The Top 5 Locations to Watch Hockey at Rexall Place – Sponsored

Greetings to all. As a new contributor, I am glad to be joining forces with the great folks here on The Oilers Rig and look forward to contributing to the site about once a month or so. Please, be gentle…..

As a lifelong Oilers fan, I probably have sat in every section of the Northlands/Skyreach/Rexall arena. After going to hockey games for over 30 years I can tell you that watching hockey games has one similar concept with Edmonton real estate: the idea of location, location, location. Given that the arena is in its home stretch for use as the Oilers’ home base, I thought it would be fun to count down my Top 5 locations in the arena to watch an Oilers game, in either the old version or the new version of the building.

So here it goes:

1 – Centre Ice Row 13 – I can honestly say that nothing beats centre ice for a home opener just above the glass sightline wise. 2 years ago my father in law had something come up last minute and I was lucky enough to get his seat for the home opener against the Jets. You can see the every nook and cranny of the ice, hear the chatter from the players and refs, and still get a full view of the scoreboard. The only thing that could make it better, is apparently at row 12 there is the transition from the permanent concrete structure to the aluminum retractable risers and you get a few extra inches of leg room.

2 – Executive Row – 200s Section (old Northlands) – Many of you will remember that before concourse level LED screens and executive suites there used to be an executive style row at the very beginning of the 200’s section. These were sections of only 2 or 3 seats and were for the team, executives, etc. It would be the equivalent of row 20 at the rink today, I believe. I was fortunate enough to have a family member who knew Bill Tuele , former PR Director, who used to occasionally give us last minute seats in this area. These were a great location with actual legroom and unparalleled front row style views.

3 – Executive Terrace (Rexall Place) – between the blue lines – On the overhang section in the front of the 2nd level, this 4 row section is great value for those who like to be on top of the action a bit more, but still nice and close. And for the price, the seats in between the blue lines are a far superior value to the Executive seats on the ends It should also be noted that Section 119 should be omitted from this area , as the tv cameras are perched right in front of you and you don’t quite get the view as on the Section 101 side.

4 – Champs Sports Lounge – (Old Northlands) – Situated on the lower level similar to where the Executive Lounges are now, the Champs Sports Lounge had its own entrance and a feeling of being….special. I was lucky enough to be invited to an event there once, and can distinctively recall being able to be right now on ice level. For a kid my at the time, it was THE coolest place I had ever watched the Oilers skate. John Short used to do his radio show there before (or after) the Oilers games as well. And yes, I know I am dating myself talking about old radio guys like John Short…

5 – Section 228 – about Row 30 – For people my age, they will enjoy it for 2 reasons: 1) It is where the Oilers attack twice, and 2) it looks like a real life version of the NHL 94 game I used to play on my Sega Genesis. I had season seats in that location for 1 year, and every time I went and watched I had flashbacks to my teen years slaving away at that machine.

Of course this list is subjective, but based on 30 plus years of experience watching untold hockey games.

How about you – what’s your favorite spot to watch a game in Rexall/Skyreach/Northlands?

Next month I will take the opposite side and look at the worst spots in the old barn to watch an Oilers game (hint: expensive tickets don’t guarantee good seats!).