Category Archives: Phantoms Hockey

Maybe. 

If you’ve been keeping up with local events, you know that the arena project is currently on hiatus pending legal proceedings from local municipalities, challenging the rules, economics, and mechanics of the “zone” created to fund the arena project.  It’s not clear as of this morning if they’ve passed the “drop dead” date which would prevent hockey from starting in the fall of 2013 as planned.  Negotiations are ongoing, as they say. 

But, you might be able to buy tickets soon.  An email arrived in Kram’s Korner this morning announcing the upcoming pre-sale for hockey season tickets.  The ticket office will be open soon.   The text of the email is below, and you can add yourself to the season ticket list by visiting www.phantomsarena.com .

I assume that details, such as seating charts, pricing, package options, and “what happens if this whole thing falls through?” will be answered in the coming weeks.  Check back here in NoiseNation for further details as they become available!

Email text:

PHANTOMS SALES OFFICE COMING SOON! 

Jim and Rob Brooks—of the Brooks Group from Pittsburgh–are the owners and partners of the group that will bring AHL Hockey to Allentown.  From accounts that I’ve read, they have received a favorable lease agreement which should allow them to be successful.  I’ve chosen not to comment on the propriety of the arena project, the choice of location, and the tax scheme used to finance it.  I didn’t get a say in these decisions (nor a vote) and what’s done is done.  At this point, I can only cheer for success—failure won’t help anyone.  The rising tide floats all boats, as they say.   Based on my recent hockey “research” (I’m not a REAL hockey fan, yet)—and my experience as an IronPigs season ticket holder (2009-2014)—I offer the following letter:

Dear Jim and Rob,

Thank you for your plan to bring AHL hockey to the Lehigh Valley.  Given the success of the IronPigs and the proximity to Philadelphia, along with the favorable nature of your deal, I have confidence that you will be successful in this endeavor.  However, given the advantages that you’ve been granted, it is my opinion that all of the Lehigh Valley—maybe even all of Pennsylvania—and not just Allentown, have a stake in your success.  Given that stake, as a fan of professional sports and a potential season ticket holder, I offer the following “DO’s” and “DON’Ts” to assist you. I understand that you did not ask for this advice, but that’s never stopped me before.

DO:                 Invest in parking and travel solutions.  This includes space, instruction, staff, publicity, planning, and anything else that’s needed.  Consider buying or renting busses to help shuttle groups if necessary.  Consider a valet option.  I’m serious about this.  Your detractors have already decided that this is going to be a failure, so my suggestion is to over-compensate with solutions, and publicize them every chance you get from now until after the end of the 2013-2014 hockey season.  You cannot risk growing pains here.  The IronPigs had some early difficulty, but were able to overcome it.  Even if it’s ‘not that bad’ many will perceive it to be bad simply based on this preconception. 

DON’T:           Count on concerts to fill the arena.  I’m sure you’ll get some, but with the area festivals (Musikfest, Allentown Fair, Mayfair) and other venues (Sands/ArtsQuest, State Theater, Stabler, even Penn’s Peak) you’ll have plenty of competition for acts.

DO:                 Consider a sports co-tenant.  I suggest MILS if the Steelhawks are not amenable to a move from Stabler.  Soccer is huge in this area for the youth.  Youth teams will provide an excellent source of group revenue.  I believe Syracuse is able to host both MILS and AHL at the same facility.  Erie hosts UIFL Football, OHL Hockey, and NBA-D-league basketball.  I guess lacrosse (Wilkes Barre – Scranton has it) would be my last choice, as the market is probably smallest.

DO:                 Make sure it’s NICE.  Nothing will kill this thing faster than if it feels cheap or poorly done—even if you do master the parking problem.  There will be a curiosity factor, but folks aren’t going to make a second trip downtown unless they feel comfortable.  This includes the parking and driving above, but also the appearance and comfort of everything from the seats to the restrooms and every amenity in between.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Coca Cola Park won ballpark design awards as well as set attendance records.  The two are related.  Just ask the Yankees, who are taking the whole year to remodel PNC in Moosic.

