It Needs to Feel as Good as It Looks

Welcome to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s world--if you can afford the entry fee.

Staples Center--not “the” Staples Center, although at a rumored cost of $440 million a “the” should have been thrown in--opened Wednesday and became the newest star in the NHL’s galaxy. From the rich paneling of the club level, where those brave enough to risk indigestion can dine and watch the Kings at the same time, to the three-tier ring of 160 suites, the arena is a jewel box.

And everything within seems to be priced like precious stones.

“It’s beautiful. They’ve really done a great job with it,” Bettman said before the Kings’ 2-2 tie with the Boston Bruins. “It’s going to be an important part of L.A., particularly downtown L.A., and it’s going to provide a great stage for the future success of the Kings.”

It also provides a drain on the wallet. A recent survey by Team Marketing Report put the Kings’ average ticket price at $49.22, the eighth-highest in a league whose average ticket price of $45.70 ranked as the highest in professional sports. Bettman faulted the survey on several points, among them not accounting for the currency conversion between Canadian and U.S. dollars.

“I’m not sure an average is meaningful because it depends on how your tickets are grouped,” he said. “The NFL was seven cents less than us . . . It’s much ado about not a whole lot and I’m not sure it presented a fair and accurate account and picture. Having said, that, we played [last season] to over 90% capacity, but we need to continue to be mindful about ticket prices because it is an issue.”

Issues, issues everywhere. Bettman at times resembles a firefighter, battling the hockey equivalent of brush fires in the form of controversies about the future of the NHL’s economically disadvantaged Canadian teams, weak attendance in places such as Washington, Tampa and Long Island and cries from owners who claim to be swamped by red ink as players’ salaries rise. With the practiced ease of someone who faces a crisis a minute, he made an especially good point about the league--and by extension, the Kings.

“Any sports league needs all its franchises to be healthy, and any league has franchise issues that have to be dealt with,” he said. “We don’t have a monopoly on that. . . . The ultimate judgment will be how well you deal with those issues.”

Judging the Kings on how well they have solved their problems can only produce a high rating. Think back to the mess left behind by Bruce McNall and exacerbated by subsequent owners Joe Cohen and Jeffrey Sudikoff. The Kings’ financial bankruptcy mirrored McNall’s moral bankruptcy; looking at the wood and glass and gleaming new arena, that era seems so long ago, yet it was merely 4 1/2 years past. “Ancient history,” Bettman said.

The purchase of the Kings by Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski Jr. began a new era, one that hit its high point Wednesday. By moving to Staples Center, the Kings displaced many longtime fans and outpriced others, but at least they’re still here and are committed to the city and its small but fervent hockey community.

“There is no franchise that could have better ownership or a better building,” Bettman said. “It’s important that every franchise be strong. There are no orphans and there are no favorite children because a league needs to be as strong as possible in every city.

“It’s a work in process. The key things you need to look at when you make a judgment are the owner--and they have a terrific owner and couldn’t have better--and look at the building. They couldn’t have a better building. And you look at the market. L.A. is a large, important market, arguably the entertainment capital of the world. Are there always blips on the screen or little potholes? Sure. You pick a sport and any franchise can have problems. But teams don’t get judged on those blips. You don’t judge a league on the problems it has but on how the problems are dealt with, the progress made and is the sport heading in the right direction.”

If hockey is heading in an unfortunate financial direction for those who can’t afford suites, it is trying to reach out in other areas. Through grass-roots programs, it is trying to win young fans and minorities; the Kings have been extremely active in the community but must be even more visible and accessible for fans to feel this is their team, not the property of a suite-holder who may not even show up for many games. Bettman noted that more NHL games are available on TV than ever before--but the downside is that hockey does not translate well to TV and is best experienced in person.

“We’re more dependent on gates and more dependent on the excitement that is generated in our buildings,” Bettman said.

The best buildings--Chicago Stadium, the Montreal Forum, Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens--had distinct personalities. What will Staples Center’s personality be? In terms of architecture, Bettman said it is a gem that has been placed in an appropriate setting. “This is a very sophisticated market,” Bettman said. “This building reflects the sophistication of the market.”

Sophistication, sure. Glitz, absolutely. But there should also be a place here--and in every luxury box-filled arena in Gary Bettman’s NHL--for passion. Without it, this will be nothing more than an expensive heap of concrete and glass.