I was reading that Madison Square Garden during a Rangers Game gets to be chilly inside and can get as cool as 50 degrees.
I was told to wear layers of clothing under your team jersey as the floor ice tends to lower the arena air. I would imagine so, but not to that extreme. Maybe 65 or so, but not that low.
Has anyone who watched games contest to that temperature?
I've only been to three hockey games—dropping in on a high school game in Minnesota, and two full Thunder games here in Wichita—and I'd say it was definitely cooler than 65°F all three times. Maybe not 50°F, though. On the other hand, I was up in the nose-bleeds both times here in Wichita, so maybe it was colder down closer to the ice.
Generally, though, if you're going to watch a sport that takes place on the ice, then you should prepare for the air temp in the stands to be kind of cold.
Also note that you'll be sitting still for a long period, meaning you won't be warming yourself up by moving around. This means you might one an extra layer compared to what you might otherwise wear in the same temp elsewhere.
A quick Google search leads me to believe that 50°F to 65°F is typical for hockey arenas, and that the temp is indeed colder close to the ice than it is farther up in the stands.
It used to get hot at the upper rows of Joe Lewis Arena in downtown Detroit. The ice often was considered slushy by NHL standards in those days.
To some extent it can depend on where you sit. Our seats for Capitals games are in the lower bowl at Verizon Center, well below the ceiling, but it often feels like there is some sort of AC blower somewhere overhead because we often get a cold breeze. If I were to wear short sleeves without a jersey or similar over them, I'd be too cold. When we went to a professional women's game back in January I wore a lightweight long-sleeved shirt but no jersey and I was cold. I don't generally see many people wearing short sleeves.
As a general matter, though, the temperature can vary widely from arena to arena. I went to a Florida Panthers home game a couple of years ago and the arena temperature was warmer than I'm used to from games in DC (which was not really a surprise), but the air inside also felt considerably cooler than the outside temperature (also hardly a surprise given the location). My wife and I found it a bit warm, whereas our relatives who live down there thought it was extremely cold. I could have comfortably worn short sleeves there (I wore a windbreaker).
Our local minor league arena, where the Tahoe Knight Monsters play, can be very chilly. You're not more than about 15 rows up from the ice there.
The last time I went to an NHL game was at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and even in the upper level there it was quite cool. I'd say, take a medium-weight jacket, perhaps plus a light windbreaker which could be either in addition to the jacket or instead of it.
I have season tickets for the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Our seats are at the very top of the lower bowl, and there are cooling vents in the ceiling over our seats. It's always chilly, and we need to dress for it. Fleece, layers, sometimes even gloves are necessary.
We've had our tickets for three years. The first year, before we knew what it was really like, on one warm Saturday afternoon (sunny, 85 degrees), we had tickets for a Tigers day game followed by a Red Wings preseason game in the evening. I dressed for the ball game: polo shirt and shorts. Walked from Comerica to LCA for the hockey game and froze my heinie off. Learned my lesson that day.
Only if does Bruno Mars is gay
Hockey arenas are always cold. If an arena is used for both basketball and hockey, it's cold even when they play basketball because they still have to keep the ice frozen underneath it all.
Never been cold where I've sat at any level, but I guess all arenas are a little different.
Having been to hundreds and hundreds of (mostly college) hockey games, I'd say it's usually comfortable in the seating areas if you're generally dressed for winter anyway. In my Union College hockey seats at the new M&T Bank Center in Schenectady this year, I was perfectly comfortable probably no more than 15 or 20 feet from the glass. There are exceptions. Brown University's Meehan Auditorium is notoriously cold. Bring and wear gloves and a winter hat. I've attended a few Florida Everblades games in Estero and it's really cold, especially coming in from what's probably warmth outside. Don't make the mistake of shorts and a t-shirt there. But then something like Albany's Knick/Pepsi/TU/MVP (did I miss any?) Arena is warm enough for hockey that I'll want to take off my coat for sure.
I watched a couple Rangers games at MSG when I lived in NYC; I don't remember it being noticeably cold there. The same goes for other hockey games, including minor league hockey games in Oklahoma City.
I don't think it's noticeably chilly in large arenas. And when there's another event occurring where the hockey rink is covered, you wouldn't even know there's ice under the floor. Basketball players (and many of their fans) generally wear tank tops without issue.
I've been to the United Center and Little Caesars Arena for hockey games and they tend to be a little cool but not too bad. I hated when the Wings played at Joe Louis Arena, that place was a dump and built on the cheap and it seemed like it was warmer in there than other hockey arenas. I've been to a few Saginaw Spirit games and that arena seems cold.
Quote from: DandyDan on April 23, 2026, 06:18:30 AMHockey arenas are always cold. If an arena is used for both basketball and hockey, it's cold even when they play basketball because they still have to keep the ice frozen underneath it all.
The ice is made by a refrigeration system through a network of pipes under the ice.
There was an NHL game a few months ago where the Buccaneers play. Due to the cold snap, the outdoor temperature was 41 degrees. They had to heat the playing surface.
Quote from: NE2 on April 22, 2026, 05:30:02 PMOnly if does Bruno Mars is gay
The street the NHL arena in Las Vegas is on is named after Bruno Mars, so this is somehow actually sort of on topic.
