UBC Thunderbird Arena

I came here for a concert a few years ago… actually a lot of years ago to see Heaven and Hell with Dio. This place is terrible for sound for a show. I cannot understand why they even had a show here. I also saw the Offspring here (yes I am dating myself). I am so glad that this got abandoned for rock shows a year later.

I’m sure the well-​to-​do hockey players who live here probably would disagree but i can rattle many pet peeves here:
*pay parking here
*expensive too! $ 2/​hr, though there’s a flat rate in evenings
*if you park at the parkade, then you’ll have to drag your hockey bag across the street
*3 sets of doors to physically open (most rinks have automatic sliding doors). when you’re lugging goalie gear, makes a big diff
*after getting thru this, you still have to take the elevator down! ok, you can walk down the stairs too
*no hockey atmosphere here. feels like playing in a dungeon though it’s well lit.
*scoreboard font-​size could be larger
Only pro? big ass, clean dressing rooms, comfortable for 20 players no problem.

It’s a beautiful part of Vancouver to be in but it’s not worth it.
I play hockey here sometimes and I definitely prefer the other rinks (Richmond Ice, The Oval, 8 Rinks). There is simply no free parking. That’s kind of a big deal considering it’s the only place I know that requires pay parking to play hockey. it’s not cheap either, 6 bucks to park for 2 hours.
Inside the arena, the rinks are pretty spread out and it’s not intuitively set up. You just need to know where you’re going or could spend 5 – 10 minutes finding the right room/​rink.
The changing rooms are nice and big and the ice is good though (Olympic size).
Oh, i should mention, the guys that sharpen skates do not know how to do goalie skates (twice it was done wrong, 2^nd time i got a refund tho).

Headed out to watch some Olympic Ice Hockey last night. The might of the Czech Republic taking on the underdog Latvia. The venue was managed very well with lines moving quickly. Much better than my experience of slow moving lines at BC place. The concession lines were quick too which is always vital when you are trying not to miss a second of the action. The smaller venue means that even in the nosebleeds you are not too far from the ice. It also adds to the atmosphere.
On the downside I had to sit on a metal bench seat which was ice cold and uncomfortable but hey as a result I was on the edge of my seat the whole game! The technology is also a little dated and this is obviously not a first class pro sports venue. In saying that I loved my night out, maybe becuase the tickets were free, and thought they ran the event well.
Oh and Latvia nearly pulled off a massive upset and had almost the whole crowd behind them chanting Latvia, Latvia, Latvia. Edgars Masalskis the Latvian Goalie managed what seemed like 7 saves in 7 seconds and instantly the whole crowd was right behind him.