Maybe We Should Keep The Heritage Bank Center?

And make some improvements?

Pretty much everyone I spoke to since moving here has, either directly told me or passively condemned The Heritage Bank Center as “a dump.”

After my dad took the girls and their cousins to a Florida Everblades ECHL game last month, the girls were in a hockey mood, we took them to a Cincinnati Cyclones game.

I was prepared, having been in many aged arenas, and based on what I’d been told, though when I got there, I was surprised. The description of “dump” was way off.

Yes, the 1975-era Coliseum-style arena is dated. (It reminds me of the stupidly-located Richfield Coliseum of my youth.) The protective base under a seat in the row behind us fell off during the middle of a game.

Twin B lost one but two bottles of water into the seats in front of us, requiring its occupant to bend over and return them to us. This was, of course, after we realized where the first one went.

It was $2 hotdog and pop night, but we came for the cheap tickets. We were not disappointed.

The intro was pretty cool, too. Here’s a peak:

The hot dogs? Good for the price. And to be able to have Red Cream Soda or RC? It really felt like the 1980s. Popcorn was good, too.

But the sightlines? So good. The old Jumbotron? Cool, except when you wanted to see a replay of the goal.

The promotions were fun and accessible. I almost landed a foam puck at center ice from the upper deck! If you downloaded the app, you got a free hat! Each twin got one. The app also gives you free audio of games in case you don’t want to pay $150 a year for FLOHockey. The girls got to see “Twister” and get a picture with “Puckchop.”

Jay Kruz, the radio host and DJ who did the in-house announcing? An absolute pro. That guy worked so hard all night, and you could tell he was into it, which is hard to do for the entire freaking game. When I saw a picture of what appeared to be Pauly Shore next to a beeramid (this is a thing Cyclones fans have embraced), I didn’t realize that Kruz kind of has the same vibe going. Can’t unsee it.

Oh, and a family first for the Swift ladies. None of them had ever been on the a Jumbotron before, and that, if you look closely, was about to change.

We had a great time and plan to be back for a bunch of games. Parking, like with GABP, was a breeze.

Perhaps if Cincinnati gets its money from the state if Jabroni Jimmy Haslam successfully shakes down Ohioans for a pointless dome not located in Cleveland, maybe some of that can go to refresh aspects of Heritage Bank that need it.

But the building itself? I’m kind of partial to keeping it.