With temperatures in the low 80’s today, it’s tough to think about hockey, but Kansas City was pumped up for the fastest game on earth as the L.A. Kings and St. Louis Blues played a pre-season game.
The Blues lost 2-1 as both teams had skeleton rosters. The Kings had a game already scheduled in Los Angeles, so the team sent a split squad. The Blues also play Tuesday night in Dallas and held back some of their star players for that game against the Stars.
The game was set up by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Kings and the Sprint Center. When the Sprint Center was completed, the hope was that one day Kansas City would be the home of a new NHL franchise or it would attract a move-in.
That almost happened last year when the Nashville Predators were having issues in their arena and with the city. However, that got worked out and the Sprint Center was left out in the cold.
Despite the hype, this was actually the lowest attendance figure for a Kansas City exhibition hockey crowd. Back in 2003, the Blues and Blackhawks played in front of 17,285 in Kemper Arena, and the Blues and Preds played to 12,686 at Kemper in 2005. Three years later, the 17,297 seat arena filled just 11,603.
The Sprint Center has already requested an exhibiton date for next October.
