Trade Deadline and the Second Overtime Game in two games.

When we thought Portland would stay pat at the end of this season's trade-in, we were in for a surprise.  In a trade that was made at 11:53am, seven minutes before the Noon deadline, Portland made a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats.  In exchange for three player and two future draft picks, Portland got Gerald "Crash" Wallace.  

Knowing that professional sports in a business, it's still hard to see players leave your team.  We lost Joel Pryzbilla who had been with Portland for six seasons, Sean Marks a mid season signing and Dante Cunningham who was in second season in Portland.  There is still a hope that Joel will re-join Portland before the end of the season.

Wednesday brought to town the current NBA Champions the Los Angeles Lakers.  It was great game down the stretch before Kobe got hot and we lost the game in overtime.  This game saw bad calls on both side, Pau Gasol fouling out and the return of Brandon Roy.  It was a game Portland should have won, but per the norm, Portland could not close it down when they needed two.

Friday we played the new look Denver Nuggets, who did not look like a team who had lost two of their biggest players.  Denver played well with the five new players they acquired from New York.  This was a going to be a crazy game from the beginning.  Portland was playing without a true center, but LaMarcus stepped up.  Things only got crazier during a timeout in the second quarter.  A fan was chosen to make a half court shot, if he made it he would win a new ride from Toyota.  After spinning the wheel of cars, James Collier landed on the Toyota Tundra.  He baseball shot the ball and it went in seamlessly.  It was the first time since the 2006-2007 season someone has made the shot. I actually saw James after the game and he was still in shock over making the shot.  Back and fourth scoring throughout the game, and Brandon Roy still showed he has the touch.  He made a three point shot with 5.8 seconds left in regulation, that ultimately sent the game into overtime.  Rudy and Wesley made huge shots, and Portland came away with the win. 

It was a huge win on so many fronts.  The game was on National Television, Portland was playing without a true center and only nine available players, and a division rival.

Up next is Atlanta comes to the Garden and yes it is on ESPN.

Here is a link to the half court shot

http://www.nba.com/blazers/tbtv/video.html?videoID=1162

Two National Televised Games, and one that should have been......

Starting Wednesday Feb. 23, 2011 the Portland Trail Blazers will be facing conference foe the Los Angeles Lakers.  This will be Portland's first game after the much needed All-Star Game, and the Lakers second game.  The game was originally scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN, but was later pulled to show instead the Clippers and Hornets.

Friday Feb 25, 2011, Portland will be facing another conference foe in the Denver Nuggets.  This game should be interesting in the fact, that this will be the first game after the NBA trade deadline has passed.  Denver is looking a lot different with the trading of their superstar player Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.  Portland is hoping to have the same team, they had before the trade deadline.  Before the All-Star game, Portland was without a doubt the hottest team in the NBA, and their loyal fans are hoping that the team will stay in tact once the deadline passes.  The Denver game will be broadcast on ESPN.  Then on Sunday Feb. 27, once again on ESPN, Portland will host the Atlanta Hawks.

Working nationally televised games have their ups and downs.  One of the best parts is playing to a national audience and showcasing the talent Portland possesses, on the other hand, nationally televised games take longer to play.  You have all the commercial breaks, longer timeouts, and a much longer half time.  Even though the games is slated to start at 7:30pm eastern time, rarely does it start on time.  Arena employees still arrive at the same time as they would for a regular game on local television.  With the late start time, it does in some cases gives guests a head start on the consumption of alcohol, and with two of the weeks three games against conference rivals, things could get interesting.

But I am thankful the two games are on ESPN, and not on TNT.  TNT games seem to take a lifetime to play and the timeouts are more frequent and longer then when played on ESPN.

Rules on the arena

These are the rules in which my two arenas (The Rose Garden Arena and Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon use).  Keep in mind that each arena will have different rules.


No Outside Food or Beverage~you would think this one is self explanatory, but sadly it is not. Nothing can be brought inside the arena, not even water bottles. Please don't try and sneak stuff in, we will catch it. We do have water fountains available if you do not wish to purchase the bottles of water.

Please leave your professional cameras at home. You are only allowed to use them at NBA and WHL(Western Hockey League) events. We consider a camera "professional" if the lens can be removed. When we say no recording......we mean it. If you are caught recording, you will be asked to leave your seat, come out on the concourse and delete everything you have recorded. I hate having to do this, but it's the rule.

Majority Rules Rule~If a majority of the guests in your section are sitting down and you are not, you will be asked to sit down. Same applies if a majority are standing up. It only applies to your section. Not the ones around you. I know that it gets annoying when you are at a concert, standing up and enjoying yourself, and you are asked to sit down.

Ladies, no matter how cute your new high heels make your outfit, please don't wear them. By the end of the night your feet will be killing you and you must wear your shoes at all times in the arena. Play it safe and wear flats.

