The Los Angeles Kings have taken the league by storm this year and it has caused casual fans who are used to watching the game on tv decide that they would like to get up and go attend a game. The question for these fans is what is the best seats in the house for them to be able to enjoy their experience watching the Los Angeles Kings?

If you ask fans of the Los Angeles Kings, each person will give you a different answer as to what they feel are the best seats in the house. However I am here not to convince you of what I feel is the best seat in the house, but more to educate you on what the pros and cons of each seat at a Los Angeles Kings game is.

Let’s start with the upper level seats (300 level) at Staples Center. In the 300’s you have 34 different sections in which you can sit. Sections 302-317 would be on the side where the Los Angeles Kings defend periods 1 and 3 while sections 319-334 would be the side where the Los Angeles Kings are shooting twice. With this in mind now ask yourself, what do you prefer to see? Do you prefer watching the Los Angeles Kings goalie play for 2 periods, or do you prefer to see the Los Angeles Kings offense at work for 2 periods? The other option you have is would you rather then have an equal view of both actions and sit center ice in sections 318 or 301? That would be another option you have!

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Once you have decided what you would prefer as to whether watching the Los Angeles Kings attack twice or defend twice, you then get to decide would you like to be viewing from the blue line, a corner, or behind the net. Each view will provide you something different as when you are behind the net, it enables you to see the entire rink and track the puck very well. It however diminishes your view on the opposite side of the rink and makes the players appear fairly small on the opposite end of the rink. When you sit in a corner it will give you a bit better view of what’s happening on the opposite side of the rink while keeping you with a very good view of the action happening right in front of you and typically it puts you right at the goal line so when the puck gets past the goalie, you have one of the best views of seeing the puck go into the net. By moving closer towards the blue line your view of the action changes a bit as now when you are watching the teams attack on offense you are now viewing them from behind a bit as opposed to having them come towards you. It lines you up to see plays being developed while also giving you a better view of the action on the opposite end.

The next tier of seating would be the 200 and premier level seating. The 200 level seating at Staples for the Los Angeles Kings are seats that are located behind the goals and have a slight bit of elevation to them. The 200 levels give the fan that feeling of being low to the ice and having the action appear closer to them while not completely draining their wallet. The premier level seats are between the goals and extend into the corners. The Premier seats have the added bonus of coming with waiter/waitress service which enables you to remain in your seat all throughout the game and not have to worry about getting up to get whatever food or beverage you desire. The elevation in the premiers offer you some of the best sightlines for hockey as you will pretty much not have any part of the rink be hidden from your view. You are viewing the game from “above the glass” which means the plexiglass boards that surround the rink will be lower than you so you will not be looking through that, you will be seeing the ice clearly from every spot in the stands. If you get a row 1 seat in the premiers you will have what is probably the BEST sightlines for a Los Angeles Kings game possible as you will not have anyone or anything blocking your view at all as if everyone stands to see a big play, you will have just enough elevation over them that you can remain seated in your seat and still see the play in action.

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Next up we have the 100 level seating at Staples. For many people they feel that the 100s is the only way to go because they want to be as close to the action as possible. However when you are this close, there are drawbacks. Pending on what section you are sitting in, you could have your view obstructed for certain parts of the ice. The lower you sit, the harder it is to see on the opposite end of the rink. If you sit low, you are going to have a very god view of all the action is happening in front of you, will be able to the ice scrape up from the players skates when they throw on the brakes, the chip in the ice that will cause the puck to bounce on edge, however by doing this you cut down on your angle to see the opposite end of the rink. You will now be sitting “below the glass” which means when you go to look at the opposite end of the rink, if you are in a corner or between the goals, you will need to look through the players bench, or the penalty box to see the action on the opposite end. As you move higher up, it opens up the angle a bit more and lets you see more into the corner on the opposite end of the rink. Typically if you want to sit low, you want to be behind the net as this will not cut off your angle as you’ll have a full view of the rink. However if you sit low behind the net, it makes it tricky to see what is happening at the opposite end of the rink because you will be at eye height with the players so trying to see the goalie basically makes you feel like a player as you will see that defense trying to get in your way, along with the offense trying to set a screen in front of the goalie.

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Last but not least we have glass seats. Many people see glass seats as the greatest thing in the world. With glass seats you have to understand the pros and cons to them though. By being on the glass you are essentially a part of the action as you are able to pound on the glass and when a player comes crashing into the boards they are basically almost on top of you. However not every glass seat offers this. There are glass seats behind player benches and penalty boxes which means you cant hit the glass there, but you are right there with the players being able to hear what they are saying, what their coaches are saying to them. It gives a lot of insight as to what is going on in the players minds during the game. These will hurt your view a bit as you are basically looking at the backs of players heads during the game, however with those seats it is more about the atmosphere of those type of seats.

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We would love your feedback on your favorite seat location to see a LA Kings game.

Hope to see you all out there!