Profiling Saginaw’s Dow Events Center

It is Day One of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip’ journey to Notre Dame and back, and for the first leg of the trip, we paid a visit to Saginaw, Michigan, home of the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit.

Now Saginaw is one of just three U.S. based OHL franchises, the other two being the Erie Otters and the Plymouth Whalers, and we often joke that these junior hockey venues are pretty much a boilerplate experience – 6000 wine red colored seats, small lobby with local Sports Hall of Fame and exhibits just off to the right, showcasing people most never heard of nor do they care about. On the concession menu – Pizza Pizza, Tim Horton’s and poutine. Throw in a restaurant high above center ice and the ubiquitous mural of Queen Elizabeth hanging up above one end zone, and no need to drive all the way to Sault Ste. Marie. We just nailed it.

That being said, it is kind of refreshing to get the OHL experience from the American angle, and here in Saginaw game night does not disappoint. Fans here love their hockey and are passionate about their Spirit, a team they have had here for just a few seasons, after the franchise relocated from North Bay.

The Dow Events Center is a multi faceted entertainment and meeting facility located on the fringes of downtown Saginaw. The center city here is dreary and depressing, with many vacant storefronts and dank, dark streets. Save for this facility and a theatre one block away, there would be absolutely no reason to come downtown at all.

But the arena itself is a real charmer – just under 6000 seats, all upholstered and plenty wide, a sparkling rotunda style atrium lobby with flags of all 20 OHL teams ringing the pavilion. Video board, party decks at ice level on each corner, and a low enough ceiling so that the place can get really noisy when al the seats are filled. The arena underwent an extensive renovation back in 2003 costing upwards of $14-million, this after their former minor league team departed mid season in the dead of night, and disgusted fans were ready to bulldoze the place.

It has all worked out here in Saginaw. Team owner Richard Garber stood at one of the exits after the game, high fiving fans and patting them on the back as they departed. Fun seems to be the mantra here, with mascots and game day crew shooting t-shirts, in fact so many of them, that we had to switch sections to a less crowded area so we could watch the game with fewer distractions.

With scant little tradition here, there are no retired numbers hanging from the rafters, and the team has yet to win an OHL championship or appear in the Memorial Cup tournament despite playoff runs in recent years. But that may all change this year as the team is off to a fast start, and headlining the 2009-10 squad is 19 year old defenseman Nick Crawford, who is in his fourth season with the team, and was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2008. On this night, Crawford netted two assists as the Spirit throttled the visiting Oshawa Generals 5-1.

Following the game we headed out to a local pub and eatery (not in scary scary downtown), and ran into Spirit play by play broadcaster Leigh Cunningham. Leigh was kind enough to spend a little time with us and shared his thoughts about the team and their fan base. Having worked with OHL teams for a number of years, including with the London Knights, Leigh was very deferential towards Saginaw, saying that fans here have been very quick to embrace their team and the OHL product.

Day One of this USRT adventure is in the books! Saturday we point the car south towards South Bend, and a 2:30 PM kickoff at Notre Dame Stadium as the Fighting Irish host Navy, a team they have beat at home for generations. For the nightcap, it’s then off to the United Center in Chicago for the Chicago Bulls. They are promising sunny skies and 63 degrees at game time, it should be a great day!

Above – the Blue Line Club is a gussied up banquet hall open to season ticket holders. Below – a birds eye view of the action from one of the corner party decks.

Props to Bill Konesko at the Saginaw Spirit for his assistance!