Propst Arena
Primary Tenant: Huntsville Havoc
Capacity: 6,000
Built: 1975
Date Visited: February 26th, 2022
Final Score: Huntsville Havoc, 2, Pensacola Ice Flyers, 1 (OT)
Before we begin, I don't just want to talk about Propst Arena, I also want to talk about the experience of going to a Huntsville Havoc hockey game. So, what exactly is there to know about the Huntsville Havoc? Quite a bit, actually. The Huntsville Havoc are part of the Southern Professional Hockey League, which began play for the 2004-05 season, with the Havoc being one of the original teams in the league. One key factor to the Havoc's success over the years are their high attendance numbers. The Havoc have had attendance above the league average every single season throughout their existence. The game I attended enjoyed a sellout crowd of 6,037 fans. A great way to elaborate on the experience would be to give a timeline of events involving the arena, as well as the game.
When walking towards the arena from the north end, you'll see Rhythm on Monroe, a recent addition to the Von Braun Center which opened in early 2020.
Another recent addition to the area is this parking garage. It looks about as cool as a parking garage can get, but that isn't saying much considering the old parking garage was, to put it simply, ugly.
See? I wasn't kidding about the ugly part. Now, one thing I'll have you know is that I'm a very function over fashion kind of person, but even I have to admit the new parking lot is way less of an eyesore than the old one, but I digress.
Here's the entrance to Propst Arena. If you're keeping track, you would know the arena was built in 1975. If you're also wondering why this looks a little more modern than 1975, well, that's because it is. This extension was built in 2010 as an improved entrance to the arena.
This is what you see once you walk inside. This spacious walkway certainly a nice amenity to have. On the right, you'll see some steps which lead up to the concourse of the arena. At the bottom of the steps are several ticket takers ready to scan your tickets.
Once you get up the stairs, you'll see tons of these foam pucks for sale. What are these, and why do they have numbers on them, you may be asking. Well, I'll elaborate on them later.
This is what the view looks like from section 310, Row O, Seat 2. The ice may look a little far away, but always remember, photos always make the view look further away. These seats in the upper rows don't just give a great view of the whole arena, but also come at a great price; just eight dollars. I mentioned these seats give a great view, but what all can we observe? Well, I'll show you.
Before I go into detail, I need to warn you about something. It may be hard to tell by this photo, but these steps are pretty steep, therefore, it's important to watch your step while in the upper deck. Not only are the steps steep, but the seats in the row in front of you only come to about your shins, which can be a tripping hazard if you're not careful. Now, what was I talking about again?
Oh, yeah, I remember now. The first thing we can observe are the seats. This arena has plenty of seats, 6,000, in fact, which wrap around the arena on all sides. There isn't much to describe about these seats other than that they're blue, and sittable. Is sittable a word? Doesn't matter, let's move on.
Well, more seats, that's great. these are the lower level seats, which are gray, and have a little more padding than the upper deck seats. These get you pretty close to the action, but believe it or not, we can get closer.
Here, we have the suite level. Great for several people at a time, and guarantees you a spot right next to the action. What if I told you there was an even bigger and better seating option than what I just showed you? Would you believe me? If you don't...
Now you should! A total of four suites, two of which aren't pictured, each have room for sixteen fans to watch the game, with a great view of center ice. You may be thinking the seats are a bit boring, and I do have to agree that blue and gray aren't the most interesting seat colors, but they weren't always this way.
This is a real photo of the original seats at Propst Arena. Moderation clearly isn't a part of these people's vocabulary, but this was the 70s, so I don't exactly blame them.
Now that we're back in the present, we can observe more. This is what the walkway in front of the upper deck looks like. This walkway certainly gets the job done, but the railing may get in the way of the view if you're sitting in the bottom rows.
The Havoc have their retired numbers on display. These numbers belong to Stuart Stefan, current assistant coach of the Havoc, Chris George, Matt Carmichael, and Mike DeGurse, respectively.
The Havoc are currently beta testing in-seat delivery services. Scan the QR code, which will take you to a website where you can order various food and drink items right to your seat. Why walk up and down a ton of steep steps to and from your seat when somebody else can do it for you?
This giant inflatable, which is meant to represent the wolf on the Havoc Logo, is what the players come out of during the player introductions.
Before the players skated onto the ice, the Havoc's two mascots, Chaos and Rukus, come sliding onto the ice. You can see these guys throughout the arena interacting fans and getting into whatever shenanigans you can imagine.
Here, we can see the starting lineup skate out onto the ice. Another thing we can see are the color changing LED lights, which were installed ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Another thing I want to cover are the jerseys that the Havoc wore for this game. It may be hard to tell, but the team name on these jersey read "Rocket City Long Dogs". I'll explain what these jerseys entail later.
Throughout the game, you'll hear this so-called musical instrument, which is really just a glorified noise machine, called a vuvuzela. If normal clapping and cheering isn't for you, then you may want to pick up a vuvuzela of your own.
Every game, about halfway through the first period, three people, dressed up as Coke cans, race across the ice to see who wins. It's very funny to see the more than occasional slip on the ice for sure.
Another happening in the middle of each period would be a few guys throwing t-shirts into the crowd. Unfortunately, I was too far away to catch a t-shirt. I imagine it isn't very easy to throw a t-shirt very far on ice skates, and with a shovel in your other hand, so I don't blame anybody for this.
Now would be a good time to head back to the game itself. This is one thing I love about hockey; if you break your stick, that's too bad, because your stick is gonna lay there, right on the ice, until the play is over.
You may have realized I haven't written much about the game itself, and I have a good explanation for that. Most of the stuff I've covered so far has happened within the first period. During this game, however, nobody scored in the first period, so the hasn't been much worth writing about.
Finally, we get to see what everyone came for, the wiener dog races. The whole thing is pretty long, so I'll just show you the final round. Over thirty dogs entered the race, but only three won the grand prize, a bag full of dog treats.
The Pensacola Ice Flyers draw first blood in the second period, giving them the 1-0 lead over Huntsville.
Remember those foam pucks I showed you earlier? Those are called Chuck-a-Pucks. Every game, after the second period, fans throw these pucks onto the ice. If you make an accurate enough throw to land on one of five signs with local companies' logos on them, you win a gift card to the place your puck landed on. It gets even better than this, though. There's a small bucket on center ice, which wins you 250 dollars if you manage to chuck a puck into it.
It goes to show just how many fans get in on the chance to win gift cards and money. You can see the 250 dollar bucket, which should give you perspective on how difficult it is to make it into the bucket.
Now, in the third and final period, things begin to get good. The Havoc tie the game up at one with just under fifteen minutes left on the clock.
This is what it all came down to. By the end of the third period, the game was tied at one. In overtime, it's all about who can draw first blood. Thankfully, the Havoc pulled through with the win in front of a sellout crowd of 6,037 fans.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Propst Arena. This facility makes a great place for hosting minor league hockey. The arena has many comfortable seating options that surround the whole rink. The arena is very nice, but the gameday experience is what makes it just that much better. I would like to give a shout out to the fans, as well as the Huntsville Havoc staff, and everyone else responsible for making all of this happen.
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