Arena: T-Mobile Arena

Location: Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

Game Attended: April 6, 2022 vs Vancouver Canucks

Game Result: 5-1 Canucks Win

Seat Location: Upstairs Corner, Vegas 2x End

Overall Impression: Good Vibes Only Except When They Aren’t

Gambling. Entertainment. Pomp and Circumstance. These are the things that define Las Vegas, the gaming capital of the world. Tourists and locals flock to the Strip in droves daily, snapping pictures of models and bright lights and the “Eiffel Tower” and the “Chrysler Building”. People dodge in and out of casinos and hotels looking for a new Gucci handbag or a nice cold cocktail or to earn their fortunes at the craps tables.

And tucked in a corner of the Strip, hidden between the New York New York and Park MGM resorts, lies T-Mobile Arena. A state-of-the-art venue for concerts and other shows befitting Vegas’ lofty reputation for entertaining. It’s the proclaimed “home of UFC” fights, hosting dozens of events since its opening in 2017. And since their first game in November 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights have called T-Mobile their home. What a home it is!

The Golden Knights are one of the unlikeliest, yet greatest Cinderella stories in modern sports history. West Point grad and financial executive brought a 31st NHL franchise to the desert in 2016. He named his new team the Golden Knights, a clever crossover of his beloved (and apparently copyright-protected) Army Black Knights and the golden sands of the Nevada desert surrounding the city.

Now normally, most expansion franchises in American sports don’t succeed right away. They often select one player from each of the league’s other teams, usually those unwanted due to poor play or aggressively overpriced contracts. And then this group of “misfit toys” learn to play together, often struggling in the process. Before Vegas’ entry into the league, no expansion team ever made the playoffs in their inaugural season.

But this is Vegas, after all. The gambling capital of the world. And what better way to perpetuate gambling stereotypes than with a little “beginner’s luck”. I mean, this is some serious grade-A, bonafide, walks up to the roulette wheel and bets a thousand bucks on double zero “beginner’s luck”. The Knights not only made the playoffs, they won their division, they made an improbable run to (and through) the Western Conference Finals, winning the Clarence Campbell Bowl. They also took game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals before the clock struck midnight and Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals turned the Knights back into a pumpkin.

The Golden Knights stormed out of the gate like a prized thoroughbred in their first season, and remained good for a few years, but have sputtered a bit in recent seasons, most recently losing the 2021 Western Conference Finals to “clearly obviously western” Montréal, and as of this date, not in a position to make the 2022 playoffs. That pattern of explosive success out of the gate followed by a gradual decline aptly matched the game we attended. Vegas’ new superstar (and former Extreme Ice Center resident-in-recovery) Jack Eichel pocketed an opening goal that sent the crowd into a frenzy. And then the Knights promptly got pigeon-tossed by Vancouver for two and a half periods.

But back to T-Mobile: this building is impressive! It has a distinctively modern and possibly even European feel. The front of the arena features a large, open plaza with vendors advertising new products and events on the Strip, and live music before the games (on this night, a nightclub-inspired DJ). And if you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were walking into Madison Square Garden, with the “skyline” of Midtown Manhattan flanking the plaza.

Inside, the main concourse was very clean and spacious; I never felt confined or claustrophobic like I have in older buildings around the league. And both the lower and upper concourses also had outdoor balconies like Florida did to get some fresh air (or apparently pollute your lungs, but hey, to each their own). 

While the team doesn’t have a ton of history to speak of, there were a few banners hanging from the rafters. Of course, there were the two banners from the team’s first Cinderella season, along with a more recent Pacific Division championship in 2020. In more normal times, they would’ve had a third Pacific Division title, but hey, COVID screwed everything up in 2021 and the Knights finished second to Colorado. But perhaps the classiest banner also was the saddest. In their first game ever, the Knights retired the number 58 to honor the 58 victims of the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting that occurred in early October 2017. An unfortunate reminder that violence still exists in this world, but a classy and warm tribute to those lost nonetheless. 

The real highlight of the evening, though, was the pregame entertainment. One of my hockey teammates in Charlotte clued me into the elaborate pregame show the Knights put on. The 5-plus minute pregame show included a cool pregame video featuring the Golden Knight himself, and he followed his appearance on screen with an one-ice joust against (presumably) a Canuck foe. Naturally, the golden hero was victorious! Coupled with the free glowsticks the Knights gave out at every seat, and it was an incredible entrance! 

And following that powerful entrance and Jack Eichel’s roof-raising opener, things……didn’t go so well for the Knights. They just seemed flat all night and got pushed and skated around all night by the Canucks. And after about half the game and four Canucks goals, the crowd understandably fell a bit flat. Which was about the only thing keeping my from grading the whole night a 5-star experience. I guess winning really does solve all problems. 

We were lucky to sit next to a Vegas local and season ticket holder Mike and his sister. It was fun to watch him interact with his fellow season ticketholders in our section. They enjoyed cheering their Knights on, with numerous (and sadly mostly unsuccessful) “Go Knights Go” chants. They passionately supported their team, even though Mike admitted to me that some of the initial hype surrounding the team has started to fade as the team has matured into existence. Perhaps some of the Vegas magic is gone, but thankfully not completely. There were still plenty of great vibes in the building!

There were good vibes in Vegas the entire trip. That seems to be the M.O. Good vibes only. A city full of happiness and fun and games and thrilling shows and luxurious restaurants and relaxing pools and bright and vibrant casino floors. 

And I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Maybe I’m so sensitive to money out of an irrational terror of going broke. Maybe I’m just too conservative of a person, too much of an introvert, too much of a saver. But the way that thousands and thousands of people flock to this city to have fun gambling their hard-earned money away? I just don’t get it.

But Mike said it. The random guy who joined us at the postgame blackjack table said it. “Good vibes only.” Maybe that’s what Vegas is all about. Maybe it’s about throwing all the worries and cares away and enjoying yourself. Having fun. Defying the odds, much like the Golden Knights did in their inaugural season, all the way to the Cup Finals.

I think our Uber driver Edgar put it best. In the way to the airport, he reminded us, “Every time you wake up in the morning it’s a good day.” Truer words have rarely been spoken.