Surprise, Surprise - out of all the places to watch pro-hockey in the world - Glendale, Arizona.
I was really surprised what a nice venue the Phoenix Coyotes have. I parked for free with my buddy from the Bay Area, who flew in to watch the Sharks take on the Coyotes for 1st place on 3/26/11. We approached the area not knowing what to look for in the flat desert community. But once we saw The University of Phoenix Stadium, we saw the large Westgate Mall and Jobing.com Arena hidden within it. It was really cool how the designers implemented the Arena in the middle of everything. We literally parked, walked through this giant mall area and entered the arena.
The Arena itself is pretty new. Sat 5th row and enjoyed the view. The arena has a good setup, along with a quality arrangement of concession stands and restrooms. The scoreboard could use some updating, but that was about all I could recommend. The sound system was good too. I enjoyed the beats - since the Coyote fans were really quiet. And the imported beer (Heineken) was $11 bucks - a little too pricey, but very normal at sports events across America. After enjoying the venue, we checked in at a bar in the Westgate Mall outside the arena. I would love to come back and enjoy future games there - hope the Coyotes don't move out of Phoenix.