Back in their glory days, I could occasionally get tickets for the Penguins down low in old Westinghouse Igloo in Pittsburgh. Being that the Pittsburgh Civic Arena had a retractable roof, it was hard to keep warm and the temperatures always seemed to hover in the high 40s or so. Which felt warm for downtown Pittsburgh back in those days.
In comparison, I once got group tickets for a concert by renting out one of the television booths up in the rafters above the stands (which actually cost quite a bit less than regular ticket prices, but that is another story). My understanding was that the City covered the ice rink and that the stage was quite cold. It was only about 60 degrees up in the roofline. I was too hot, and my friends from Richmond were too cold.
Quote from: DandyDan on April 23, 2026, 06:18:30 AMHockey arenas are always cold. If an arena is used for both basketball and hockey, it's cold even when they play basketball because they still have to keep the ice frozen underneath it all.
I read about that. That because of cost and time, its easier ( and practical) to leave the ice and cover up the floor and place the hardwood over it all.
I also read Madison Square Garden is smaller in volume inside and has a lower ceiling than other coliseums so it may be close to 50 degrees because of that.
Don't let the appearance outside the arena fool you. Only the upper part of that round building houses the bowl. The bottom part is actually a bowling alley and small theater. The bowl starts five floors above street level with a circular ramp inside to bring equipment up to floor level. That includes the former circus which walked the animals up that ramp to the floor.
Also if anyone had floor seats at a concert in that venue, you will notice you had to access it via the escalator towers climbing up several landings above the box office before walking on to it. Overall the building is bigger than the coliseum inside it as it only represents two thirds of it.
When you think about it, cold air sinks. And then you have the physical wall around the hockey rink and the clear Lexan safety barrier built on top of the rink wall. That barrier will do a lot to keep any cold from the hockey rink ice from wafting up into the spectator stands.
I'm told ice surface temperatures for hockey are ideal at around 16-20ºF, so it's possible for it to be *too cold* for hockey outdoors in certain locales.
But indoors, temperature balances are better regulated, so the ice temperature can be maintained with an air temperature between 50-60º. That's just on the playing surface inside the glass. Up in the stands they probably keep it cooler than a Mavs hoops game as opposed to a Stars game, but not much more so. Cold air sinks and warm air rises.
You might wear a long-sleeve shirt (or a hoodie and beanie if you're Gen Z) but you don't have to don full Inuit parka regalia to attend a hockey game.
Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 26, 2026, 10:34:53 PMWhen you think about it, cold air sinks.
Cold air sinks even when you
don't think about.
Bring your liquid jacket.
:bigass:
Stadiums and arenas are always cold, because they have so many FANS!!! :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
Tip the veal and try your waitresses!
Why do they even let female deer have hockey arenas? And how do they make them cold?
Quote from: GaryV on May 11, 2026, 07:43:39 AMWhy do they even let female deer have hockey arenas? And how do they make them cold?
No, no, that's the name of the team.
Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:57:54 AMQuote from: GaryV on May 11, 2026, 07:43:39 AMWhy do they even let female deer have hockey arenas? And how do they make them cold?
No, no, that's the name of the team.
There was a women's basketball with that name in Milwaukee in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
Mods: please move this thread from sports to weather.
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on May 14, 2026, 10:49:55 AMMods: please move this thread from sports to weather.
Why? This is about sports arenas, and I'm pretty sure the question of whether they're cold has little to do with the efficiency of their HVAC systems and more to do with the fact that they have, you know,
ice (and not the federal kind).
Quote from: Big John on May 11, 2026, 11:20:08 AMQuote from: kphoger on May 11, 2026, 10:57:54 AMQuote from: GaryV on May 11, 2026, 07:43:39 AMWhy do they even let female deer have hockey arenas? And how do they make them cold?
No, no, that's the name of the team.
There was a women's basketball with that name in Milwaukee in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
Funny enough, the Bucks used the purple color scheme during their early-90s rebrand.
Back to the subject, I've been to both United Center and Staples Center, and noticed that the former is located in a more ideal climate than the latter. It can be -20 below outside in Chicago, and the inside temperature is slightly less cold (which suits the Blackhawks just fine), while in L.A., even if it's 70 outside, it can be a challenge to keep the colder temps inside while the Kings are playing.
Quote from: Henry on May 14, 2026, 11:25:42 PMFunny enough, the Bucks used the purple color scheme during their early-90s rebrand.
Am I the only one who doesn't understand why that's funny?
The Pistons had a teal rebrand in the 1990s. It was poorly received and they went back to their original blue/red scheme a couple years later. It generally is not looked at with much fondness and referred to as the Teal Era:
https://www.vintagedetroit.com/the-teal-era-when-everything-went-wrong-for-the-pistons/
https://sportsteamhistory.com/the-most-extreme-branding-change-seen-in-nba-history/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1135388/2019/10/03/a-wacky-oral-history-about-the-origin-of-the-pistons-teal-jersey-horse-logo-and-hooper/
I know teal and purple were the unofficial color scheme of the 1990s, but the NBA in particular really went nuts with it for a while. The expansion Hornets, Raptors, and Grizzlies all used one or both of those colors, and the Bucks and Pistons weren't the only teams to bring in teal or purple only to ditch it a decade later. The Utah Jazz are an especially funny example, because while they had used purple since the beginning, they brought in teal to go with in 1996, only to abandon both colors by 2010.