EmKingsFan4
Starter
I actually posted the USA Today article that Greg wrote in the NBA thread, but it's always nice to hear someone compliment our wonderful Sac-town fans, so I thought I'd post this too. I never really thought of having a new arena because the fans deserve it...for some reason it never crossed my mind....it always seemed to be about keeping the Kings in Sac...but I think we deserve the best arena in the league for being the best fans in the league...
Ailene Voisin: Kings fans earn high marks on arena tour
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 17, 2005
Greg Boeck is a journalist, not a fan. He admits to being jaded, travel-weary and professionally cleansed of any and all rooting interests. Yet in an attempt to discover how the other half lives - those who purchase their own tickets, concessions and travel arrangements to NBA games, etc. - USA Today's senior writer went arena-hopping for 124 days, traveling an exhausting 43,000 miles by air and by auto.
He really needed that chair massage and margarita in San Antonio's SBC Center. He enjoyed the waitress service in Denver's Pepsi Center. He refused to patronize the barber shop in Indiana's Conseco Fieldhouse but characterized a stroll along the memorabilia-framed concourses as "a grand experience."
And when he visited Arco Arena for a Jan. 18 game between the Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers, he was bummed by the building but overwhelmed by the crowd.
"The fans in Sacramento are great," Boeck concluded, "but the arena kind of (stinks)."
Given the author's expansive view of such matters - and with an ear to the ongoing discussions/negotiations for a new home court for the Kings - it seemed reasonable to probe a little deeper, to solicit the perspective of a distinctly distant voice. And Boeck, who ranked all 29 NBA venues in five categories (seat, fan involvement, entertainment, concessions and parking), graciously obliged.
Acknowledging that his methodology is largely subjective, he admits to favoring the newer models, especially those with modern amenities in places such as San Antonio, Indianapolis, Denver and Atlanta, along with renovated America West Arena in Phoenix and the steeply configured Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
But Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., coincidentally, the only non-renovated facility older than Arco Arena? Boeck endorses a move to Brooklyn. Staples Center? Too many seats, too few true fans. The Palace in Auburn Hills? Built the same year as Arco, but aging gracefully. One man's opinion of Arco, in fact, can be be summarized as a somewhat contrasting, if consistent theme: He loved the people but hated the building.
"Sacramento ranked eighth, which is pretty high," he said, "but that was only because the fans rated an almost perfect 6.0 under fan involvement. That overcame a lot of the other deficiencies."
As he tells his story: Boeck drove into the grounds about 75 minutes before tipoff, paid $8 for parking and $38 for a ticket, which was as close as he could get to his $50 limit. He then spent the ensuing hour touring the premises, walking the concourses and chatting with patrons and employees alike.
"It obviously strikes you, when you have been to places like Conseco and most of the others, that Arco is one of those cookie-cutter facilities built in the 1980s," he said. "The lines were too long and the concourses were crowded. I didn't think they had enough concession stands. All the food was the same. Most places I went sold different kinds of foreign beers and offered plenty of ethnic food. I also noticed that, in contrast to some arenas, a $38 seat was in the upper level, not the lower bowl."
Initially upon entering the arena itself, Boeck was offended by the sign touting the local loyalists as "the best fans in the NBA" - as so anointed in a previous Sports Illustrated study.
"I thought that was a little arrogant," he said. "You're not supposed to pat yourself on the back. But I have to tell you ... they lived up to it and more. Overwhelmingly, that game was the best experience as a fan. They love their Kings ... they love it!"
Boeck tells of seeing ushers dancing and cheering in the aisles. He mentions bumping into folks with faces painted purple. He marvels at the enthusiasm for a midseason game against a lousy opponent.
But what most impressed was the noise level. He vowed never to visit again without earplugs.
"You get swept up in it," Boeck said, "and the decibel level is far and away the best in the league. I woke up the next morning and the fans were still ringing in my ears. This wasn't quite up there with Game 7 against the Lakers (2002), but people were really into it.
"The guy I sat next to went out of his way to say, 'This is it, man. This is our team. There is nobody else.' And what people might not realize is that Sacramento fans really know basketball. They know when to cheer, how to cheer. This is not a corporate crowd."
In a more general overview of his journey, Boeck learned that fans "like the NBA experience more than the players. They like the theater and entertainment of attending games. They think most of the players are spoiled brats, with most of that reserved for the younger kids coming in.
"They feel they're out there punching a clock instead of playing sports. Also, the decibel level appears to be coming down. For a few years it was revolting. In most arenas now, it is not as earsplitting. And it seems like the marketing people are going back to presenting basketball first and entertainment second."
His final thoughts? Offerings? Suggestions?
