Itinerary: Arco Arena, Sacramento

I have a thing for intimate arenas. These days, new arenas tend to be colossal monstrosities — heck, it’s now acceptable to hold basketball games in the middle of giant football stadiums. So smaller, cozy arenas tend to be old and outdated, but they also hold a little bit of nostalgia. I remember seeing a Trail Blazers game once at the old Memorial Coliseum in Portland — it felt like they were playing in a high school gym where the baskets retract toward the roof so that you can hold the prom there. But wherever you sat, you had a good look at the action.

All that being said, Arco Arena is outdated despite being only 20-some years old. It has a lot of drawbacks — cramped corridors and seats obviously designed before the recognition of ergonomics as a science being just two of them — but the good thing is, you can see the game no matter where you sit. Until the Sacramento Kings get their long-awaited new arena, their fans at least have that.

Save, save, save!

I don’t hear too often of people making pilgrimages to attend games at NBA and NHL arenas the same way fans plan out elaborate trips to see MLB ballparks or NFL stadiums. For the traveling sports fan, the NBA and NHL are nice, but they’re usually just events that you try to see if you just happen to be in a city and there just happens to be a basketball or hockey game there one of those nights.

Still, because of factors like the recession and this currently being off-peak season for travel, there are certainly deals to be had if you want to catch some ball or some puck. It pays to look around on the leagues’ Web sites, or at least those of individual teams, and following those same sources on Twitter to see what kind of promotions they might be running. And teams seem to have graduated beyond just first-5,000-fans-gets-a-flimsy-mesh-cap promotions these days. Here are a few examples: