Stadium Journey's ECHL Arena Rankings 2026
- Marc Viquez
- 6 hours ago
- 8 min read
With the playoffs underway, Stadium Journey once again turns its attention to ranking the game-day experience at ECHL arenas.
Our correspondents evaluated 28 of the league’s 30 venues—excluding Greensboro and Trois-Rivières—using the site’s FANFARE rating system. This system considers factors such as food and beverage, atmosphere, surrounding neighborhood, fan support, accessibility, value, and more. The average FANFARE score for this year’s rankings list is 3.65 out of a possible 5.0.
In cases where venues finished tied, a Stadium Journey council of elders was called upon to break the deadlock. It’s a unique approach to evaluating arenas, and one that’s sure to spark plenty of debate.
We invite you to join the conversation on our social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.
Without further ado, here are Stadium Journey’s 2025–2026 ECHL venue rankings.
In the state of basketball, Fort Wayne is a hockey town. The fans have been faithful to this franchise across multiple leagues since the Komets came to town in 1952. The atmosphere in the building is electric with crowds hovering around 10,000 for weekend games, and loyal followers dress in the black and orange of the hockey club. Fort Wayne is among the best cities in the country for minor league hockey.
The Kia Center is the home of the NBA Orlando Magic, but the Solar Bears make it their hockey palace during the ECHL season. The balcony seats are draped off, and the lower bowl becomes a hotbed of hockey fans in a state where palm trees are prevalent. The building is stunning; a vibrant and colorful concourse and lighting that extends to the main entrance lobby, to the unique arrangement of the court’s flooring – everything here is visually beautiful.
The Huntington Center has been a successful venture for the fans of the Toledo Walleye. The perfectly sized building is located downtown and offers patrons wide-open concourses, luxury seating, open views of the ice, and plenty of food and drink. The Walleye finished second in attendance in the league with an astonishing 8,000-plus average.
The new state-of-the-art hockey arena for the Fuel in the suburbs of Indianapolis has been a hit with fans and players alike. The team has seen an increase in sell-outs, fans find it easy to pay for parking via an app, and grab-and-go food and beverage options make it easy for them to get back to the action on ice. The area around the arena also gives fans a place to visit before or after the game.
The seating area is U-shaped. There is no center-hung scoreboard allowing the passionate Rush fans the ability to see each other throughout the arena. A large, flat-screen video scoreboard is posted on the wall on the top end of the U and provides basic scoring stats and a visual broadcast of the game, along with replays.
The Wings Event Center is one of those classic minor league hockey barns. It’s small, the concourses are narrow, it gets crowded during intermission, and the fans don’t hold back on their feelings. However, within a few years, the K-Wings will relocate to a new building, one that offers a lot more comfort and luxury. For a throwback to the team’s days in the old IHL, get to Kalamazoo sometime soon.
The Icemen have made a name for themselves since arriving from Evansville, Indiana, several years ago. The team finished number one in the league in average attendance with close to 9,200 fans per game this past season. Minor league hockey is thriving in the South.
The Atlanta Gladiators are the only pro team in town and provide an affordable family atmosphere. The arena offers stunning views of the ice, provides easy access to the seating bowl, and provides fans with great food and beverage options. It is a great night out with friends and family.
Undoubtedly, the most enduring gift the Tahoe Knight Monsters give this community is a sense of identity. This is largely a transient town, a place for seasonal residents, a destination for tourists and gaming enthusiasts. Yet the focal point of a team, a professional team, to compete, to cheer for, to wear the colors for, serves as a reminder for people looking to unite.
Do check out the delightful downtown Boise area for a fun-filled day. The Steelheads put on a good show, provide valuable sports entertainment, and it’s a rewarding place to watch and enjoy an ice hockey game.
The Bon Secours Wellness Arena offers a better-than-average experience for almost every type of sports event or concert. The seating bowl offers excellent views of the action on the ice, and the center-hung videoboard constantly provides updated game stats and replays of the action on the ice. Seating is very comfortable.
Although the Norfolk Scope is over 50 years old at this point, it is still going strong. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of newer arenas, hockey fans will definitely want to check out a Norfolk Admirals game here. If you walk into the seating area at the Norfolk Scope before warmups have begun, you will find the arena casked in a soft, blue glow. The full arena lights do not come on until the players come out for warmups. This creates an interesting first impression on fans arriving early.
Cross Insurance Arena works well for hockey — its limitations don’t detract from the experience. The compact facility and amenities create a cozy, engaging hockey atmosphere. Larger arenas may impress with size and luxury, but that scale can dilute the energy, especially when seats go empty. Cross Insurance Arena’s smaller footprint concentrates the crowd, amplifies excitement, and keeps fans closely involved.
