not a lot to say about the place, and at the same time I have nothing but praise for the old girl.

 

As with any new place, when it was built, it was a showpiece for the city. Upon closer inspection, as compared to today's arenas, you'd notice that it was actually just a no-frills kind of place.

 

It had your typical first generation jumbotron scoreboard, some scoring update things at either end (where today's video rings around each level would be), and a short row of "luxury" boxes on either side of the arena. However, those "luxury" boxes were located near the roof, and were anything but luxurious by today's standards!

 

My praise for the place comes from actually watching a game there. While the arena itself was pretty blah, it served its purpose perfectly. Sure, there was limited food and beer choices, and not much else on the concourses, BUT, for a hockey game, it turned out to be the perfect arena. It seated 14,696, which is only a couple hundred more than the Boston Garden.....and you know how I felt about that place.

 

Because of the smaller crowd, you never felt too far from the action on the ice. Another added benefit was that the place got LOUD when it wanted too.

 

As for the downside of the Miami Arena, there was one obvious problem...location, location, location. Sure it was only a half hour trip from my house, but it also meant a trip into Overtown, and past Liberty City. And no, the grass wasn't green and the girl weren't pretty there either.

 

Let's put it this way, it would have been very easy to not only catch a hockey game, but also buy a bag of crack, a stolen 9mm, and take part in a drive-by shooting. Seriously, the surrounding area was flat out scary. Because of this, my routine was to park my car a "reasonably" safe MetroRail station and take the 10-15 ride in from there.

 

I'll post a few "establishing" shots, then we'll go into the Panthers part.

And here we have an aerial view of the arena's former location. Looks nice from above, huh? Trust me, it wasn't back in the day. As you can see, it's really not far from the American Airlines Arena (or AAA, or just that place with the shadowed image of a huge plane on it), where the Miami Heat play.

 

In the bottom right corner is Bayside Marina and Marketplace, the main highway at the top of the picture leads to South Beach, and you can also see the MetroRail tracks to the left of the oval arena.

Okay, here's a sexier stolen pic from Google images.

This would be a shot from the MetroRail station. Ignore that huge piece of the roof that's missing. It's tough to find good pictures of this place anymore. As you might have imagined, it no longer exists.

[BeemerBoy]

Okay, I had a SERIOUS love/hate relationship with the Florida Panthers. I still hate the last wave of expansion and "stolen" hockey teams, but I couldn't help but love that the NHL was moving into my backyard.

 

When Wayne Huizenga announced his intentions to build a team, I can guarantee you that the only people excited were northern transplants who grew up rooting for their hometown teams, and the handful of freaks like me who grew up watching it on ESPN whenever possible.

 

Tampa Bay had already been established to the north, but it still amazes me that the sport ever got off the ground in Florida. While I never did, and never will root for the Panthers, it was quite an experience to watch a professional team grow from the ground up.

 

From hearing the official announcement of a team, to the unveiling of the sweaters, to the first training camp, the first official game, and all the way through the improbably run at the Cup Finals, it was something I'll never forget, and definitely something I was proud to be a small part of. I still hate the Panthers and their fans though.

 

 

I'll try and let the pics help tell the story from here.

"Stay cool, kids. Thanks for viewing, and hope you enjoyed!"

And unfortunately we wind this down on an unfortunate note. Oddly enough, the Miami Arena is one of only five arenas since 1976 that have hosted a Stanley Cup winning game that is no longer around.

Hey, this pic looks familiar.

I'm in love. But no longer with that sweater. Ray Bourque is a traitor. Yeah, I said it.

I was then awarded the Cup in front of my many fans.

Don't look at the Cup. Just notice the reverence that is paid by the onlookers no matter where this thing goes.

But wait, what's this? Well, it's fairly obvious really. That's the real deal being shown off at a promotional stop one day in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

And one last look at the action. This also typifies the South Florida fanbase. Notice the time on the clock? Yep, that's right, 15.9 seconds remaining in regulation of a 0-0 tie game with the faceoff deep in your own team's zone.

 

What is everyone doing? Yep, sitting in their seats. Sigh.

 

 

Unfortunately I've misplaced the second half on my pics from this night which included the hoisting of Lord Stanley's Cup and team photo with it. I know, FAIL on my part....for now anyway.

Roy with the routine blocker save.

A faceoff deep in the Nordiques zone.

NOISE.

Continue standing. We're not finished yet. Thank you.

Please stand and remove your hats for the playing of our National Anthem.