DON’T:           Skimp on the A/V.  Technology is moving quickly.  Whatever you buy will be obsolete soon.  But, you won’t want to replace it right away, either.  Go ahead and get the biggest video board(s) you can afford, as well as the best sound system.  Overspend here. It will pay off in the end. 

DO:                 Keep it family friendly.  I’ll probably be there anyway, but my whole crew isn’t trekking down there for games if we’re not comfortable and having fun both in and out of the arena.  Something about the way Reading did it was more kid-friendly compared with WB-Scranton.

DON’T:           Lose the Philadelphia connection.  Based on the number of Flyers jerseys that I saw in Reading—and despite my own affinity for the Penguins—the built-in number of Philadelphia hockey fans will provide you with a nice base right off the bat. 

DO:                 Get in touch with the AHL about realignment.  They won’t respond to my emails, but I’m sure you can see that as many games as possible with WB-S/Hershey/Binghamton will drive attendance as well as save on travel expenses.

DON’T:           Neglect the concessions.  A wide variety of choices will keep folks coming back to eat and drink as well as to enjoy the hockey experience.  Plus it’s a nice way to make a few bucks, too, eh?

DO:                 Dedicate extra staff to group sales.  Group sales is what really fills the park every night for baseball.  Don’t neglect it if you want the seats full.  This is also how you attract the casual fan, and convert him/her into repeat customers as well as season ticket holders.  This is also a way to assure prove the safety of the neighborhood and the ease of travel and parking.

DO:                 Consider conventions and meetings as a method of using the facility, if appropriate.

DON’T:           Worry about the vuvuzelas.  Let ‘em in from the beginning and people will be used to them.  Works in Reading. 

In closing, I’d just like to say, “Take care of the fans, and the fans will take care of you.”

Kindest regards,

Kram(section TBD)

Last Friday, the boys and I made another hockey trip—all in the name of research.  This time we visited the Sovereign Center in Reading for “Pint Glass Night” last Friday.  Here’s a bullet summary of our trip, along with a couple pictures and a few observations.  I’m planning to apply some of this to what I expect, what I hope, and what I recommend for Allentown—but that will come another day.

View From Our Seats

• Tickets.  I purchased my tickets on the internet through the Royals web site affiliated with Ticketmaster.  Our seats were center ice, higher up than before, but not in the less expensive zone (I let one of the kids pick them this time).  Each ticket was $19.50.  Plus, $1.00 EACH for “facility fee.”  Plus, $6.15 EACH for “convenience fee.”  Plus $2.15 once for the order for “processing.”  That’s not all!  I declined the $2.50 EACH for “printing fee” for my own printer, opting to stand in line at will-call instead.  I also declined the $7.00 EACH for “insurance,” in case we weren’t able to attend the game.  In the end, I paid $82.10 for three $19.50 tickets.  When we picked up the tickets at the will-call table, the young man asked me if I had purchased the tickets online.  When I responded that I had, he encouraged me to call the ticket office on the phone next time to save all the fees (save the $2.15 processing).  Will do!
• The trip to Reading seemed easier despite the rush hour traffic on 222 and my poor choice of routes within the Reading city limits.  It took exactly the same amount of time as the Wilkes-Barre trip; without the traffic and driving errors it would have been shorter.  GPS doesn’t take into account “lights” and “other cars.”
• Parking was easy at a garage across the street.  It was $5 even though I read on the internet to expect $8-$10.  Super-short walk.  Well lit.  No problem at all.
• Based on what I read and saw on the internet, I was expecting the Sovereign Center to be a somewhat “lesser” facility.  Let me just say that it wasn’t at all.  It seemed cleaner and better lit and friendlier than the Mohegan Sun.  There were more and better concessions.  The seating was better.  The video board was nicer (the arena is two years newer, I believe) but located at the end rather than on the scoreboards.  I suppose then you need only one.  It was hard to look at and watch, though.