The Utah Grizzlies have played their last season in Salt Lake City and will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey, for the upcoming season. The Grizz moved from Denver in 1995 when they were members of the IHL, then joined the AHL in 2001, and became members of the ECHL in 2005. However, after the Utah Mammoths of the NHL came to town, the 30-year history of the Grizzlies came to an end. It was the end of an era, but the Maverik Center was always a fine place for a hockey game.
The Everblades have been a fixture on the Gulf Coast for well over a quarter of a century. The team draws around 6,500 fans per game in a building that still maintains its charm after all of these years. The Everblades experience has improved with recent renovations to the video board and the concourse area. The seating bowl design offers a great view of the action, no matter where you sit in the building.
While Savannah is known for its preservation efforts in its large Historic District, Enmarket Arena is a decidedly modern facility. The front of the arena is almost totally glass, allowing lots of natural light to filter into the entrance lobby of the facility. Fans can quickly access the Ghost Pirates team store, which is filled with plenty of swashbuckling hockey gear.
Cable Dahmer offers an above-average experience for the ECHL. The arena feels sleek and new and has nice selections available at the concessions. Independence also has plenty to do after the game and is close to Kansas City if it’s not enough. If you’re looking for an NHL experience on a budget, a Mavericks game is well worth it.
This venue, the BOK Center, is more than just an ECHL venue. It is a place for entertainment, from fan excitement and the action on the ice. When it comes to atmosphere, fun is the most important thing. The BOK has nailed this aspect of the sports experience. A real effort is made to sell team merchandise and get fans involved in promotions with huge booths
The South Carolina Stingrays are a solid organization that brings many of the northern transplants to the Charleston area regularly to enjoy a night of great hockey. The North Charleston Coliseum is the longtime home for Stingrays hockey. It provides easy access to the major interstates in the Charleston area.
The Xtream Arena offers great vantage points throughout the building, concessions are spread in many parts of the concourse, and there is plenty of in-game entertainment to keep fans engaged during breaks in the game in between periods. The hockey team voluntarily suspended operations for the upcoming season with plans to restructure and return in the future.
Wheeling, West Virginia, has been the home of minor league hockey for 30 years, and the Wheelers have been part of much of that history. The building is small, boxy, and ideal for hockey at this level. The atmosphere comes alive with packed crowds, throngs of fans visiting neighboring restaurants and pubs, and plenty of cheering from the stands.
When asked to name a professional hockey team in Pennsylvania, almost everyone would name either the Philadelphia Flyers or the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Reading may not be the most desirable city to visit in the state, and in fact may be towards the bottom of the list, a trip to see the Royals at Santander Arena is reason enough to come to town.
If travel takes you to Wichita in the fall or winter, or if you live in the area and you like hockey, a visit to a Thunder game is a worthwhile entertainment choice. Downtown Wichita is a walkable city and has several hotels, museums, restaurants, and a variety of other tourist attractions.
The Worcester Ice Center has become the focal point of the city’s hockey scene, used by everyone from pee-wee teams to local high schools and colleges to the Blades and Railers. Here is to hoping the Blades can straighten out their on-ice difficulties and become a fixture in Central Massachusetts for years to come.
The GFCC is a great old hockey barn, and having a stable tenant occupying the building should go a long way toward ensuring a successful franchise after so many years of uncertainty. The team has stepped up its community presence, and the organization is beginning to understand that it will take increased effort to bring local hockey fans back to the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The arena is in need of a huge makeover, but there are no complaints that it’s a perfect place to watch a hockey game. The 51-year-old building was made for hockey and offers great views from the seating bowl. However, the narrow concourses are a reminder of buildings of that era, but cheap tickets and parking make it worth your while in Cincinnati.
The Allen Event Center is a respectable venue in which to watch an ECHL game. It has above-average food choices, is in the midst of an outdoor shopping mall, and has hotels within walking distance. And the team wins. Check it out if in the area north of Dallas.
This is the first year for the ECHL club (2024-25). Other hockey teams have failed here. I hope this one can make it because the arena is a nice place to see a game, and you could be seeing the stars of tomorrow. Being an ECHL team, some players and coaches may graduate to the AHL and NHL.
NG. Colisée Vidéotron - Trois-Rivières Lions
Unfortunately, Stadium Journey does not yet have a review for the Colisée Vidéotron. If you are interested in writing a review for Stadium Journey, please contact us.
NG. First Horizon Coliseum - Greensboro Gargoyles
Unfortunately, Stadium Journey does not yet have a review for the First Horizon Coliseum. If you are interested in writing a review for Stadium Journey, please contact us.
