November 11, 2017
Dort Federal Event Center (Capacity: 3,960)
Flint, MI
Flint Firebirds vs Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Final Score: 2 – 8
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Game 2 on this four stadium trip brought me to Mid-Michigan and the embattled city of Flint. People may think they know Flint’s story, but the media portrayal is far different than reality as this is not as simple as “once flourishing city fallen on hard times”. After starting briefly as a lumber town, Flint became a center for the automotive manufacturing industry, led by GM. When the plant downsized, struggles began as people left and the city experienced an increase in crime and the place went into a major economic depression. Other problems resulted due to horrible leadership, which was the primary reason for the recent water crisis. Despite the sour tone, there have been signs of promise and downtown has seen some development. It’s important to know that this entire city of nearly 100,000 is not rundown and there are many decent places and neighborhoods with a good majority of people who want to live here and they take part in events and other community involvement. Flint is a good place for visitors and for many who call it home. As for the hockey team, the Firebirds moved into town from nearby Plymouth in 2015 and this is their third season, in spite of dealing with the trials and tribulations of the team’s crazy owner, Rolf Nilsen. Games are played in the Dort Federal Event Center, a building that debuted in 1969, but is a viable arena today.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
I really enjoyed my six hours in Flint before the game and I encourage those in the area to spend a weekend afternoon in town. The Cultural Center just east of downtown is a real highlight and I found the informative Sloan Museum to be an excellent introduction. I then visited the popular and successful Farmers Market (which operates year-round) and enjoyed a nice lunch and followed that with a walk down Saginaw Street where I saw the famous “Vehicle City” sign. Most of your pre-game time should be spent in those downtown areas as the arena is in a section that does not have much for visitors: just a shopping center and a few other businesses, while across the street is a neighborhood and church.
Location Ranking: 6 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Interstates from all directions come into Flint (located about 65 miles NW of Detroit) and I-69 runs by Dort making for easy access. There are plenty of parking lots behind the building, where there is an entrance. It may be a bumpy ride on those potholed service lanes, but at least traffic both in and out won’t slow you down.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Exterior
Dort is a fairly large facility because there are two entertainment areas. It’s hard to tell visually when walking up, but the exterior consists of rectangular buildings that are connected by a middle atrium. There is a two-layer approach to the design as a cream-colored brick box sits on top of a small, brick base with an overhang separating the two. Definitely not the most attractive building, though an arena name sign above the main entrance at least livens the place up a bit.
Exterior Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Concourse
The middle atrium made me think of an entry to a high school auditorium with its older floor design, brick walls and general ceiling tile. What was a nice touch was the soft red and purple lighting on the white panels further up on the wall. Though why not blue and orange for the Firebirds? The space was really wide and accommodating for patrons before they pass through the doors and head inside. I loved how inside the arena, the ring concourse was ballpark-style as fans could see the action while roaming. Great space, but it did lack character as it is nothing but white wall.
Concourse Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Food
The only food stands were in the more spacious corners and each one featured the same menu. It was a weak one at that with generic offerings of nachos, hot dogs, sausage, pizza and chicken tenders. No burgers, fries or any semblance of local products. Alcoholic offerings featured a mix of beer, liquor and cocktails.
Food Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Interior
Flint’s arena has a straight-forward design that follows the shape of the rink. It isn’t a true oval as the corners are angled, making it more of an octagon. While most of the red and blue seats are set in a concrete base, about two-thirds of the way down is a dividing wall that separates a portable section where the seats are padded folding chairs. The only premium seating is the “Blue Line Club”, a nice area just tucked underneath the low ceiling behind one of the goals. Other random notes: Section numbers are displayed with a big, red number on the white wall behind and above each section. The painting on the ice is quite worn out as it was difficult to make out the Firebird logo in the center circle.
Interior Ranking: 6.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard is simplistic, yet stylish. The four panels that make up the board are completely video and they offer a very clear picture, with the exception of the in-arena game video, which has less quality. A static image thus stayed on the screen during and immediately after gameplay. At the top of the scoreboard was the arena name and logo.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
Flint organized many Veteran’s Day honors for those who have served and it was a well done, classy afternoon that gave everybody a chance to say thanks. As for team displays, only an old wooden case in the main atrium does anything to honor the history of hockey in the city. The old Generals memorbelia was nice, but I wanted more. Also leaving me to want more were those plain, white walls along the entire length of the interior walkways.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
It cost $5 to park and the ticket price ranged from $12 – $26 (excluding the hefty TicketMaster fee). With most of the building being at the $16 rate, that is a bit better than other league ticket prices. The wide range in tickets does mean that the middle three sections are mostly bare as fans understandably opt for the cheaper sections. Food prices were reasonable with a hot dog going for $4, pizza: $4 and a 21oz soda at just $3.
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8
Fan Support
It is so unfortunate that Flint has to deal with this owner situation and potential ramifications of players not wanting to play for this team. This feels like it should be a good hockey town (especially with such a healthy lineup of cars and people an hour before gametime), that unfortunately did not come through on my visit. The Firebirds have brought better crowds compared to their days in Plymouth, but that still has left Flint near the bottom of the league attendance rankings. For my Saturday afternoon game, it was a building just over half full and if announced attendance figures are any indication, that means most nights feature an arena with more empty seats than people. Flint did at least bring in an average of 2,800 for their two playoff games last year and comparing numbers with the other seven teams that hosted first round weeknight games, the team ranked 4th.
Fan Support Ranking: 3.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
The fans only generated background chatter as there was little excitement from the crowd (though the team did not help in this game). The killing of a penalty or a nice all-around play was not applauded as it was only “Make Some Noise” from the scoreboard that did the trick.
Atmosphere Ranking: 5 out of 14
Other Stuff
In the joy of getting an OHL franchise, Flint has had to deal with a wacko owner. During their first season, Rolf Nilsen fired the entire coaching staff due to his son’s lack of playing time. The whole team quit in support of the staff and the coaches were hired back. Later in the season, more trouble with Rolf led to the OHL suspending him for 5 years. It was so bad that the OHL made the team set-up counselors for the players. Now, the league is in control of the team, but what I don’t understand is Nilsen got a glorious write-up in the game program as owner and he was on the ice for a ceremonial puck drop! So what exactly does the suspension mean? Is he still doing work for the team?…..Despite this craziness, the Firebirds reached the playoffs in their second season…..Flint has a rivalry with nearby Saginaw and the winner of the season series gets the I-75 Cup. These two cities only separated by 40 minutes have a long span of hockey games against each other in various leagues through the years…..The original arena name was IMA Sports Arena, as the International Mutual Association of Flint owned the arena before selling it to the city.
Game
Because of an international tournament, Flint was without their coach and a few players and it showed. Fresh off a 9-0 beatdown the night before, the Firebirds suffered from poor goaltending and dumb penalties. The Soo capatilized and should also be acknowledged for great shotmaking. Seven players scored for the Greyhounds and their Power Play that went 4 for 8 contributed to the increase in GAA for poor Flint goalie, Garrett Forrest as it stood at 4.63 after 18 games. Mac Hollowell had 5 points for Sault Ste. Marie and they won the game 8-2.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
