Biggest non-motors sports event in Inland Empire history?
Has to be.
Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in their last exhibition game before the 2008-09 regular season, at the new, $150 million Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. At 7 p.m., Oct. 24.
I’m a bit surprised there isn’t more chatter about this in the local papers out there. For a bunch of reasons.
1. It’s the first event in the Inland Empire’s first big arena, the 10,000-plus capacity CBB Arena. The “first” happens only once, you know?
2. The game appears to be close to a sellout, and these aren’t exactly at California League prices, either. Checking out tickets for the game through the (rapacious) Ticketmaster system … the only seats shown as available are at the $120 level. Nothing at $10, $25, $60, $70 or $110 … and also nothing at $225 and $300.
3. It’s the Lakers. Kobe’s team. OK, we concede Kobe may not play, since he still hasn’t had that finger surgery that will require a six-week convalescence, but still … Have to figure Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum will play, as will Kevin Durant for the visitors from Oklahoma City (formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics).
4. It’s the Lakers. Did I mention that?
Major-league teams do NOT play games in the IE. Certainly not lately.
The Wayne Gretzky Kings may have had an intrasquad game in Blue Jay, back before the Ice Castle burned down, mid-1990s. The Los Angeles Rams probably scrimmaged at the U of Redlands back in the 1950s, when they ran their summer training camps there. The Harlem Globetrotters must have played the old Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino a time or two, before it was torn down (a generation ago) and the Pittsburgh Pirates played a few spring games at Fiscalini Field in Berdoo, back in the early 1950s.
The Seattle Mariners played what amounted to an intrasquad game at Arrowhead Credit Union Park in 2002, a few days before the regular season opened.
If that was big (and it was), the Lakers in a big new arena, in the IE, in the year 2008, is huge, a momentous occasion for the Inland Empire. Enormous.
Someone is going to notice sometime soon.
Also, if you don’t like ticketmaster, you can try something called Ticket Luck, which appears to be offering seats at more locations — but charging more than face value for them. Like, $100-plus for the second level, end-of-the-arena. Seats that probably are no more than $25, face value.
But I’m guessing getting tickets anywhere in that arena, on Oct. 24, is going to be a big deal. And soon.
And one more thing: The Lakers may move their NBA D-League team to Ontario. Maybe someone needs to check that out.
FYI:Â This is the link to the arena’s home page.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Char Ham // Aug 31, 2008 at 3:20 PM
Aside from local press, there’s been little about it — anyone in the Marketing Dept. listening??????
2 Brian Robin // Sep 1, 2008 at 3:01 PM
I can vouch for the fact the Harlem Globetrotters DID play the late Swing Auditorium at least once in the early 1970s.
I can make this claim with utter certainty because I saw them there, circa 1972 or 1973.
Now, if I could only find that Curly Neal autographed mini basketball. . .
And it’s interesting that not much has come from this arena story. The late, lamented Inland Valley Times did several stories on the earlier incarnation of this arena.
I can make this claim with utter certainty as well, because I WROTE those stories.
3 Chuck Hickey // Sep 1, 2008 at 9:10 PM
I seem to remember the Globetrotters playing at Coussoulis Arena after it opened in the late 1990s.
Also, you assume the local newspapers are on top of things. They might not even know there’s an arena even being built.
4 Dave Gaytan // Sep 2, 2008 at 11:41 AM
The Globetrotters used to play an annual game at the Swing Auditorium during the 60s. I was at a game circa ’63 or ’64. They had Meadowlark, Curly, and were coached by Tex Harrison. Red Klotz of course, was the player/coach of the Washington Generals. I remember the halftime entertainment was an excellent Czechoslovakian dance troupe that ended their show dancing up the stairs right by the Swing’s stage. I’m relatively certain that an older white man sitting on the Globetrotters’ bench was founder Abe Saperstein himself.
Also, the California Angels did play an exhibition game at the now-departed Evans Park in Riverside in 1974. I wasn’t there, but a friend was, and he can recite details.
5 Jim Alexander // Sep 2, 2008 at 3:30 PM
That is correct. They played UCR in an exhibition game, and they brought most of their regulars, including Frank Robinson (who was with them that year). Bobby Winkles was the manager, which was probably why this game took place. It was also the night Angels catcher Charlie Sands wrecked his knee in a home plate collision; the UCR kid (whose name escapes me) came in full steam and ran him over, which might have had something to do with another UCR player getting beaned a couple of innings earlier.
Needless to say, the Angels haven’t been back since.
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