When the Vancouver Grizzlies began play in 1995, their first regular season game was in Portland at the Rose Garden. I was living in Vancouver at the time and had a job in Burnaby. I actually went to work that morning, then told my boss that I needed to drive to Portland to see the game. Amazingly, I took the Skytrain back home, got my car, and drove the 5 1/2 hours to Portland. I don't remember how I did it, but I found free parking close to the arena, all of this without a GPS! I went to the box office, where there was a single ticket for $100 at center court, about 9 rows up. At that time, $100 was a lot of money, but I had to buy it. I was wearing my Grizzlies T-shirt (which I still have) and a member of the Grizzlies PR team spotted me. I was interviewed for a few minutes and ended it with "We're #1!". That interview was shown on the scoreboard two days later during the Grizzlies first ever home game at GM Place (which also opened in 1995). Fame and fortune surely would follow, but although the Grizz won those two games, they finished 15-67. Five more futile seasons and they were bound for Memphis.
Anyway, I was not chasing stadiums at the time so I was unaware, but that was the Rose Garden's first ever game as well. Fast forward 28 years and the venue is now the Moda Center, named for a local health insurance provider. I visited again in 2008 for hoops and lacrosse but did not document much, so was excited to finally take my time to tour and take some pictures. Although downtown Portland resembled an ice rink, Sharpy (who has joined me on this trip) and I managed to walk from our hotel to Upright Brewing for a couple of pre-game wobbly pops, and while there, we bought tickets on the secondary market. We then headed over to the arena, which was lit up in Blazer Red for the game.
We entered via the North Entrance and just inside is Guest Services, where you can pick up a poker chip for a free soda by signing up for the designated driver program. A page with rosters and stats can be picked up here too, and you can cut out the top portion and use it in lieu of a hard ticket as a souvenir. The promotion on this night was AAPI (Asian-American Pacific Islander) appreciation and there was a parade on the concourse that included some dragons (above).
What really impressed me is that they had added AAPI icons such as Jeremy Lin (wearing a Raptors uniform) and placed them on poles all around the concourse. This is dedication to the promotion that I have rarely seen elsewhere.
The concourse itself is spacious and filled with an extremely wide variety of overpriced concessions. One of them is called BlazeThru, where you insert a credit card into a reader and walk through the stand, picking up what you want. There are no cashiers as there are several cameras that track you and determine what you pick up and your credit card will be charged accordingly. A hot dog is $8 by the way.
If you are looking for the team store, there are three mannequins hanging from the ceiling to show you the way.
The same dunking form indicates the restrooms. As a short person incapable of dunking, I found this offensive and have already contacted my lawyer about the lack of inclusivity.
A Walk of Fame can also be found as you walk around the concourse. The Trail Blazers started in 1970 and won a title in 1977. Larry Weinberg was the owner at that time; of course, more famous names such as Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas are also honoured.
A unique display with a jersey and some photos celebrating that championship 47 years ago can be spotted if you look carefully.
Once we had completed the tour of the concourse, we entered the seating bowl. The seats are red and black, the same colours that the Trail Blazers use. There are three seating levels, but the 200s are immediately above the 100s, with just a small walkway between the two. The suites are above the 200 level, which makes it the best value.
Be careful if you are buying on the secondary market as the 100 level starts with double letters and goes up to RR. So Row A is not the first row but could be the 19th row.
We got tickets in 225 Row C (view below). It is not worth the extra money to sit in the 100s. The suites are above the 200 level, but even then, the 300 level seats are not far from the floor.
I found this venue to be a good combination of old-school design with modern additions. One thing I had not seen before: the railings along the aisles all have lights attached and these lights blink during certain events, adding a bit to the viewing experience.
There are three types of scoreboards along the top behind both nets. One shows team stats, one shows player stats, and one shows "hustle" stats (blocks, rebounds, steals).
The Blazers have several retired numbers and those can be found hanging from the rafters on one side; the other side has the championship banners.
Overall, Moda Center was a great experience for my fourth visit. The location is excellent and despite being nearly 30 years old, it seems new in most places. I am very glad I got another chance to see this place properly, and I got a pretty good game to go with it.
The Game
The Indiana Pacers were in town with newly acquired Pascal Siakim making his first appearance for them. Sharpy wore his Leafs jersey and I wore my Raptors t-shirt, though we were cheering for Portland. The visitors were favoured by 7.5 and had an early lead of 14-7 behind four three-pointers. They continued to jack up threes while Portland played a paint game and when the Pacers went cold, the Blazers came back and took a 34-31 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Indiana tie the game at 40, but they could not take the lead and Portland used an 8-1 run at the end of the half to enjoy a 64-53 lead at the break.
The third quarter saw both teams maintain their chosen strategies, with the Pacers using the long ball to get back in the game, while Portland continued to play close to the basket. We were tied at 75 midway through but Portland's Malcolm Brogdon scored a couple of quick layups and Toumani Camara added another and the Blazers maintained that advantage, up 88-81 entering the final frame.
The game had been well officiated up until this point, but the fourth quarter saw 18 fouls and both teams were in the bonus with over five minutes to go. This led to a lot of choppy play, with 31 free throw attempts between the two teams. Indiana got within 4 at 95-91 but Portland scored 7 straight on freebies to regain that 11-point bulge. With 1:50 to go, the Blazers still led by 11, but Tyrese Haliburton drained a three and added a pair of free throws to make it close. But the Pacers chose not to foul and Portland milked the clock for two possessions, coming up empty. Myles Turner sank a bomb for Indiana but there were only 17 seconds left. The Pacers took six seconds to foul, and Jerami Grant (shooting above) missed one of two, but Haliburton missed a three and Portland escaped with the 118-115 upset. Streamers floated down to celebrate.
This was a very entertaining game until the fourth quarter. In particular, the difference in approach was obvious from the stat board: Indiana was 20-47 from long range, Portland just 4-12, while the Pacers were outscored in the paint 66-26. Pacer fans said the game was rigged for Portland, but when you drive to the bucket, you will draw fouls. Grant led all scorers with 37 points while Siakim finished with 21 in the loss.
Notes
The night before, I had planned to see the Portland Pilots hosting San Diego, but the Toreros had travel issues and could not get to Portland in time, so that game was postponed. There was a women's basketball game at Portland State (the Vikings) that served as a backup, but that game was closed to fans due to, and I am not making this up, icy roads. They should call themselves Nanny State and change the Vikings nickname as well. Anyway, I will eventually return to Portland and hope for better weather next time.
Best,
Sean
No comments:
Post a Comment