Connect with us

Links

Dater’s Daily Links: National press corps rips NHL for Stadium Series debacle

Published

on

“I Survived the 2020 Stadium Series Game”

Like those t-shirts from the Fyre Festival that said the same thing, there might be a good opportunity for some entrepreneur to whip up a batch of similar ones to sell to people who went to the game at Falcon Stadium last night.

To say that there were some logistical issues would be quite the understatement. Later in the day, I’ll have a fresh “Can’t Hear What Jeremy Says” podcast up, where co-host Reagan Smith and I talk a lot about it, as two people who were there.

But to summarize: traffic in an out of the stadium was a total nightmare for pretty much everyone involved. Many, many fans did not make it to their seats until the second period, missing not only the game but the Sam Hunt show between the first and second periods.

Many people, including myself, warned people about the traffic to the Air Force Academy, that it’s an active U.S. military installation with only two skinny entrances to get in and out. The locals, especially from the Springs area, knew/know all about what it’s like to try and get in and out of the AFA grounds. But all the people who parachuted in from out of town, or from Denver who don’t get over there too much? They obviously were caught off-guard, and not too happy about it.

There has been a lot of anger directed toward the Avs for this, but this was an NHL event, not an Avs event. The NHL is in charge of all the logistics, in coordination with AFA people. If the beer lines were too long or there wasn’t enough food? That’s on the NHL for not coordinating better with vendors.

But as the commissioner himself, Gary Bettman, said, this was just another “great” event for fans. (KOAA.com)

To say that the game/event got a lot of bad press nationally would be another understatement:

Many fans who missed parts of the game because of the traffic want refunds now (good luck with that) (ESPN)

Good column by my old colleague Woody Paige on the overall Stadium Series “experience” (Gazette)

A man fell to his death walking back from the game, which exacerbated the traffic nightmare (Gazette)

I searched NHL.com for any stories detailing the logistical problems, but, gee, didn’t find any.

Some venting here by fans who didn’t make the game on time (CBS4)

SOME HOCKEY LINKS

Taylor Hall doesn’t want to be traded – again (NHL.com)

Connor McDavid looking to return soon (TSN)

Some heat on former Av Rob Blake for his stewardship of the Kings as GM (LA Times)

Colorado's premier coverage of the Avalanche from professional hockey people. Evan Rawal, Editor-in-Chief. Part of the National Hockey Now family.

This site is in no way associated with the Colorado Avalanche or the NHL. Copyright © 2023 National Hockey Now.