Quote ="McLaren_Field"Ice hockey is rubbish in a large arena anyway, you're too far away to even feel cold in a large arena let alone see the puck or feel the punches.
Whitley Bay ice rink was superb for ice hockey, a small old fashioned ice rink where the spectators sat within a few yards of the ice and you could be guaranteed that a stray puck would end up in the crowd at least three or four times a night, I know someone who had their cheekbone broken in such a way and he'd actually paid for the ticket
Its a great game in a small arena where the noise from the crowd is deafening, in a large arena its just sterile.'"
A lot of the "old guard" say the same thing about the atmosphere of the old ice stadium down here to the new arena. I've only watched hockey at the new place and it can be a bit sterile at times. However, I've also watched games where the atmosphere has been electric. I suppose it's down to how many people you get in there compared to the number of seats.
