Ballgame and a ballpark

June 28, 2020June 27, 2020 / Greg / 1 Comment

With my next sports-related trip south of the border looking to be a very, very long time away in the future, I’m thinking back fondly on a couple of my last sports experiences during a visit to Phoenix late last fall. On account of attending a work-related conference, it gave me an opportunity for my first ever visit to the city, and the timing gave me a chance to take in a Phoenix Suns basketball game.

Just a couple of short blocks away from my downtown hotel, the Talking Stick Resort Arena, designed specifically for basketball, was cozy, with the seats all around the arena right on top of the court. While I didn’t pony up for lower level seats, I spent some time watching the pre-game warm-ups from down there.

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Rip City, USA

April 11, 2017April 9, 2017 / Greg / 1 Comment

When I planned my short February escape from wintery Saskatoon, I had a few criteria: (1) somewhere I hadn’t been before, (2) cheap airfare and hotel, and (3) get to attend at least one professional sporting event. Portland fit the bill on all of those including a Monday night Trail Blazers basketball game.

I probably follow basketball the least of the major North American sports, but always enjoy attending the game live as it’s much better in person than on TV. One thing I love about getting to an NBA game is arriving early, sneaking down to the lower level, and watching the players warm up. The size of the guys is amazing and seeing so many nearly 7-footers in one place is kind of cool.

Courtside seats for Trail Blazers warmups

I’m also always up to explore a new arena. Even though most of the new ones are fairly similar, the Moda Center in Portland had some unique touches including outposts of a couple of favourite downtown eateries. That let me fit in an extra meal here of a very respectable Bunk Sandwiches cuban sandwich. In fact, my meal came with this great view of the arena from one of the lower level corner seats.