Our View of the Board

• On the way in, I received a small slip of paper.  It was my “ticket” for my free pint glass, which I could receive on the way out.  I did.  It’s nice.  Standard fare.
• The seating at the Sovereign was a complete oval, whereas the Mohegan was a capped-U.  While I believe the capacities were similar, the seating at the Sovereign felt closer to the ice (despite the difference in my seating location—I mean in general).  An added benefit was the 360-degree concourse, which was convenient for perusing the concessions.
• I was told shortly before the game that the Reading Royals are owned by the same team (Finley/Stein) that owns the Reading Phillies (and Lehigh Valley IronPigs…).  Indeed the game had a similar feel to the Reading Phillies games I’ve been to.  I think the PA announcer was the same guy.  I didn’t recognize any ushers, though.
• There wasn’t a “club level” per se.  My section was labeled “club,” but there was nothing “club” about it as far as I could tell.  There were two special bars, one at ice level—below concourse level–and one at suite level—above concourse level.  We didn’t check out either; although I found out after the fact that both should have been open to all ticket holders.  Access was not well marked and they were not well promoted.  Plus, I had the kiddos with me.
• Quick word on concessions:  Nice!  Grilled Stickies, Wraps, Soups, Coffees, Stadium Food, BBQ (I had a brisket sandwich.  Yum!), Yuengling bar, Stoudt’s bar, Ice Cream.  
• Royals won with 0.1 seconds on the clock in overtime.  I let slip to Mrs. Kram via phone on the way home that we intend to get Phantoms’ season tickets (I thought she knew…looks like just two seats then), but the kids are hooked.  They really enjoyed it again, and I didn’t have to drag them to go (I would have gone with just one kid or by myself if need be). 
• The Hockey:  ECHL is “AA” to AHL’s “AAA.”  I think I could tell (remember I’m not really a hockey guy) as pucks were jumping over sticks a lot more, and players were less quick to get off a good shot when it looked like they had one—just couldn’t pull the trigger a bunch of times.  My older kid said he could “tell” because they were “sloppier.”  Maybe.  Happy to have AHL anyway, with Trenton as Philly’s ECHL team.
• The crowd:  attendance was reported as 3900 or so.  It did seem about half full, or a little better.  There were more kids, compared with Wilkes-Barre, and it did have that more family-friendly feel that we are used to from R-Phils and IronPigs.  The crowd seemed more into it and louder than up north.  Perhaps it was the bells and the vuvuzelas.  (I’m not kidding)

So there it is.  I’ll have more about the Allentown Arena and the coming of AHL hockey to the Lehigh Valley in the weeks ahead.

Background:

I’ve been to only two hockey games before, and my kids have been to none. I once attended a college hockey game—I think at Penn State (that period of my life is a little hazy). We were right behind one of the goals, right on the “glass.” The action in front of us was compelling, but at the other end of the ice we could see nothing. A few years later, I attended a Hartford Whalers game (when they existed) where I was invited to sit in a “sky box.” We were a long way from the ice, but the amenities were very nice. Also, the ability to look down on the play and see the whole ice at once—compared with SD TV at the time—was beautiful. What we experienced in Wilkes Barre may only resemble what is to come in Allentown as much as the old PNC resembled Coca Cola Park. But still, here is our report:

Tickets:

The Penguins had home games both Friday and Saturday nights, and we were free both evenings. The weather was a little questionable for Saturday—plus it was bobblehead night and tickets were harder to come by—so we picked Friday. I set about studying the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza to decide where to sit relative to the ice and the arena concessions. In the course of my studies, I discovered a banner ad at the bottom of a web page. It read, “Ticket Exchange. Buy/Sell Club Seats from Season Ticket Holders. Arena Approved and Endorsed.” I immediately clicked on it. I discovered that I needed a Penguins Ticket Exchange account. Ahh. I probably need to be a ticket holder to participate. ‘Create Account’ was an option, so I pressed on. Once I had my account, I selected my game. Then, clicked on [BUY] of the [BUY]/[SELL] option. Next thing, I had five choices of “Club Level” seats from which to choose. I needed three tickets, so I quickly just picked the choice that had three seats, as the ones with four would have wasted a seat—and there’s NO WAY Mrs. Kram wanted to go along. (She thinks she doesn’t like hockey.) Not observing where the seats were located was a mistake, as you’ll see below.

