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As we all know, the First Niagara Center had a makeover this summer while hockey was out of session. New locker room, a few fixings here and there in the walls of the arena, and they even incorporated new ideas for menu items and things to do in-game as a form of entertainment. I’ve yet to miss a Sabres game at the arena (I am such a broke college student because of it) so I’ve been able to take in a lot of the changes for myself.
I’ll start with the negative first. They jacked up the prices for food at the arena and the quality has seemed to go down. When I go to games, I typically order the chicken finger combo basket that comes with fries and a side of whatever sauce you would like. They used to give you four or five pretty large fingers. Now, they give you three tiny ones. This plus the side of fries you get is worth $8 when it used to be $7.50 for the combo. I would be okay with the price had the quality still been the same but it isn’t. I have considered just eating before games because of it being outrageous. I don’t understand how some people can have four beers at a game either…
That may be the only complaint I have other than the store not providing shirts for every player. I know a lot of teams that make t-shirts for all of the players just so there’s more of a variety. Tee Shirt University at the Galleria Mall near my house has more player t-shirts there than the store itself does. I think it’s kind of sad. Maybe it’s a good thing they don’t do it though because my entire paycheck would go towards those shirts. Oops!
There are a lot of positives about the changes at the arena. There are now televisions in the bathrooms and around the concourse of the arena so you can see what’s going on when not in your seats. There are plenty of new options for food such as the Chicken Parmesan sandwhich on the first level (I want to try this!) and specialty pizzas. There is a ‘scavenger hunt’ that the Sabres do pregame where you can win prizes. They have just made the fan experience so much more fun than it used to be. Ted Black handing out programs before games, the Pegula daughters sometimes watching games along with the fans in certain sections, and also bloggers now being allowed access to possibly attend games in the pressbox. I know that we haven’t had a lot to cheer about at the F’N Center this season but I try and find a reason to still enjoy the game with whoever I go with. We just have to, you know, start winning some games at home.
Let’s go, Buffalo.
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