We here at The Rivalry have been fortunate enough to receive a tour of the Nassau Coliseum in advance of the start of the 2008-09 NHL season. While we only received this tour because we attended the WWE Great American Bash tonight, it still called to mind the many trips we made to the Coliseum last season. It was nice to see the old barn in a different setting. And, as is always the case after a long layoff, it was interesting to see what's changed since last season.
- More Ads: One thing they did a lot of this off-season was sell ad space. There are more ads in the hallways of each gate than ever before; in fact, the sheer amount of advertisement one is greeted with on their way back to the concourse is a bit smothering. In addition, there are more of the 200-level ads we saw last year. There was also a banner in front of the 300-level section directly in line with the goals called "Northville". Since the stage took up the opposite goal area, it's unclear if there's a "Southville". On the subject of "Villes", we were unable to verify if Loudville will be back, as our seats were in Section 307. Either way, be prepared to be inundated with more ads than ever before.
- More Menu Selections: I think. I could have sworn I saw someone carrying around an iced coffee, but I can't say for certain. In any event, there are non-souvenir cups. The rest of the goodies remained pretty much the same. The exotic beers are still located in the "Beers Of The World" stand and in the outside area. We were unable to verify if they jacked up the price of the 24-ounce Labatt Blue can; we can only hope they didn't. Also, everyone's favorite Coliseum snack, the pretzel twist, is still as juicy and succulent as ever. Tonight's twists might have been even better than last year's. The twists are still only $4.50 - the best bargain anywhere. One last thing - we didn't see the guy selling pretzels outside of the Coliseum, but maybe that's on game days only.
- The Dragons Stuff: It's still there... for now. Since Charles Wang has just sold the team, it's unclear what will happen to the Dragons after the current AFL campaign ends. We don't even know if they'll be playing at the Coliseum. Either way, it's almost a given that we'll see a decrease in the promotion of the Dragons now that Wang isn't liable to shove both teams down our throats. Could this mean the end of Sparky The Dragon?
- Soda Guys: They had a guy roaming around selling sodas in the 300 levels, something we never saw before. In the past, this was strictly a delicacy for the lower levels. We pity the poor guy who has to climb the extremely steep Coliseum steps to deliver a Pepsi to someone up in Row T. However, the guy in our section dropped a bunch of his soda bottles, so it's possible that this experiment could be ended before the season starts. It's also something that could be started at games with lower attendance figures and phased in over the season. Who knows? It's worth a shot.
- Parking: As of tonight, it's still $7 to park. Still an extremely spacious lot (something to appreciate if you've been to either Shea or Yankee Stadium this year), and it's still a good idea to park right by the fence alongside Charles Lindbergh Boulevard. If you ever see some people playing hockey and drinking heavily along that fence, you'll know you saw The Rivalry.
- Bootleg Merchandise: If the Coliseum hired extra security to thwart the bootleggers, they called in sick tonight. We were able to not only score bootleg WWE merchandise, but also managed to take our time in negotiating a better rate, verifying that nothing was spelled wrong, and getting change without fear of getting busted. There were people all over; there was even a guy weaving in and out of traffic on Hempstead Turnpike selling stuff. His rates were even better than the guy we talked to. Oops.
- Arbour Banner: It still says "1500". We thought they were putting an updated one up there at Core Of The Four. Maybe they forgot. Or maybe they're waiting for this year's alumni reunion to do it. Or maybe, just maybe, they're talking to Arbour about coaching again. (Note: They aren't.) Either way, it'd be nice if they did something about it. It'd also be nice if they'd get around to taking #16 out of circulation and putting it where it belongs - with the numbers of the other Islander greats.
So that's what we discovered tonight - the Coliseum is pretty much as we remember it, with all of the good things intact and a few surprises. We're sure they have more in store for us this season. However, let's hope the first surprise is a quality coach.
As for the Bash itself? Good card with lots of quality, no-frills wrestling, though a lot of guys we wanted to see weren't there. The highlight of the night, however, was seeing Mets GM Omar Minaya walking in with his kids and then exiting the arena as we were pulling out. We can only hope his evening was enhanced by enjoying a delicious pretzel twist.
