Kings and Sharks in stadium series
Listen to this articleToday we are here in Santa Clara, California, location of Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. But it isn’t football that brings the fans to the stadium this week, it’s the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. The Los Angeles Kings will meet the San Jose Sharks outdoors in the beautiful interior of Levi’s Stadium.
A little about the festivities of the event: the pre-game and intermission entertainment is looking like it will be amazing, with such stars as John Fogerty, Melissa Etheridge, Kris Allen and Symphony Silicon Valley. Plus, fans can interact through their smart phones during intermission to produce what promises to be a dazzling light show.
Workers have spent several days preparing the field for NHL ice hockey and they have converted part of the parking lot into a NHL fan experience for all the visitors with tickets to the game. Called the Spectator Plaza, fans with tickets to the game can get take part in events from being a sportscaster, to trying their wrist and slap shots in special booths set up in the Plaza.
They will also have a chance to win things like a GoPro Hero Four camera, an Xbox and an Ultimate Hockey Weekend, complete with a game at Madison Square Garden and a $500 dollar gift card for the NHL store.
Entertaining the crowd outside the stadium before the game will be San Francisco band Neon Velvet and of course fans can buy all their favorite Sharks and Kings gear throughout the Spectator Plaza.
On Thursday members of the press got a chance to skate on the ice and many did. It was surprising to see how many reporters had ice skates. Because it could be a very painful experience for those that don’t know how to skate.
On Friday we watched the two teams practice and it was clear the Kings were focused on one thing: winning this game. The Sharks had a strong practice, but the mood felt a lot lighter. Maybe because they are the home team and the majority of the 70,000 fans will be wearing their colors.
Before the team practices though the NHL held a press conference to roll out their new statistic platform. If you’re into NHL fantasy leagues, you will love the new layout of the stats. In real time you will be able to track individual and team stats simultaneously and track the three biggest stars of the week with stats and editorial content to explain how and why they became the three stars of the week. And the graphics will be the best on the Internet.
This new stats platform will put the NHL miles ahead of the other sports leagues and It’s no wonder the NHL decided to announce their new stats platform here, in Silicon Valley. It won’t be long before they other leagues start copying the NHL. Aside from the game, this is the biggest news of the weekend.
But that was all in preparation for this regular season game between two teams in one of the toughest rivalries in sports.
Six months ago the San Jose Sharks were notified they would have an outdoor game against their biggest rivals, the L.A. Kings, in the most technologically advanced sports venue in the world, Levi’s Stadium. Today, in front of 70,000 fans the Sharks will host the Kings for their biggest game so far this season.
In the season, San Jose leads L.A. 2-1, their last win over the Kings coming on January 21 at home in the SAP Center. But, the Kings are coming into today on a six-game win streak while the Sharks have been struggling to get a win, just two in their last six games.
If the Sharks win today they will own the Kings this season, but that won’t count for much once the playoffs arrive. Everyone remembers how the Kings-Sharks series went last year in the playoffs.
Neither team is high up in the standings right now and the Sharks are just two points ahead of the Kings, so this is mostly a game about the bragging rights of this rivalry. But every win, every point counts in the standings and the winner will be one more point closer to the division-leading Anaheim Ducks.
The Spectator Plaza is about to open and the game is just hours away. NHL hockey in an outdoor rink, in Northern California — the temperature right now is 69°f and it is expected to drop to the mid 40’s before the game is over. Yesterday the players said the ice was slushy, but we’ll see what it is like at game time tonight.
(All photos by Claudia Gestro)
Claudia is of Peruvian and Italian descent, having been born in a small town, in the North of Peru, South America. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, living in poverty until Claudia’s mother brought her to America. She landed in Miami, FL and started her new life, playing high school basketball and eventually becoming a United States citizen. Claudia completed her education at Florida International University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and became a model to supplement her income. Since graduating from FIU Claudia has worked with many of the Spanish Language broadcasting companies, including Telemundo, Univision and most recently Spanish Language channels on SiriusXM satellite radio and PasTV Deportes in Venezuela.She encourages you to follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Her content appears here under a shared content agreement with her Spanish television clients.