This is the kind of ticket exchange that I have proposed in the past for the IronPigs. In this case, it was run by Ticketmaster, and did include fees. However, I cannot say that the fees were any more than what I would have paid with Ticketmaster anyway. The seat price was fair; all choices were the same. I’m not sure what those seats usually go for, as they are not offered as single-game that I could see, but what I paid seemed to be within reason.

Game Day:

By now I realized where the seats were located. The kids were given some instructions about the game:

1. We’re in the middle of a row of 20. You will not be up and down to the bathroom and the concessions except for      between periods.
2. We are right behind the penalty boxes. Do not heckle the players in the box. They are likely to NOT be in a good mood.
3. Despite our affinity for the Penguins, we will not be purchasing jerseys and hats at the store.
4. You may sample concessions as you like and without limit (see rule 1) so long as you don’t get sick in my car on the way home. (Side note: at the IronPigs games they have rules about the amount and kind of food they are allowed to order because of the sheer cost of eating there every single game.)

Travel: 

The trip up was a familiar 1-hour trek which felt similar to trips to the SWB Yankees as well as the Kirby Center on the square in Wilkes Barre. The arena is located across the street from the Wyoming Valley Mall—an old haunt from my youth. In fact, my GPS took me right through the mall parking lot to get to the arena. Parking, in and out was easy and straight forward. The $5 parking fee is “included in the price of the tickets for hockey” according to the web site. This was accurate, as we didn’t have to pay anything. Club season ticket holders are entitled to preferred parking, but a pass was not included with my tickets so we parked in the regular lot.

“From the Club Level”

We explored the arena a bit on arrival, observing the concession choices and finding our seats. The Club seats are located at center ice directly across from the benches, and behind the official’s area and the penalty boxes. The seats are “padded and two inches wider” boasted the web site. They reminded me of average movie seats, compared with hard plastic elsewhere in the arena.

OK, so our row wasn't crowded

There were no pictures of a “club” on the web sites of either the Penguins or the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. But, there was mention of a private area. We set out in search. Directly behind the club seats was private access to the restroom facilities and concessions which also open to the concourse on the opposite side. Down a bit, I thought I saw something that resembled a “club,” but it was a bar area called “Stix”—a Grand Illusion indeed. An attendant who wasn’t happy to see kids headed into the bar was able to direct us to the “club.” We were to walk half-way around, take the elevator to the lower level, go through the double doors on the right, past the curtain, check with the fellow at the podium, through another curtain, and there it is. OK, then.

Ahh, the comforts of home...

We did find it, passing players and media on our journey through the bowels of the arena. It was a private room in the basement. It was nicely decorated and had a full bar as well as a “gourmet food” station (think: Pig Stop). It was very quiet. We decided not to eat there, but I ordered a beverage and we relaxed on the comfortable furniture in front of the (fake) fireplace to watch some ESPN on one of the 6 or 8 flat screens. Before my beverage was finished, the kids wanted to move on. “We can do this at home,” they said. They were correct. The area seemed not so useful, but could have been handy if there was business or socialization that needed to occur prior to a game. I imagine the game was on some of the screens during play. Luxury boxes were on the upper level accessible by elevator. We did not attempt to access them.

From what I’ve read, the “club” area at the Allentown Arena at Pawlowski Place will be above the club seats. It will be a restaurant on non-game nights, and for the club ticket holders on game nights. That is only what I’ve heard, though, and obviously could change. It would work a lot better and would allow for higher pricing, I guess.