- More Ads: One thing they did a lot of this off-season was sell ad space. There are more ads in the hallways of each gate than ever before; in fact, the sheer amount of advertisement one is greeted with on their way back to the concourse is a bit smothering. In addition, there are more of the 200-level ads we saw last year. There was also a banner in front of the 300-level section directly in line with the goals called "Northville". Since the stage took up the opposite goal area, it's unclear if there's a "Southville". On the subject of "Villes", we were unable to verify if Loudville will be back, as our seats were in Section 307. Either way, be prepared to be inundated with more ads than ever before.
- More Menu Selections: I think. I could have sworn I saw someone carrying around an iced coffee, but I can't say for certain. In any event, there are non-souvenir cups. The rest of the goodies remained pretty much the same. The exotic beers are still located in the "Beers Of The World" stand and in the outside area. We were unable to verify if they jacked up the price of the 24-ounce Labatt Blue can; we can only hope they didn't. Also, everyone's favorite Coliseum snack, the pretzel twist, is still as juicy and succulent as ever. Tonight's twists might have been even better than last year's. The twists are still only $4.50 - the best bargain anywhere. One last thing - we didn't see the guy selling pretzels outside of the Coliseum, but maybe that's on game days only.
- The Dragons Stuff: It's still there... for now. Since Charles Wang has just sold the team, it's unclear what will happen to the Dragons after the current AFL campaign ends. We don't even know if they'll be playing at the Coliseum. Either way, it's almost a given that we'll see a decrease in the promotion of the Dragons now that Wang isn't liable to shove both teams down our throats. Could this mean the end of Sparky The Dragon?
- Soda Guys: They had a guy roaming around selling sodas in the 300 levels, something we never saw before. In the past, this was strictly a delicacy for the lower levels. We pity the poor guy who has to climb the extremely steep Coliseum steps to deliver a Pepsi to someone up in Row T. However, the guy in our section dropped a bunch of his soda bottles, so it's possible that this experiment could be ended before the season starts. It's also something that could be started at games with lower attendance figures and phased in over the season. Who knows? It's worth a shot.
- Parking: As of tonight, it's still $7 to park. Still an extremely spacious lot (something to appreciate if you've been to either Shea or Yankee Stadium this year), and it's still a good idea to park right by the fence alongside Charles Lindbergh Boulevard. If you ever see some people playing hockey and drinking heavily along that fence, you'll know you saw The Rivalry.
- Bootleg Merchandise: If the Coliseum hired extra security to thwart the bootleggers, they called in sick tonight. We were able to not only score bootleg WWE merchandise, but also managed to take our time in negotiating a better rate, verifying that nothing was spelled wrong, and getting change without fear of getting busted. There were people all over; there was even a guy weaving in and out of traffic on Hempstead Turnpike selling stuff. His rates were even better than the guy we talked to. Oops.
- Arbour Banner: It still says "1500". We thought they were putting an updated one up there at Core Of The Four. Maybe they forgot. Or maybe they're waiting for this year's alumni reunion to do it. Or maybe, just maybe, they're talking to Arbour about coaching again. (Note: They aren't.) Either way, it'd be nice if they did something about it. It'd also be nice if they'd get around to taking #16 out of circulation and putting it where it belongs - with the numbers of the other Islander greats.
So that's what we discovered tonight - the Coliseum is pretty much as we remember it, with all of the good things intact and a few surprises. We're sure they have more in store for us this season. However, let's hope the first surprise is a quality coach.
As for the Bash itself? Good card with lots of quality, no-frills wrestling, though a lot of guys we wanted to see weren't there. The highlight of the night, however, was seeing Mets GM Omar Minaya walking in with his kids and then exiting the arena as we were pulling out. We can only hope his evening was enhanced by enjoying a delicious pretzel twist.
You forgot to mention that you called Omar bro, ok?
ReplyDeleteGuys,
ReplyDeleteNice blog, I linked you over at my Rangers blog: pucksonbroadway.blogspot.com. Good stuff!