HOME IMPROVEMENT

In the two months since Staples Center opened its shiny glass doors, more than half a million fans have come for a look at their new 20,000-seat hangout.

Many have praised the arena’s sleek design and amenities. Others have been relieved to find manageable traffic and parking.

But the building has suffered bugs and glitches: air conditioning that blows too cold, lights that are too bright and a sound system that hasn’t always reached the highest seats.

And while management scrambles to fix these problems, one troubling issue shows no sign of dying, the perception that this $400-million edifice--the costliest of its kind--has forsaken the common man.

So the get-acquainted process has not been entirely smooth.

“It’s pretty impressive,” said Chimyere Love, a Los Feliz computer consultant and Laker follower. “But it doesn’t feel like home. . . . Maybe the feeling is something you have to get used to.”

Fans are getting plenty of chances to become acclimated. Since its debut Oct. 17, the arena has hosted 49 events, ranging from basketball and hockey games to concerts and professional wrestling.

Much was made of potential traffic and parking problems at these events, with dire predictions of congestion on surrounding streets.

But an early December status report by the city’s Department of Transportation states that conditions have “exceeded the expectations of the public and the department.” The report notes that Staples Center parking lots have emptied within 25-35 minutes after each event.

“Those who remember what it was like at the Forum, it took 45 minutes to an hour to get out of those lots,” said Allyn Rifkin, principal transportation engineer for the city.

According to the survey, fans arrive for evening events as rush hour ebbs and choose from among numerous surface streets. They have shown a willingness to park a few blocks away and walk to the arena. This dispersal has apparently eased the burden on streets and freeways.

“In the beginning, we thought ‘Oh, God, there are going to be so many people,’ ” said Tom Choe, a Caltrans administrator. “But the impact on traffic patterns has been very minor.”

Traffic inside the arena has been another concern, with crews rushing to switch from hockey to basketball to stage. The conversions have gone well, with workmen completing each change in slightly more than two hours. That leaves more time to deal with a laundry list of glitches.

On opening night, with throngs arriving for a Bruce Springsteen concert, long lines formed at the ticket windows, elevators and escalators. Worse, the sound barely reached the higher seats.

A few nights later, when the Kings played their home opener, fans in the lower tier grumbled about the distorted view through glass panels atop the boards.

Lee Zeidman, vice president of operations, put part of the blame on performers and their traveling crews who must adjust to an arena that, at a million square feet, is 30% larger than most other venues. But Zeidman also asked the arena’s acoustic designer to attend Thursday night’s Bette Midler concert and look for ways to improve sound with the possible addition of specialized panels.

Meanwhile, the Staples Center executive and his workers have attended to other details:

* New glass panels were ordered for the hockey boards. The replacements, designed for a clearer view, are scheduled to arrive before Christmas.

* Air-conditioning ducts have been closed or redirected to spare fans in the upper concourse a steady, chilling blast.

* Emergency stairwells at the four corners of the building have been opened to shorten lines at escalators and elevators.

* After fans complained about brightness, Zeidman dimmed the house lighting slightly. Safety codes prohibit turning the lights off, but he may make further adjustments.

“We’re not done yet,” Zeidman said. “This is still a work in progress.”

Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for another problem, a lack of cheering. Arena management can only hope fans wake up.

“They’re still kind of walking in and staring around,” said Tim Leiweke, the arena’s president. “We haven’t heard the place hopping yet.”

Again, sheer size presents a problem. Some fans say they feel dwarfed by the vast interior bowl. Others blame what they believe is an elitist atmosphere, a design that not-so-subtly divides the upper and lower tiers from the pricey midsection with its premium seats and 160 suites.

Many of those expensive seats and suites belong to corporations, the Los Angeles Times among them. (The Times, which pays about $3 million a year to advertise in the building, recently came under fire for breaching journalistic ethics by agreeing to split profit from an Oct. 10 issue of the Los Angeles Times Magazine with Staples Center, the subject of that issue.)

“To me, personally, I think the arena is beautiful, but you can definitely see the way it’s segregated rich from poor,” said Viren Moret, a Los Angeles union official.

As a representative for ushers and vendors at the arena, Moret may not be the most objective observer, but his concerns are echoed by fans who describe the arena as “a soulless palace of glitz” and “a three-story building full of rich people.”

Leiweke answers such complaints by saying, “There’s another side to this story.” His response comes in three parts.

First, he says, those premium seats and suites translate into the dollars that allowed developers to build the arena with far less public money than has been devoted to such projects in other cities.

Second, he says, in the high-priced realm of pro sports, the Lakers, Kings and Clippers still offer tickets for less than $20.

Third, fans in less-expensive seats get more restrooms and a wider variety of snack bars than at the Forum or Sports Arena. They also get a terrace with a view of downtown.

“We’re not trying to run an elitist building,” Leiweke said. “We have spent a lot of money on customer comforts at all levels.”

None of this changes the fact that some fans--especially Laker fans--pay more for seats that are farther from the action. That upper concourse is higher than it was at the Forum.

And, for the first time in Los Angeles, common fans are separated from high-paying ticket holders who have a private entrance and a spacious concourse with plush carpeting and subdued lighting.

“It’s kind of classist, isn’t it?” Love said. “That’s disappointing.”

Against this backdrop, there have been persistent difficulties with unions that represent workers in the building.

Dave Stilwell, a regional director for the Service Employees International Union, says life at Staples has been “OK” for his members but that snafus with parking and payroll must be resolved.

More significantly, the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 11, which represents food workers, threatened to protest this week, claiming that Ogden Entertainment Services, a subcontractor that employs about 500 concession workers, has reneged on a deal to bargain in good faith.

Staples spokesman Michael Roth said the dispute is between the union and Ogden, not the union and Staples Center. But the discord hardly bolstered the reputation of the arena’s owners, who won approval for their development by pledging to be union-friendly.

At least Staples Center can take satisfaction in earning compliments from a few harsh critics.

In the Pico-Union neighborhood, several blocks west, residents who settled a lawsuit against the arena for $2.1 million now report traffic has not unduly affected their streets. While some issues must be ironed out, community leader Terry duSoliel says, “I actually had a tour [of Staples Center] and I liked it very much.”

Another noted critic, Councilwoman Rita Walters, found reason to soften her views while dining along Figueroa Street.

“It was wonderful to see the numbers of people on the street walking up and down,” Walters said. “I think [the arena] is attracting good numbers and the people downtown seemed to be pleased about that.”

Foot traffic is one sign that Staples Center can help spark a downtown revival, though skeptics remain doubtful about the arena’s worth in this regard. Only time will tell.

The arena faces a more immediate challenge in early January when the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show comes to the adjacent Convention Center. The show’s opening is expected to draw big crowds on the same day the Clippers play a home game.

City engineers will monitor how the complex handles this heavy load. In the meantime, the auto show’s general manager has negotiated to get his visitors at least some access to the arena’s best parking spaces across the street.

“Everything seems to be working out,” Andy Fuzesi said. “We’re optimistic there aren’t going to be any problems.”

Welcome news for the splashy new kid in town who is trying to make friends.

“All of this is a learning experience,” Leiweke said. “For the fans and for us.”

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THE FACTS

* Sporting events held--41

* Average attendance for Kings--15,634 (86.3% capacity).

Games--14

Sellouts--4

* Average attendance for Lakers--18,513 (97.5%).

Games--14

Sellouts--3

* Average attendance for Clippers-- 11,801 (62.2%).

Games--13

Sellouts--0

* Non-sporting events held at Staples Center--8

* Average attendance--16,250.

Sellouts--7

Note: Capacity for non-sporting events varies with stage configuration.