The view from my seat before the opening faceoff. What is he doing here, you ask? Well, the starters on the team have a ritual of tapping the goalie's pads for good luck. It varies with each team and each individual player, but it's cool to see.

John Saunders on the left, Darren Pang on the right, and the owner of the best mullet on television, Barry Melrose!

 

I miss the NHL on ESPN sooooooo much.

More of the same.

Patrick Roy warming up before Game 4.

I took a real risk here. When the series matchup was set, I gambled and bought a ticket for Game 4. This puppy cost me $300, and I secretly hoped that either of the teams would sweep. Granted, I actually didn't want either team to win anything, but I didn't have a say in it.

 

I got lucky, as the Nordiques swept the Panthers, and this turned out to be the Cup winning game! I also got to sit in the section next to the Nordiques players' families which was cool to see and hear their emotions throughout the marathon game.

And finally it was time for the Finals against the Nordiques.

This is the program from the third round against the Pens. I wasn't able to attend any of the games in the second round against the Flyers. Steve, we won't discuss how that series went either.

Fast forward to '95-'96. This was the program for their first ever playoff series vs. my beloved Bruins. We won't discuss any further how that series turned out.

And a view from our seats that game.

And I proved it by looking like a fool. However, I was sporting my Hockey Canada windbreaker which was worn on the plane by a friend of mine in the Leafs organization that traveled with the national team for the Summit Series!

 

I still treasure that jacket.

I was very happy at this moment in time.

But that's not true.

Looking at this picture would appear that he couldn't stop a darn thing.

And an aging Wendel Clark.

Along with a young Mats Sundin.

And there's the man himself!

 

Not to mention, the bada$$ Tie Domi.

Redemption time....my favorite hockey ticket, featuring my favorite goalie ever. No, seriously. Felix "the cat" Potvin is my favorite goalie of all time. I used to emulate his style in net.

Including this one from Opening Night '97. I included this one for a couple reasons. First, it may be the most awkward sized ticket ever, and secondly, it proudly displays the worst "new" logo in the history of sports....the "Gorton's Fisherman" of the New York Islanders. Luckily, he didn't last *too* long.

Oh, but here's a small sampling of ticket stubs from the many games I caught at the arena over the years.

Finally, opening night was upon us! This is the program from that game. I can't figure out where I put my ticet stub though....and it's killing me.

Okay, here's the original seating chart. This is where the Miami Arena was awesome! See those "Panther Pack" seats? If I remember correctly, they were at least the last 5 rows of the upper deck, and they went on sale for $8 the day of the game.

 

This made it very reasonable to catch as many games as I wanted without feeling like I was watching the game from another area code, like in some of the newer places in comparable seats.

 

Thankfully, until the Panther band wagon finally caught steam, these tickets were easy to purchase just by showing up at my local TicketMaster location at 10am the morning of the game (remember kids, this was before Al Gore invented the internet for the masses).

At least the second part did. Ever wonder how the ice surface is formed? The answer is in there.

I really thought this scan would turn out better. Sorry about that.

The aforementioned Mark Fitzpatrick. He proved to be a pretty solid backup to Beezer

....this blurry shot is important. See, a picture of a bee, with the letter "z" after it? Get it?

And here's a blurry look at it. He was nicknamed "Beezer," which is why.....

John Vanbiesbrouck in net at the first training camp. This guy's mask is one of the more famous ones over the years.

The really cool thing about having the new team in town was that all the practices and training camp sessions were open to the public.

 

They started out practicing at a local ice rink in Pompano, but here's your first look at the overview of Miami Arena with ice.

 

The practices at the local rink were great! Since they really had no true "fans" yet, generally only a dozen or so hockey die hards would show up. It was pretty cool to get to know some of the players before the first season got underway.

 

I can remember sitting on the front steps with Rob Niedermayer right before he signed his contract after being the franchise's first draft pick at number 5 overall.

 

He said, "I'm kind of tired of taking a cab back and forth from here." I looked at him and said, "Dude, something tells me that might change real soon."

 

He went on to date the only supermodel I ever lusted after...Niki Taylor. I think he also won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks, but that's insignificant.

This was handed out at a big presentation one day at the arena. It was sort of like a fan appreciation/ media day of sorts.

This was a contest to design the new team's uniforms. I thought Miami Moccasins would've sounded good. Oh well. I'm actually not sure if the name Florida Panthers came from this contest or not.

 

I do know that the actual Florida Panther, as in the endangered species which really does inhabit some parts of Florida, got a lot of attention and charitable donations due to the naming of the team. I was happy about that.

