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 Thursday, October 21
Kings fans impressed by new arena
 
Associated Press

  LOS ANGELES -- At the opening faceoff, it was immediately obvious there was something special going on -- almost all the fans, habitually late-arriving Southern Californians, were actually in their seats.

Staples Center arena
The Kings, front, and the Bruins line up for the national anthem during the inaugural game at the Staples Center.

The Staples Center, a $375 million, 1 million-square foot facility that is the most expensive arena ever built, made its sports debut Wednesday night with the Los Angeles Kings skating to a 2-2 tie with the Boston Bruins.

The sleek building, featuring chrome, airy lobbies and terrazzo floors, got mostly good reviews.

"I'm kind of a traditionalist, thought I would prefer the Forum, but this is great," said Alec Elizondo, standing on a patio with a striking view of the L.A. skyline.

"I wasn't sure about this, but I'm already a convert. I guess that was pretty fast," Elizondo said 30 minutes before the game started.

Suzie Oltmann also was impressed.

"The sight lines here are very good, much better than at the Forum," she said. "And the place is just beautiful."

Before the game, spotlights panned around the sellout crowd of some 18,500, lasers danced wildly on the roof beams, and there were some rather dinky fireworks. Broadway star Davis Gaines sang the national anthem.

Not everybody was thrilled about the move from the Forum in Inglewood, the Kings' home for 32 years.

"I spent three hours getting here from Torrance; I was 15 minutes from the Forum. The parking here was atrocious," said Lonnie Sneed, a hockey dad whose sons both played the game in college.

"It only took me about 35 minutes to drive into town, but the traffic was really bad on the street and it took me more than an hour to get into the lot. Then I had to walk the three blocks and get into the arena. And the parking was $15; I paid $7 at the Forum and didn't have to walk as far."

Sneed said his seats were in the third row from the top in the arena and cost $18.50, about the same price he paid at the Forum.

Parking aside, Sneed gave the arena his stamp of approval.

"I had about the same seats at the Forum as I'm sitting in here, but was farther from the ice," he said. "These new arenas are much more vertical, and you feel like you're right over the ice."

Staples Center also is the new home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, and will be the site of the Democratic National Convention and the Grammy Awards.
 


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