With the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series matchup featuring the Kings and Sharks set for Saturday at Levi's Stadium, the "challenge is really to pay homage to Northern California and bring the Bay Area to life," according to CSN Bay Area's Kelli Johnson. NHL Senior VP/Events Don Renzulli said, “The challenge may be how we show off Northern California and how we take up all the excess space on-field to really try to create something. You've got a little of everything. We're going from the Pacific to the Sierra Mountains." He added, "We got together with a bunch of people who work with landscape architects to really come up with this and we think it's really going to show what this community is" (“Yahoo Sports Talk Live,” CSN Bay Area, 2/18).
ICE, ICE BABY: In S.F., Susan Slusser wrote, "The one real unknown in Santa Clara: How will ice made from the recycled rainwater available at Levi’s Stadium, not tap water as is used elsewhere, do?" NHL Senior Dir of Facilities Operations Dan Craig said, “We’ll make it work. We’re very conscious of what’s going on in California with the drought and made sure to take it into consideration.” Slusser noted this will be the NHL’s 14th outdoor game since '03, but "only the second held in a mild winter climate" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/17).
GROWING INTEREST: In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes, "Of all California sports fans, hockey fans are the best. ... My biggest argument will be on display Saturday night, when 70,000 people show up at Levi's Stadium." The sold-out game "explodes the myth that the only people who care about hockey are 'the 17,000 people who show up at the arena.'" Purdy: "That has never been true. It is more accurate to say that between 60,000 and 80,000 dedicated Northern California fans rotate through" SAP Center each season (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/20).
FIT FOR A KING: In California, Elliott Teaford writes it is "safe to say the Kings wouldn’t be playing in a second Stadium Series game in as many seasons if not for their Stanley Cup championships" in '12 and ’14, the first titles for a franchise that began playing in '67 and "found little success." The Kings’ "branding and marketing success extends far beyond die-hard fans who crowd their home arena." AEG Sports COO Kelly Cheeseman said that merchandise sales have increased 100% since '11-12 and "digital traffic has doubled" on the team’s website. The Kings’ mobile app also "has more than 300,000 users" (Torrance DAILY BREEZE, 2/20).
