Hustle and Bustle Seems to Be Staple of This Place

I arrived at Staples Center on Wednesday night two hours before the opening faceoff, in plenty of times to hear the pregame pep talk. . . .

I’m not talking about the one from King Coach Andy Murray to his team, but from the concession stand managers to their concessionaires. . . .

“So far, the food stand with the longest line is the 11th Street Deli,” the man said, reading from David Wharton’s article in Wednesday’s Times as vendors behind the counter at the 11th Street Deli listened. . . .

“You know what that means?” he asked. “You’re No. 1. You’re No. 1!” . . .

They cheered. . . .

Bobby Goldwater, the downtown arena’s general manager, stopped at Wetzel’s Pretzels and asked how the vendors were doing. . . .

“Go Lakers,” one said. . . .

“Kings,” Goldwater said. “Go Kings.” . . .

Details. Details. . . .

In the premiere level, two waitresses for fans who paid between $12,800 and $14,800 for season seats discussed the menu. . . .

“I’ve never worked a hockey game,” one said. “What will they order?” . . .

“Beer,” the other said. . . .

“And,” she added, poring over the menu, “beer.”

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If the crowd inside the Fox Sports Sky Box, a sports bar with street access, was any indication, her instincts were correct. . . .

The bar is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. An hour before the doors to the arena opened, it was filled to its capacity of 300. They were watching the NHL game between San Jose and Detroit and the NBA game between New York and New Jersey on the televisions placed throughout the bar. Yes, ESPN is available.. . . .

“The biggest mistake we made,,” an arena official said, “is that the bar should have been twice as big.” . . .

One other mistake is the decor. Photographs on the walls feature Mark McGwire with the Cardinals, John Elway with the Broncos, Wayne Gretzky with the Rangers and a lot of New York Yankees. . . .

Maybe they couldn’t find any great recent moments in L.A. professional sports, but you’d think they could have at least had a photograph of Gretzky with the Kings. Kirk Gibson’s home run would be a nice touch. . .

Wine was being served in the Grand Reserve Club, which is selling 200 memberships for $10,500 a year. Fourteen are still available. The club features Birdseye Maple, overstuffed chairs, wool carpets, art from building owner Phil Anchutz’s private collection and indoor-outdoor fireplaces. There are also humidors for the only area in the building, maybe in all of Los Angeles, where smoking is allowed. . . .

The view of the skyline from the club’s terrace is fine, but, in a victory for the great unwashed, not as majestic as the one from the City View Terrace on the upper concourse that is open to everyone. . . .

The only thing marring that view is the Raiders’ “Commitment to Excellence” billboard on Olympic Boulevard. Too bad they didn’t have a commitment to L.A. . . .

But the food at the grill there is good. I had an Ahi Tuna sandwich for $7.75 and not once did I covet the oysters on the half shell in the Grand Reserve Club.

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“This is the real opening night,” Staples Center President Tim Leiweke said. . . .

Bruce Springsteen was there on Sunday and Monday nights, but, Leiweke said, the lights are off during concerts. All the lights were on for the hockey game, except for the red one behind the goal that that Kings were shooting at during the first period. . . .

Although the Kings started slowly, the building was up and running as expected. Better than expected. . . .

Goldwater, who worked at Madison Square Garden for 25 years, said the only thing “the world’s greatest arena” has on Staples Center is 120 years of history. . . .

“People back there tell me the Staples Center will be the Garden of the West,” he said. “I tell them the Garden will be the Staples Center of the East.” . . .

Goldwater has 171 dates booked. Between Nov. 2, when the Clippers open at Staples Center, and the end of June, the arena will be dark only eight nights. . . .

When single-game tickets for the Kings went on sale a couple of weeks ago, Wednesday night’s opener sold out within 15 minutes. There are, however, tickets available for their game Friday night against Phoenix. . . .

Davis Gaines, one of the more celebrated phantoms of the opera, sang the national anthem. No chandeliers in the luxury suits crashed. . . .

The Times owns one of those suites. I’ve been promised admittance at least once a week--to clean.

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Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com