December 30, 2004
Sovereign Bank Arena (Capacity: 8,100)
Trenton, NJ
Trenton Titans vs Toledo Storm
Final Score: 6 -1
* The arena was re-visited for a game on March 24, 2007
** The arena was renamed Cure Insurance Arena
*** The arena no longer hosts consistent sporting events
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During a visit to Long Island, we made the seemingly short trip to Trenton to see Sovereign Bank Arena. However, I failed to account for New York City and New Jersey traffic, thus our travel time doubled to three frustrating hours in the car, which led to a scrambled visit and only half the game seen. Rookie mistake on my part. Three years later, after moving to the state, I made a return for a Titans game with a more complete visit. Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and located in the central part of the state, right along the Delaware River. The city is a small one with a population of 85,000 and despite the history here, it’s a place more known for a poor reputation of crime and run-down areas. The Titans hockey team arrived in 1999 as an ECHL franchise and the team immediately found success with deep playoff runs, including a conference title in 2001 and a Kelly Cup in 2005. Sovereign Bank Arena opened at the same time when the Titans began and it’s a decent, mid-sized arena for the team.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
The arena is downtown and the immediate neighborhood leaves little desire to stick around after the game. Aging and mostly empty buildings combine with surrounding parking lots. There’s nothing for visiting fans as the arena has yet to spur any new or revitalized development. If one does want to explore Trenton a little, the State House is a five minute drive to the northwest and that complex includes the New Jersey State Museum. It’s not one of the top state museums that I’ve visited.
Location Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Sovereign Bank Arena is right on Route 129, which is accessed via Route 1 (the city’s freeway-like thoroughfare). It can also be reached from the south via I-295. There are a good number of parking lots right near the facility, though they do reserve most of the closest lots for season ticket holders. A big crowd may bring parking headaches, but for Titans games it all seems sufficient. While regional traffic certainly was a pain on a weeknight, the local traffic wasn’t terrible. A local light rail from the Trenton Transit Center provides another option as the stop on Hamilton Street is right across from the arena. NJ Transit trains come in to the Transit Center on the NE Corridor line. Be aware that this only runs until 10 PM on weeknights.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
Though the surrounding area could use some work, the building design of Sovereign Bank Arena is decent. The set up in red brick has faded archways and the square-ish design features cut corners, two of them acting as entrances. On the south side of the building is the main entrance, where a “Sovereign Bank Arena at Mercer County” sign sits at the top. A green awning over this entrance bears a slight resemblance to a train station, further enhancing an overall good look for the facility.
Exterior Ranking: 7 out of 10
Concourse and Food
Circling the arena is a concourse that has a decent amount of space and width to move around. It’s nice to have a concourse that goes entirely around, however my lone issue was the lack of direction to get to the 200-level seating. Otherwise, the space (though a little drab) has some windows to the outside and wall displays to occupy the visitors. Food was average as I had a nice slice of pizza and other options were typical arena food.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food Ranking: 5 out of 8
Interior
The arena is a modern facility with a standard, but decent design. There are two seating levels and the green seats are in a regular bowl shape with good sightlines. The lower bowl has the bulk of the seating and the upper level only has about 6 rows. Designers didn’t do a good job with actually getting to this second level as you actually climb stairs from the concourse to the suite level and then walk downward to your seats. Why only the ends have accessible stairs from inside the rink, I have no idea. The top of the arena is circled with 34 luxury suites and a club/restaurant on each end, which is the most specialty seating I have yet to see for a minor league facility. The press box is tucked between the roof and suites. One difference with the basic seating arrangement of this arena is that in some places in the lower level, two sections join into one near the ice. There are a few oddities to this place, but it otherwise is a good arena.
Interior Ranking: 8 out of 14
Scoreboard
Trenton’s board is an older style with four sides and a black background. There are way too many ads going on, which makes it look busy, however a video screen in the middle enhances the scoreboard. Game info can be found at the bottom and sides. There are also a pair of score clocks at each end wall.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
The most noticeable display on the outside is some sort of artwork that I couldn’t make out. The structure on the nearby sidewalk looks to be an iron manufacturing sculpture, but there was no description around. Inside, there are some nice displays around the concourse including a Titans Hall of Fame, to go along with a Mercer County Wall of Fame. There is also a section reserved for all of the performers that have made a stop to perform in the State Capitol. Inside, a pair of nicely sized banners honor team achievements.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Tickets ranged from $15 to $25 and the upper side seats were the best spot for $15. Parking was $5 and the concessions were higher than normal. Overall, the visit was more on level with AHL type pricing.
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
After ranking in the Top 5 for ECHL attendance their first few years in existence, fan support for the Titans has fallen off. With a paid average of 3,500, Trenton ranked in the lower half of the league when I returned in 2007. Their playoff appearances yielded a disappointing average of 1,500, just putting them 15th out of 18th. Both games I attended had small crowds, just filling a quarter of the building.
Fan Support Ranking: 3 out of 8
Atmosphere
Despite the lackluster fan support, the crowd was definitely into the game and they seemed to give Trenton a pretty good home-ice advantage. Fans were supportive and enthusiastic. After each Titans goal, the fans would keep the “Hey” song going after it stops playing and follow it up with some banging on the seats to keep the rhythm. Overall good stuff.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Christmas lights were up on parts of the building, helping to set a festive holiday mood upon arriving…..Although short-lived, one of ECHL’s heated rivalries was Trenton-Atlantic City. The two teams played for the Garden State Cup and games were often entertaining. It didn’t last long as the Boardwalk Bullies recently folded.
Game (Initial Visit)
The Titans simply dominated this game as they were already up 2-0 when we walked in. They ran away with this one against Toledo by using three third period goals to pull away 6-1. Darren Cygan scored twice for the Titans.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
