Sharks, Kings to face off at Levi's Stadium in NHL Stadium Series

The San Francisco 49ers and Levi's Stadium have announced that the site will play host to a 2015 hockey game between the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings. The game will take place on February 21, 2015, and will be part of the NFL's Stadium Series. This marks the second hockey game in California, with the first being Kings-Ducks at Dodger Stadium last year.

This news actually leaked a few days ago thanks to a Ticketmaster mistake. Ticketmaster had an accidental pre-release that showed Kings-Sharks at Levi's Stadium. The game had been rumored, but there was some question about whether it would be at Levi's Stadium, or at AT&T Park. When the Ticketmaster leak happened, Bay Area Sports Guy broke down why each site made sense. Although AT&T would have had a lot to offer, Levi's Stadium offers more seats. That means more money, and potentially a chance to pound their chests over attendance records.

There will be a pre-sale of tickets starting August 7 (tomorrow) for SBL members, Sharks season ticket holders, and Kings season ticket holders. Later in the fall, remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public.

I'm not a huge hockey fan, but I don't know of many events that are more fun in person. Baseball is great in person, but the excitement of a hockey game is crazy. The only sporting event where I had more fun was a WWE PPV, and I'd call that "sports entertainment" as opposed to strictly sports. I've had a great time at 49ers games, but for just picking an event to watch live regardless of teams playing, hockey might be my choice.

I do wonder how hockey translates outdoors in bigger venues. The intimate nature of a hockey arena adds to the excitement. I've never been to one of these outdoor hockey games. I imagine it's pretty cool initially, but once you get into the game itself, how does the bigger environment impact it?