Then things started to fall into place. For those unaware, Disney originally owned the Anaheim Ducks, as they're now called. Unfortunately, Emilio Estevez starred in a craptastic kids movie which inspired the equally craptastic name "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim."

 

(Still shaking head on that one)

And a quick look at the rosters for that one.

A look at the stub from the other exhibition game played there. Sorry, no pics of that one. But there were two hilarious Boston fans sitting near me that kept yelling, "We got Beers" everytime Bob Beers touched the puck. Ah, good times.

And finally one last shot of Sean Burke making the save at the top of the crease.

What are the chances the phrase, "your mom" was uttered?

"Seriously, are we really in Miami right now?"

Okay, now for the true question of the night.....did this shot hit the back of the net, the post, or go wide? Post your thoughts, and I'll give you the answer later.

More Sean Burke for ya. For as tall as this guy was, I always thought he was pretty solid in net.

Mark Fitzpatrick, who would ironically go on to play for the Panthers just a few years later.

 

Oh, "glove save and a beauty!"

Sean Burke with the sliding save.

"Dude, what the h-e-double hockey sticks are we doing in Miami?"

Islander captain, Patrick Flatley. His brother went on to become the Lord of the Dance.

 

 

 

 

Part of that may be false.

When I found out about this game, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I quickly grabbed seats on the glass!

And here's my ticket from that evening. Let's see if anyone can figure out that signature. Hint: only the die hard Islanders fans, and true hockey nuts in attendance recognized him as he was walking around the arena.

Back when Miami was lobbying for a team, they held two exhibition games at the Miami Arena. The first was between the NY Islanders and the Hartford Whalers. These were the pins given out at that first hockey game ever in the arena.

[ParkTrips]

I'll never forget them throwing rats on the ice.

[bigstevet07]

Thanks for not talking about that series. I almost completely blocked it out of my memory since the Beezer was so dominant against them.

 

I didn't know that they had a different arena other than American Airlines. I've only been to Miami once before and that was November of 07.

[BeemerBoy]

^^ Yeah, I've tried to forget about that. The first several times were *clever* maybe, but after a while it just became stupid, and killed the flow of the game.

 

^ They actually moved into their own arena in Broward County, out near the edge of the Everglades in 1998. It's now called theBank Atlantic Center. The place is nice, but it feels more like an airport than an arena to me.

[carolinacaniac]

Never heard of an arena being compared to an airport before, what makes it seem that way to you?

 

-Gary T.

[Sean Menefee]

All of the hockey nostalgia is much appreciated. I've played the game since I was old enough to skate, and watched it even longer. It's always nice to find other theme park nerds that are even BIGGER hockey nerds.

 

BTW The Panthers stuff made me think of their 96' playoff game against Boston:

 

 

Last but not least.... useless hockey knowledge for anyone interested:

 

Sacramento had an RHI team called the River Rats back in the mid 90's (Anyone else remember the RHI other then me?) that also had a "Rat Patrol" clean up crew for their home games.

 

Thanks for all of the photos again!

 

-Sean "Wasn't a huge fan of the rats due to it messing with the flow of the games!" Menefee

[BeemerBoy]

^^ Gary, it's kind of tough to describe. On my first visit there, that was just the first thought that popped into my mind when my brother and I walked in the doors. I turned to him and said, "doesn't this place seem more like an airport or something?"

 

I guess it's just the design, and the overall feel of the place that reminded me of a really nice modern airport rather than a hockey arena. Admittedly, I know the intention was to build a modern multi-purpose arena, and not just an ice rink, but the feeling there is just too "sterile," I guess.

 

It's a really nice place, and a great place for concerts (I've seen Paul McCartney, Springsteen, Buffet, and Aerosmith there, and the acoustics are great!), but as for a hockey arena, the place just seems too plush and laid back. The atmosphere just isn't right, in my opinion.

 

 

^ Thanks, Sean.

 

Huge hockey nerd? Yep, guilty as charged. I definitely miss playing the game. Here where I live now there's nowhere to skate, and even if there were, the knees are slowly starting to show signs of all the wear and tear over the years.

 

I didn't remember Sacramento having the River Rats, but I did remember the Albany River Rats. And yeah, that Florida gimmick wore REAL thin with me pretty quick. I'd say that probably 90% of the South Florida fans really only wanted to attend the games just to throw a stupid rubber rat on the ice. It was a clever marketing idea for Orkin to sponsor the "clean up crew," but that's all the praise I'm willing to give. Grrr.

