We travelled 3 hours to watch the Mallards vs Komets at TaxSlayer Center in Macomb, IL. We've seen the Komets play at home (in Ft. Wayne, IN) a few times and it is always a crowded, thrilling time! Tons of people fill the venue, loud cheering, horns, up/down in seats and VERY FUN! The experience in Macomb was a far cry from thrilling. Only maybe 20% of the seats were filled, there was only a bit of cheering occasionally (a lot of which was the Komets fans), plus the temp was cold INSIDE. To be fair it was exceptionally cold outside, and so maybe people didn't want to go out??
There were some PROS to the low-key atmosphere - we had good parking in the garage right by the skywalk so we didn't have to walk very far in the freezing temp, there were virtually no lines for anything, the horns weren't very loud so they didn't scare my 4 year old (who we had warned of the "scary" buzzer) in fact I don't think she ever even heard it, and the kids were able to wonder around the stands when they got antsy - since there were so few people near us. If you live nearby and want to take the family to a sporting event that's not over-stimulating this may be the one for you. However, I wouldn't travel 3 hours for the same experience again. **I will add, all of the people working the venue were very nice and we did have a good time!