No Re admittance. Sounds pretty straight forward right. Wrong. Once you are in the arena you are in til you decide to leave for the night. It is clearly labeled above the doors, yet guests try and fight it. You are able to leave for certain reasons, but those reasons are few and far between.  And only Supervisors and Front of House Managers can decide if you are able to leave the arena.

No you may not move to a seat closer to the stage or court if it is open. We consider all seats to be sold whether or not someone sits in it. If you wish to move closer, you must visit the box office and see if they are able to move you. Please don't get upset if you ask and are told no. Without a ticket for that seat, you are not permitted to sit in it.

Don't blame the arena staff for you being late and missing the show. You know when it starts, so please allow ample time to make it to the arena on time. Doors usually open one hour before the event starts. Concerts will vary.

Please don't get upset and start "Open the Door" chants when doors are late opening. We are not allowed to open the doors until we are told to. Sorry.

Please control your alcohol intake. You would think with the outrageous price for a beer, one would take it easy. Not so much.

When the event is over, please don't lounge around inside the bowl. We need to get it cleared so we can all go home at a decent time.

Please keep up with your cell phone, watch, purse, id, credit cards, jewelery etc. We will try our best to get it retrieved from where it landed after if fell out of your pocket, purse etc. It does take time for us to go down and hunt for it.

When you are told no, please listen to the staff. We say no for a reason and not just for the heck of it. We have rules that we need to enforce and it gets hectic when we have to constantly tell guests no over and over.

Smoking areas will be set-up once the event has started and not before. Please don't be all put out that we advise you of a smoking area that you have to walk to. And as long as you stay in the barriers you are able to come back in the arena. Leave them and to bad so sad.

Always keep your ticket with you while you are in the arena. Anyone on staff can ask to see your ticket. If you leave your seat and don't have your ticket, it's a hassle to find out if you are indeed in that section. The same usher that helped seat you , may not be there when you leave to use the restroom, buy food/beverages, etc. so that is why you need your ticket. For Blazer games, most of the ushers are in the same location for the season. Yes, I do know everyone who sits in my section, and will know if someone sneaks down and tries to sit in an open seat. Please don't try to say you are sitting on the floor, when in fact you are in the 300 section.

For those who do the "Print Your Own" tickets, please don't mess with the size of the ticket. Shrinking the ticket to place multiple tickets on one page will shrink the bar code resulting in your ticket not being scannable. And by placing multiple tickets on one page I mean tickets purchased separately.


The camera policy can and will change before an event starts.  This mainly  happens for concerts. What the artist puts in the writer regarding cameras can change the day of the show.  That change can happen right before the doors open.  I know it doesn't help to apologize for the rule changing once the door opens.  We as a staff realize that many people travel a great distance to come to the shows at the arena, and not being able to have a camera when you are told in the beginning is frustrating.  We go by the information we are given.  


At Blazer games, if your child is going to be performing during either pre-game or halftime, please don't get offended if I send you to another part of the arena.  It is not because I do not want you in my section, I want you to be able to see your child perform and in my section this will not happen.  You are more then welcome to stay in my section and watch and take pictures, but these will 99.9% of the time be of your child's back.  I am sorry that you are given wrong information.  Why this is not included in the instructions you are given it beyond me.


Courtside kid parents, follow the rules and we will not have any issues.  The rules that I enforce are not my rules, but those put in place by the arena and the team, if you have a problem with them, contact either the arena or the team.  Calling me names will not make a difference and will only make you look bad.  It is also not my fault if you own a "crappy" digital camera and no it will not allow you to move closer, or roam to various sections to get a photo of your child.  The team has a professional photographer that takes pictures and you will get them at a later date.  Also you are not permitted to sit in the seats in my section unless you ask or have a valid reason.  Once the players exit the court, all the seats in all sections are considered sold and unless you hold a ticket for that seat you are not able to sit there.  Also please don't ask me to allow you to sit in a section near mine; I do not run that section therefore what I say won't matter.

So you work at an arena......it must be a fun job.

I have been working at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon since 2006.  The Rose Quarter encompasses both the Rose Garden Arena and The Memorial Coliseum.  The Rose Quarter is home to the NBA's Portland TrailBlazers.  It has played host to numerous concerts, kids shows, sporting events, and high school state championships.  The Memorial Coliseum is home to the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.  It also plays hosts to numerous concerts, high school state championships, home improvement shows, and college graduations just to name a few.

I have had the opportunity to see some amazing once in a lifetime events while being employed at the Rose Quarter.  Most events I never thought I would be able to see.  Some events have been the 2009 NCAA Men’s First and Second Rounds on the Basketball Championships, Queen with Paul Rogers, Walking with Dinosaurs, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Billy Joel, Van Halen.

Here on my blog, I will be sharing the cool and not so cool parts of working at a world-class sports arena.  So if there are any questions you have, or just anything in general you would like to know, just leave me a comment to this post.  I will try my best to answers them.

I hope that everyone will enjoy reading my view on what it is like to work for the Rose Quarter.

Enjoy.