If you love sports, Los Angeles is a great place to be. Joel, Student Ambassador from Switzerland, is well versed in LA sporting events, having gone to many during his time here in LA! Let’s check out what he has to say 🙂
Student Ambassador Perspective
During my stay in LA, I went to a lot of sports games: basketball, ice-hockey, and soccer. Every game was amazing and so different than the games in Europe. If you have the opportunity to go to a game, you have to do it because it’s a great thing to experience.
Ice-Hockey
I’m a big ice-hockey fan in Switzerland and I definitely wanted to see at least 1 NHL game. I ended up going to 8 ice-hockey games by the end of my time in LA! All the games were amazing because the playing level is higher here than in Europe; they might even play at the best level in the world. I saw the Kings at the Staples Center in Downtown LA and the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Ducks played so well that I had the opportunity to go to playoffs (March – June) and the level was even higher than the regular season.
Inside the Staples Center!
Basketball
For basketball, I saw the Clippers and the Lakers, and both games were at the Staples Center. The games were enjoyable but the atmosphere is pretty quiet. If both teams are close, the game gets interesting during the 4th quarter and then the atmosphere starts to get crazy. I would say that basketball is more appropriate if you want to share a moment with your friends and want to talk with them.
Outside the Staples Center!
Soccer
For soccer, I went with some friends to a LA Galaxy game and there it was the complete opposite of basketball. The players’ levels are not as high as in Europe but the atmosphere is exciting and fans are crazy, a bit like in Europe.
Joel at the StubHub Center, home of the Galaxy.
The disadvantage is the price of the drinks in the stadiums; just a basic beer is about $8.50 and a soda is like $6. As for the prices to park your car, everywhere you go you will have to pay at least $15. The food is only okay, and you have to pay like $11 for a burger and $8 for a hot-dog. So my advice is that you eat and drink before or after the game.
Outside the Honda Center
Ticket Prices
For the tickets to the different LA sporting events, it depends on which game you want to see. In hockey or basketball, the prices are pretty much the same; a derby or a game against a good team is going to be more expensive ($50 – $70) than a game against the last team in the standings ($25 – $35). And tickets are always more expensive during the playoffs ($70 – $100). The prices are going to keep getting more expensive as the team progresses in playoffs ($80 – $140 for the first 3 rounds, $350 – $600 for the final!!!).
Inside the Honda Center
Other Advice for LA Sporting Events
Apps like Stubhub or Vividseats are useful if you’re looking for tickets. For soccer, you can have a well-placed ticket for $30 – $50 (the prices that I mentioned are always the cheapest one).
The thing that I appreciated the most was the behavior of the fans. They play fair with the opposite team and respect each other. That’s a big difference with Europe. They’re never saying bad words about the other team, and they’re always supporting their own team. And that for me is the right behavior that a good fan should have.
So, to conclude, if you can go to a game, just go because it’s great to see how the games are in the US. The culture is different and you shouldn’t expect that games will be the same as in Europe.
– Joël Meylan
Special thanks to our Student Ambassador, Joel (Switzerland), for showing us how to navigate LA sporting events!
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