"Speaking as a fan and not a journalist who has been around a hundred years," said Boeck, "I think Sacramento needs a new arena for the fans who are the most supportive in the league. Have them walk into the SBC Center, Conseco, Memphis. They don't know what they don't have. "Give them a new arena, with seats still close to the floor, throw in wider concourses, better food, shorter lines, more comfortable seats, and you hit a home run. Right now I give Sacramento a double."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12741921p-13593598c.html
Ailene Voisin: Kings fans earn high marks on arena tour
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 17, 2005
Greg Boeck is a journalist, not a fan. He admits to being jaded, travel-weary and professionally cleansed of any and all rooting interests. Yet in an attempt to discover how the other half lives - those who purchase their own tickets, concessions and travel arrangements to NBA games, etc. - USA Today's senior writer went arena-hopping for 124 days, traveling an exhausting 43,000 miles by air and by auto.
He really needed that chair massage and margarita in San Antonio's SBC Center. He enjoyed the waitress service in Denver's Pepsi Center. He refused to patronize the barber shop in Indiana's Conseco Fieldhouse but characterized a stroll along the memorabilia-framed concourses as "a grand experience."
And when he visited Arco Arena for a Jan. 18 game between the Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers, he was bummed by the building but overwhelmed by the crowd.
"The fans in Sacramento are great," Boeck concluded, "but the arena kind of (stinks)."
Given the author's expansive view of such matters - and with an ear to the ongoing discussions/negotiations for a new home court for the Kings - it seemed reasonable to probe a little deeper, to solicit the perspective of a distinctly distant voice. And Boeck, who ranked all 29 NBA venues in five categories (seat, fan involvement, entertainment, concessions and parking), graciously obliged.
Acknowledging that his methodology is largely subjective, he admits to favoring the newer models, especially those with modern amenities in places such as San Antonio, Indianapolis, Denver and Atlanta, along with renovated America West Arena in Phoenix and the steeply configured Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
But Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., coincidentally, the only non-renovated facility older than Arco Arena? Boeck endorses a move to Brooklyn. Staples Center? Too many seats, too few true fans. The Palace in Auburn Hills? Built the same year as Arco, but aging gracefully. One man's opinion of Arco, in fact, can be be summarized as a somewhat contrasting, if consistent theme: He loved the people but hated the building.
"Sacramento ranked eighth, which is pretty high," he said, "but that was only because the fans rated an almost perfect 6.0 under fan involvement. That overcame a lot of the other deficiencies."
As he tells his story: Boeck drove into the grounds about 75 minutes before tipoff, paid $8 for parking and $38 for a ticket, which was as close as he could get to his $50 limit. He then spent the ensuing hour touring the premises, walking the concourses and chatting with patrons and employees alike.
"It obviously strikes you, when you have been to places like Conseco and most of the others, that Arco is one of those cookie-cutter facilities built in the 1980s," he said. "The lines were too long and the concourses were crowded. I didn't think they had enough concession stands. All the food was the same. Most places I went sold different kinds of foreign beers and offered plenty of ethnic food. I also noticed that, in contrast to some arenas, a $38 seat was in the upper level, not the lower bowl."
Initially upon entering the arena itself, Boeck was offended by the sign touting the local loyalists as "the best fans in the NBA" - as so anointed in a previous Sports Illustrated study.
"I thought that was a little arrogant," he said. "You're not supposed to pat yourself on the back. But I have to tell you ... they lived up to it and more. Overwhelmingly, that game was the best experience as a fan. They love their Kings ... they love it!"
Boeck tells of seeing ushers dancing and cheering in the aisles. He mentions bumping into folks with faces painted purple. He marvels at the enthusiasm for a midseason game against a lousy opponent.
But what most impressed was the noise level. He vowed never to visit again without earplugs.
"You get swept up in it," Boeck said, "and the decibel level is far and away the best in the league. I woke up the next morning and the fans were still ringing in my ears. This wasn't quite up there with Game 7 against the Lakers (2002), but people were really into it.
"The guy I sat next to went out of his way to say, 'This is it, man. This is our team. There is nobody else.' And what people might not realize is that Sacramento fans really know basketball. They know when to cheer, how to cheer. This is not a corporate crowd."
In a more general overview of his journey, Boeck learned that fans "like the NBA experience more than the players. They like the theater and entertainment of attending games. They think most of the players are spoiled brats, with most of that reserved for the younger kids coming in.
"They feel they're out there punching a clock instead of playing sports. Also, the decibel level appears to be coming down. For a few years it was revolting. In most arenas now, it is not as earsplitting. And it seems like the marketing people are going back to presenting basketball first and entertainment second."
His final thoughts? Offerings? Suggestions?
"Speaking as a fan and not a journalist who has been around a hundred years," said Boeck, "I think Sacramento needs a new arena for the fans who are the most supportive in the league. Have them walk into the SBC Center, Conseco, Memphis. They don't know what they don't have. "Give them a new arena, with seats still close to the floor, throw in wider concourses, better food, shorter lines, more comfortable seats, and you hit a home run. Right now I give Sacramento a double."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12741921p-13593598c.html