 

I can't view that YouTube clip here at work, but if it is what I think it is, I just might puke. Bill "effing" Lindsay isn't involved, is he?

 

Anyway, glad you guys enjoyed it!

[bigstevet07]

Do we need to take away all your shoelaces now?

 

At least Boston is looking stronger than they have in a very long time.

[AllenA07]

That game four that year is what really made me into a die hard hockey fan. I remember having to convince my parents to let me stay up past my bed time, and telling them that it's just overtime, it'll be over soon. Several hours later watching Uwe Krupp nail the winning shot, amazing. I had watched hockey before that (I watched the Rangers win it and had no clue what was going on) and was learning the sport but it wasn't really until that season I had learned enough of the sport to really follow it.

 

It is great seeing some of those old players who have since hung up the skates. Felix Potvin will always hold a special place in my heart after the 02 playoffs. Down 3-0 in the game (and 2-0 in the series) the Kings scored 3 goals in five minutes against the Red Wings, and ended up taking the series in 6 games. Potvin kept us alive in that game and in that series. Took Colorado to 7 games that year, which is pretty decent seeing as how they went on to win the cup that year.

[BeemerBoy]

^^ hehe.

 

Okay, I was just able to finally watch that video. (Sean, there's plenty of room on the B's bandwagon for ya.)

 

What's funny though is that Lindsay was in it, but it wasn't even the goal I was thinking of. Oddly enough, i just spent a few minutes searching for it, and could only find a small picture of the moment. Considering it's still, to this day, probably the defining moment in franchise history (they just refer to it as "The Goal"), there's very little to be found about it on teh internets.

 

Basically, it was the series clincher in Game 5. Lindsay was sprinting down the right side of the ice, made a sick move and turned Ray Bourque inside out, drove towards the net, got tripped up and still put it home past Ranford.

 

I watched it all from the far end, and can still remember just putting my head in my hands afterward. After the game, when we were exiting, I obviously heard it from the fans (note: probably since I like to dish out my fair share of good-natured trash talk), but one dbag decided to walk up behind me and shove the back of my head, saying, "whatcha think about that?"

 

I whipped around, grabbed him by the neck, shoved him against the wall, and said, "Congrats on a great game. I hope you do well the remainder of the playoffs. Have a great evening, and drive home safely" (or something like that). His buddies and another Bruins fan next to me broke us up luckily before security saw us... or before I was able to pull his sweater over his head and start landing uppercuts. Ahh, good times.

 

 

One more side note:

 

I happened to meet Bill Lindsay the very next offseason as he and Kirk Muller brought a speedboat to the marina I was working at. I recognized both of them immediately, and as a strange coincidence, was wearing a B's hat that day. After they both thanked me, I looked at Lindsay and jokingly said, "Dude, you're still on my S**tlist."

 

Both laughed pretty hard, and we ended up talking hockey for the next half hour or so. I still say that NHLers are still the most approachable and friendly professional athletes around.

 

^ Allen, that's cool to hear your story about that game! Honestly, it was the most unreal game I've ever been to. I've never left being so mentally and physically drained just from watching a game as I was that night.

 

It was surreal how tense the overall mood in the arena got as the game wore on. In between periods, people just looked exhausted. And while play was going on, all you could think of was how one weird bounce could mean the Cup for Quebec. And after the first OT, I secretly found myself rooting for 'em just so I could see it happen.

 

When Krupp's shot hit the net, I can't even explain how crazy the Nordiques' families went. It was insane, and such a HUGE relief.....and in some crazy way, probably for the Florida fans as well. I knew I'd only have the cash for one Finals game, and boy did I luck out with the one I picked!

[Hilltopper39]

Barry Melrose!!! yeah thats about all I know about Hockey.

I've never understood how a profesional hockey team makes it in the south, Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, or Miami. I mean if no one there plays hockey, and kids dont grow up learning hockey and there aren't any hockey teams in schools how can you learn the sport or appreciate it. I've been to several Nashville Predators games which were a lot of fun because there are hard hits and fights but I had no idea what was really going on and I'm pretty sure no one around me in the crowd did either. I guess there are enough 'northern transplants', as you put it, in those cities to support a team. I'll just stick to football and Horse Racing.

 

This is an awesome thread, one of these days I need to get around to doing a Trip report of some of the sporting venues I've been too, and some of the ones I've played in too. I've got some pretty cool pictures in the locker at the Swamp somewhere, if I can find em.

[Hotlanta]

So Scott are you excited to go see the fins at Jimmy Buffett's Loanshark Stadium?

 

Oops i mean Landshark.