I recently had the opportunity to visit RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., for the first time and I must say I was impressed. The Carolina Hurricanes do a great job of involving the fans at all points of the evening, especially during television timeouts. There were numerous quizzes, game-show type segments, giveaways and other methods to keep the action going while there wasn't any hockey being played.
That being said, the crowd enthusiasm wasn't very high. Most of the noise was arena-generated (much like an NBA game) and the only Horn Guy (unlike the one at Verizon Center) worked for the team as part of the Storm Squad, who even have a corporate sponsorship. Most of the banners belonged to N.C. State, who play their home basketball games there and their football games across the parking lot.
The seating arrangement was fan friendly too. From my seat in the fourth row behind the visitor's penalty box (which I got for a very reasonable price), I could see that most of the seats were in fact in the lower bowl. The club level and upper deck didn't appear that big, although its capacity is 18,176 -- slightly less than the 18,398 (without the standing-room spots) of Verizon Center.
By my count, I've now visited the following arenas: Verizon Center, St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., RBC Center, First Niagara Center in Buffalo, United Center in Chicago -- and two that aren't being used any more: Capital Centre and Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey.
This reinforced that Caps fans are lucky to have such a great place to watch a home game.
January 2, 2012
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