Roaming The Rinks

December 21, 2007- Jamestown, NY

With the Jackals on the road for the weekend so was I.  First stop was a return visit to the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena, where I attended a Erie Otters preseason game in September of '06, but of course did not have this website, so I did not bring my camera.  Tonights return visit featured a home game for the newly formed Jamestown Vikings of the Mid Atlantic Hockey League, a new single A hockey league in 2007.  The arena is only a few years old, and sits in Downtown Jamestown, only a couple blocks from the Lucille Ball museum.  The "I Love Lucy" star was among the most famous Jamestown natives.

I had a relatively easy time finding free on street parking a block away.  The main entrance sits on a street corner, and once you enter you find a nice lobby where the box office/ticket counter sits.  I paid $12 for a corner seat in the lower bowl, but upper level seats were available for as little as $8.  Still these prices seemed a bit steep for single A level hockey.  The building itself features a second ice pad in addition to the main arena, as well as a decent size pro shop.  You enter the main arena itself from the end of the rink, and are immediately on the open concourse which sits on top of the lower seating bowl.  There are 6 rows of modern plastic seats which extend all the way around the lower bowl, except for the open press box area above the penalty boxes. The seats themselves have cup holders like many newer arenas. The front row of seating is level with the top of the boards.  The concourse is wide, and there are only a couple food stands in 2 corners, and one beer stand in another corner.  The fourth corner features the stairway to get to the upper level.  Behind the concourse, on the same side as the team benches, is a snack bar with seating, which has windows overlooking the ice.  Oddly there was no menu or prices posted for any of the items, except for a small piece of paper taped to the top of the counter.  I watched the first period from my seat down low, then opted to go up to the upper level as I found the view better, and most importantly the annoying netting which completely surrounds the ice surface is not as noticeable from the upper level.  The upper level only runs down 1 side of the building, and sits atop the snack bar. 

The game presentation and PA system were both good.  They offered Zamboni rides at intermission, and the place had an overall fun feel to it.  The seating capacity for the arena is listed at 1900, but I would estimate about 800 for this game vs the Mon Valley Thunder from Pennsylvania.   I found the game action pretty good, and the game had some rough stuff with 2 fights and a lot of chippy play.  The DJ had the crowd laughing after the fights by playing the theme song from the kids show "Barney".  The JSBIA seems like the perfect size arena for this level of hockey, and the crowd, although rather sparse was into the game.  I enjoyed watching Vikings captain Evan Lagace in action as he plays the role of enforcer well, looking to fight almost every shift.  He only found one taker in this game however.  Jamestown took a rather easy win 6-3.  I hope the MAHL survives as it gives an option for pro hockey in smaller cities, and a place for some more guys to play pro hockey at a lower level.  The main thing holding this league back this year is the lack of non-U.S. players as the league only has 5 teams, therefore is precluded from being able to use foreign work Visas.  Hopefully the league will make it through the year and add a couple teams for next year, thus allowing Canadians into the mix and increasing the talent level.  I did like the effort put forth by the players however.

Overall I like the arena in Jamestown a lot, as I did on my first visit last year for an OHL preseason game.  They even have the best arena food treat I have ever had at a hockey game-deep fried oreos for $3.  Yum!  My only feedback would be to lower ticket prices a bit, and get rid of the annoying netting all the way around the rink.  Yes pucks can fly into the stands, but there have been hockey arenas dealing with this issue for years, large and small.  It would also be nice if they added a clock to track shots on goal, but that is a minor criticism.  If in southwest New York you should check out the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena, you will likely enjoy it as much as I did.

Other information about the Jamestown Vikings is available at : Vikings home

Other information about the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena is available at :  Arena home