Concessions:

Concessions were plentiful and as varied as usual stadium food goes. There was a Sonic location within the arena, which was interesting. It was dollar dog and draft night, so one could go up to the window and get 4 hot dogs and 2 drafts for $6. Many did just that. My kids sampled the hot dogs and nachos and fries and ice cream and candy without complaint. There was a “signature sandwich” available called the “Roast Beast.” I was all over that. It was roast beef au jus with bacon-flavored cheese on an onion roll over a bed of crab-fried chips. It was odd-tasting, but I didn’t have trouble finishing it. The dollar drafts included most every draft beer available as far as I could tell, with the usual two-per limit from 6PM to 7:30PM (7:05 game time.) Miller Lite and Yuengling were available near me, but a local brewery (Lion) had a window as well. I’m not sure if they participated in the dollar draft night. The drafts appeared to be 12-oz cups, but increased to 16-oz cups when the price reverted to its normal $6 at 7:31.

The Game: The Monarchs scored first several seconds into the game. The Penguins answered a minute later. Two goals in less than two minutes! Who says hockey is low-scoring!?

The score early on...

The Penguins went on to score three more before the Monarchs changed goalies. No further goals were scored as the home team held on to the 4-1 win. The view from our seats was poor. We were too low, and had to look through two layers of Plexiglas and dividers at the action. It was impressive to observe the speed and skill of the game from that close, but ultimately it was unsatisfying.

Our view...

Near the end of the game, as we went to the restroom at the top of the level and watched the end of the game from there, my youngest said—unprovoked—“Wow! This is A LOT better!”

"This is A LOT Better!"

From the ticket charts, I estimated about 75% of seats were sold, but observed fewer—more like 60%–in attendance. Perhaps it was the threat of imminent weather or season ticket fatigue or the pending bobblehead the next evening. I would think the opportunity for dollar dogs AND drafts would be a bigger draw. The game the next night ended up selling out, from email notification I received.

Kid 1: "Is that thing a phone?!?" Me: "Yup, and that thing next to it is a computer monitor." Kid 2: "Boy I hope they're not doing the replays on that thing."

Epilogue: The Kids enjoyed the game and look forward to going again. We’ve talked about trying the Sovereign Arena in Reading for a Royals game. We learned to get seats higher up next time. Back when I purchased my IronPigs season tickets, I asked to see the seats in person prior to signing on the dotted line. Perhaps I will ask the same with the Phantoms if they are amenable.

mmmmmm.....onion rings.....

It looks like top-level minor-league hockey is on its way to the Lehigh Valley for the fall of 2013. There’s a lot of time between now and then, and a lot of things can change. Heck, I’m worried the whole thing could still fall through. Perhaps I won’t believe it until the building is completely finished.

However, since the Brooks (ownership) Group has started the web site to gather advance information on those interested in season tickets–and those interested in becoming corporate partners–I thought I’d highlight some of the differences between minor league baseball and minor league hockey for the fans.

Schedule:

First, hockey isn’t played every night. While the IronPigs play 72 home games over five months, the Phantoms will play 40 home games over seven and a half months. You can expect 5-7 home games per month, usually centered on the weekends: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The Sunday game could be a 3PM start rather than in the evening. The team will often have one mid-week home game per month, commonly Wednesday. The season starts with pre-season games at the very end of September or very early October, and ends in the middle of April. The hockey will overlap with IronPigs baseball by only a week and a half or so.

Tickets:

It’s likely that ticket prices and policies will change with the move from the Adirondacks; however, it appears that discounts may be available for season tickets. Per-game ticket prices now range from $13 to $28, but season ticket versions can get the price below $10 per game. Kids’ tickets are around $11 regardless of where they sit. Put it all together with the 40-game schedule, and your bill for season Phantoms tickets will probably be less than your IronPigs tickets. 22-game plans and 12-game plans are available.

Giveaways:

The Phantom’s promotion schedule looks familiar to an IronPig fan: magnet schedules, bobbleheads, posters and the addition of $2 draft beer night. It seems they do a similarly good job having something to promote every night.

I’m on the list, now, so we’ll see what they come up with. I’ve heard that season ticket packages could be on sale as soon as April of this year!

There is one concern that I have (OK, two, if you count parking/traffic):  The Phantoms are currently not in the same division as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Hershey.  I have an email out to the AHL to see if they plan to re-structure the divisions.  I let you know what I hear.